Underground Edinburgh car park to host Hidden Door festival birthday event

A car park in Edinburgh is set to be turned into an underground venue for a music and arts festival.

Hidden Door festival will be taking over Level B3 car park at St James Quarter for its 10th birthday party event next month.

The event will feature an “ambitious” programme of music, visual art and performance across two nights on May 10 and 11.

Synth-pop duo Maranta will be helping to curate the event, with record label Paradise Palms Records and radio station EHFM bringing an “uplifting” roster of music acts and DJs offering live performances and visuals.

Work by 18 visual artists will be exhibited alongside other surprises yet to be revealed.

Since its launch, Hidden Door has taken over a number of urban spaces including the derelict former State Cinema in 2018, the Old Royal High School in 2022 and the former Scottish Windows office complex in 2023.

Hazel Johnson, Festival Director of Hidden Door, said: “B3 is unlike any other space that has played host to a Hidden Door event and we can’t wait to reveal its transformation in May.

“This vast basement car park has plenty of room to play with; we’ll be making the most of the wide open floorplan, whilst creating nooks and crannies amongst the pillars for people to explore the art installations and projections.

“Hidden Door’s 10th birthday event is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the past decade of festivals, collaborations, community and creative innovation – and what better way to do that than by opening up another of Edinburgh’s fascinating spaces and filling it with art, music and performance! 

“We can’t wait to welcome you to our birthday bash, to celebrate what has been – and what is yet still to come!”

The public will be invited to explore the venue for free between 1-5pm on Saturday, May 11.

Susan Hewlett, Brand and Marketing director at St James Quarter, added : “We’re really excited to work with Hidden Door and host their 10th anniversary party, bringing life, music and art into this unexpected space.

“We have already hosted Edinburgh College of Art’s Graduate Fashion Show as well as a ‘Deaf Rave’ in B3 but to now optimise this vast space which has incredible acoustics, with one of the biggest arts organisations in the city is amazing.

“Everything we do at St James Quarter is woven into the city’s culture, celebrating its rich heritage. We can’t wait to welcome event-goers to what will be a really special showcase of music and arts in one of the most creative cities, under a destination that’s redefining retail as a new lifestyle quarter.”