James Emmanuel

James Emmanuel plays King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on Wednesday 16 December, with doors opening at 19:30. He's a Nigerian-born, Edinburgh-based soul singer, and this is a headline show with him as the sole bill.

His voice is the centre of the thing. He grew up singing in church choirs and cut his teeth at open mics and jam sessions around Edinburgh, and you can hear that background in the way he handles a song. He describes his work as soul music, and the names he cites as influences — Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye — give you a good steer on the territory he's in: rich, expressive vocals and a classic soul sound. He talks about his songwriting in terms of resilience, joy and emotional connection, and the songs he builds around them run from heartbreak to healing.

There's a fair bit more to him than the singing, too. He's a poet and a scholar, known for writing jazz-and-blues haiku, and he's put out more than 300 poems and 13 books, as well as an influential anthology of African-American literature. 2025 was the year he focused on building his brand as a solo artist, so this is part of that push.

It's a mid-week gig in the city centre, with King Tut's at 272 St Vincent Street, G2 5RL. Doors are at 19:30, and the show is strictly for over-18s.