Sonica Festival fills Pollok House, Tramway and Buchanan Galleries with sound and light

Glasgow became a playground for experimental music and audiovisual art this autumn as Sonica Festival returned for its most ambitious edition yet. Produced by Cryptic, the 11-day biennial festival brought together more than 170 artists from 22 countries, running until Sunday 4 October 2026.

At the heart of the festival, Pollok House was transformed into The Listening House, opening the doors of the 18th-century mansion while it remains closed for refurbishment. Across three floors and into the gardens, visitors explored mechanical birds, hundreds of suspended bells, moving image, interactive sculpture and experimental sound.

Tramway hosted a psychedelic new audiovisual show by Dinos Chapman, while Glasgow-based artist Robbie Thomson turned a Tesla coil into a musical instrument. Brian d'Souza, also known as Auntie Flo, presented Plants Can Dance, where plants and fungi become collaborators in electronic music through biosonification technology.

At Rutherglen Old Parish Church, Scottish Ensemble joined electronic composers Alex Smoke and Ava Rasti, and Serbian traditional singer Svetlana Spajic gave an intimate solo performance. Even shoppers were drawn in, with Buchanan Galleries hosting works including Rachel Maclean and Ela Orleans' They've Got Your Eyes and CREW's The Unheard, a fleet of robotic loudhailers roaming the centre.

The second week brought the RSNO performing Philip Glass's Bowie Symphony with visuals by Tatsuru Arai, Paraorchestra with Charles Hazlewood playing Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, and a closing performance by electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani, her first ever in Scotland.

Artistic director Cathie Boyd said Sonica has always been interested in what happens when music and contemporary art are experienced somewhere unexpected. The festival, she said, gives artists the chance to experiment, brings international artists to Scotland and supports Scottish artists to present ambitious work, creating memorable experiences for audiences.

Sonica is Scotland's leading festival of its kind, and this edition showed how the city's buildings, from an 18th-century country house to a shopping centre, can become part of the artwork.

Sonica Glasgow is produced by Cryptic. News of future editions is published at sonic-a.co.uk.