The free Mardi Gras, part of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, launches the season of Edinburgh's Festivals with the sounds of New Orleans and trad styled jazz, with some funk and soul thrown in for good measure.
In the past, the Jazz Festival's opening weekend event started with a Parade which saw performers dance from City Chambers, down Victoria Street, to the Old Town bars and cafes of the Grassmarket.
The streets are still busy for the trad jazz flavoured sounds from the various stages, but the Mardi Gras is now more of a warm-up for the following day's Edinburgh Carnival, which includes the Parade down the Mound and music and dance in West Princes Street Gardens.
Mardi Gras 2023 performers lined up are Dixie Fried, Pitchblenders, Glamour & The Baybes and others tba.
Mardi Gras didn't happen in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic restrictions.