Michelle Shocked Brings ‘Bootleg This!’ to Edinburgh Fringe for First Scottish Dates in Eight Years
Updated: Aug 5
Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked is set to return to Scotland this August with her new live show, Michelle Shocked’s Bootleg This!, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Presented by Strawberry Jam Tours and TKD Productions, the production will run at Gilded Balloon Patter House, Downstairs, from 5 to 20 August at 8.30pm, marking Shocked’s only UK dates this year.
Described as a blend of music, memoir and personal storytelling, Bootleg This! takes audiences through the experiences behind some of Shocked’s best-known songs. The solo performance is shaped in the moment, combining live music with reflections on her decades-long career, life on the road and the events that have influenced her as an artist.
The Edinburgh appearance also marks Shocked’s first Scottish dates since 2018. Her career began in unconventional fashion when recordings made at a Texas songwriters gathering were released in the UK as the Texas Campfire Tapes. The recordings helped launch an international career that would include the Grammy-winning artist’s acclaimed albums Short Sharp Shocked, Captain Swing and Arkansas Traveler, as well as her signature song “Anchorage”.
Shocked’s story extends well beyond the recording studio. Raised in Texas, she travelled widely, worked as a street musician and became involved in political activism before establishing herself as a distinctive songwriter. Her music has drawn on folk, blues, gospel, swing and traditional roots influences, while her fiercely independent approach to her career has made ownership and artistic control recurring themes throughout her work.
Now more than four decades into her career, Shocked is bringing that history directly to Fringe audiences. Bootleg This! is being presented as an intimate and unpredictable performance that connects songs with the stories surrounding them. The show runs at 8.30pm at Gilded Balloon Patter House, Downstairs, from 5 to 20 August. Further information is available through the Edinburgh Fringe and Michelle Shocked’s official channels.
Michelle Shocked’s Bootleg This! Will be at the Gilded Balloon – Patter House – Doonstairs at 8.30pm for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
