Scottish city ranked among the best in the world for music fans above LA and Vegas
With the 2025 festival season in full swing, including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, and Download all drawing huge crowds, new research has revealed which UK cities are leading the way for music lovers.
And Scotland has plenty to celebrate. A new study by ticket comparison site SeatPick has crowned Glasgow as the third-best music city in the UK, placing it well ahead of Edinburgh, which came in eighth.
The ranking, released this week, uses a comprehensive range of data including the number of live concerts, local artists, venues, and music-related businesses to calculate each city's overall music scene score.
With a vibrant live scene and a reputation for producing some of the country's most iconic acts, Glasgow achieved an impressive music score of 8.55 out of 10.
The city is on track to host nearly three times more concerts between 2025 and 2026 than Edinburgh, and boasts a wealth of homegrown talent including Gerry Cinnamon, Franz Ferdinand, and CHVRCHES.
International stars such as Kylie Minogue and Pulp performed in the city recently. In fact, Glasgow ranked eighth in the world, placing higher than major global music destinations like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.
By contrast, Edinburgh, while still featuring in the UK top 10, placed lower with a music scene score of 6.84, ranking 25th globally. Despite its world-famous festivals and a growing creative scene, the Scottish capital lags behind in concert volume and homegrown artists compared to its west coast counterpart.
The top spot in the UK went, unsurprisingly, to London, with a dominant score of 9.52 out of 10.
The capital leads in nearly every metric, boasting 3,042 homegrown artists, almost 1,800 concerts over 2025 and 2026, and 199 music venues ranging from underground clubs to iconic arenas like The O2.
Manchester came in second with a score of 8.97, a reflection of the city's deep-rooted musical heritage and its ongoing influence.
This year, Manchester is generating fresh buzz thanks to the long-awaited Oasis reunion, set to take place at Heaton Park, their first hometown gig since 2009.
Bristol and Liverpool round out the UK top five, with scores of 8.40 and 7.06, respectively. Bristol continues to thrive as a hub of alternative culture, while Liverpool remains a city steeped in music history, most famously as the home of The Beatles.
According to Gilad Zilberman, CEO of SeatPick, the UK's live music scene is not just surviving, but booming. He said: 'Recent reports show that live music ticket sales are forecast to continuously increase until 2029, by 34 percent.
"Music ticket sales are therefore a driving force in the growth of the music industry, and are expected to continue to be highly in demand.'
Zilberman also highlighted the importance of grassroots infrastructure and local talent in fuelling a city's musical ecosystem.
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He said: 'Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city's cultural, economic, and social vibrancy..
"A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape.'
He added that homegrown artists play a vital role in shaping the identity of a city's music culture, commenting: 'Unsurprisingly, London dominates in the homegrown artists category. This is a crucial metric in creating a vibrant music scene within a city, as it boosts the city's cultural identity, and creates a sense of community.'
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