In our ongoing Edinburgh Fringe 2026 interview series, we are speaking to artists and creatives who are bringing their shows to the Scottish capital this summer.
In this interview, we speak with Sylvie Nelson and Kelly Nickels from Some Strange Harmony to discuss their show Another Summer.
What can you tell me about your show?
Some Strange Harmony (violin, vocals, harmonium, spoken word) is a project of two good friends who like to think deeply about life. Through an interweaving and reimagining of classical excerpts, folk melodies from around the world, literary fragments, and our own compositions, the show examines ‘summer’ as a symbol of everything we desire and fear. The show's structure is informed by frameworks from Plato and Kafka, implicating the audience in a psychological journey through idealization, disillusionment, fallow seasons of grief, superimposition of possibilities, and finally, an acceptance of the chosen road.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
We have strong classical and folk influences, veering towards “doom folk" at times. Our music has been described as medieval, hymnal, funereal, and--our personal favourite--"like you're about to sacrifice a goat.” The show will be intellectually engaging yet accessible, in an unassuming folk pub basement filled with flowers.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
We had been doing monthly gigs at the Red Kite Cafe and found a set list we really loved slowly taking shape as we refined it for each gig. The order of songs started to feel like a satisfying musical journey in terms of styles and keys, but then we noticed that there were a lot of references to summer in our lyrics and poetry and started to think about that as a possible Fringe show theme. Sylvie had already written a long poem exploring her fraught relationship with this season, so the idea of exploring its darker underbelly in a full-show format was intriguing. Then we realized that the references to summer already followed a dramatic arc in our set list: commonplace notions descended into horror of the very “endlessness" and abundance that had first seemed positive. In the final song, which was written years ago in a completely different context, we realized there was a line about a summer that felt endless finally drawing to its close. This was the “light bulb moment," which was quite magical because it almost felt like the show was writing itself at that point!
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
We think our theme deals with fundamental aspects of human psychology that could be relevant in any year.
But more specifically, there are a few songs that touch on the angst of feeling limited by structures that you don't necessarily agree with and the awakenings of empowerment and autonomy that can come from personally and collectively reckoning with those. This seems very relevant to the political climate both here in the UK and also in the US, where we come from.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
We actually just returned from the best mental and physical preparation we could have asked for: a week running around in Sweden picking flowers, almost getting stampeded by moose at a forest bonfire, burning our skin in the sauna, drinking Killipitch, not sleeping, figuring out weird violin de-tunings, and feeding hedgehogs cat food.
If you couldn’t use a flyer to attract audiences, what ridiculous object would you hand out to people to get them into your show?
Well, we are kinda already doing this! Somehow, flowers always end up figuring prominently in our Fringe show themes. We have advertised previous shows by leaving foraged flower bouquets around town with tags that have quotes from the show. We like to be mysterious and leave them for people to find instead of passing them out. The ‘ridiculous’ component comes in because sometimes people find them after they have already rotted and died…but, this year that is also very relevant to our show's theme!
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
Sylvie: Beef slices from the Tesco next to the Oak. That pre-show protein hit 💪
Kelly: Water! Is water an item? I drink so much water. I have this fluorescent water bottle that has a probably only-hilarious-to-us backstory, so I won’t get into it at this time, but Sylvie has a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with it. So I won’t bring that 🤣
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
If we've made a few people cry (it’s happened every year, so it would be a bit disappointing if it didn't happen again!) More seriously though, if even one person comes up to us afterwards and says that the show fundamentally changed something in their emotional landscape, that's success in our eyes. We wouldn't mind growing our audience too, and a bit of cash never hurts!
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
Sylvie: Well, I might be biased but my boyfriend is part of a show as well and I think he's a beautiful and insightful singer-songwriter. It's called Gone Native and it's at the Royal Oak, the same venue our show plays in. The show features original and traditional songs about Edinburgh and Scotland.
Otherwise, the Scottish Storytelling Center always seems to have amazing shows. The ones I've seen previously are not running this year, but I trust this venue immensely!
Kelly: I second what Sylvie said (also biased🤣) and also highly recommend Nina Conti!
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
Sylvie: Portobello beach during the Blue Hour. There's no better sky than a Scottish summer nearly-endless dusk.
Kelly: Ooh, that’s a hard one. You can’t really go wrong with anywhere on the Water of Leith (but especially near Dean Village) or Arthur’s Seat. That’s not one spot. I broke the rules. 🤘
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Meditative, obsessive, brazen, dark, hopeful.
What keeps you inspired?
Sylvie: Love and travel! But more generally, having life experiences or any kind of relationships that I don't understand or that seem too terrible or wonderful to fully process on my own. The more this happens, the more I turn to art as a road toward understanding (whether I get there or not is a different story!)
Kelly: I think Sylvie is onto something with love. I’d definitely say love inspires me. But I’d also say the absence of love does, too. A lot of good art has come from the perceived absence of love.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
Sylvie: A new perspective on an unexamined idea.
Kelly: One of Sylvie’s lovely flower bouquets she will be selling ;) But also, more poetically, I hope our audiences take away more questions than answers.
When and where can people see the show?
The Royal Oak (downstairs lounge) 6:30 and 8pm on Wednesdays and Sundays August 5-30th. Note that the first show date is before the official start of the Fringe– no idea how we managed that!
Grab tickets from https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/another-summer
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