SCOTLAND'S national music awards challenge has announced the 20 albums on this year's longlist.
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award received 370 submissions in 2024 from artists up and down the country.
The SAY Award is a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production and has distributed over £330,000 in prize money to Scottish artists since its inception in 2012.
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SAY's longlist will be whittled down to 10 entries to form a shortlist, one of which will be selected by a public vote before the list goes public on October 3.
Members of the public can make their selection here when the vote opens.
The winner of the competition, to be revealed at Stirling's Albert Halls on October 24, will have their work named Scottish Album of the Year and get a £20,000 cash prise.
The full list of entries
- Afterlands – We Are the Animals in the Night
- Amy Laurenson – Strands
- Arab Strap – I'm totally fine with it 👍don't give a fuck anymore 👍
- Barry Can't Swim – When Will We Land?
- Becky Sikasa – The Writings and the Pictures and the Song
- Bee Asha – Goodbye, Gracious
- Blue Rose Code – Bright Circumstance
- Broken Chanter – Chorus Of Doubt
- corto.alto – Bad With Names
- Dead Pony – IGNORE THIS
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- Empire State Bastard – Rivers of Heresy
- Fergus McCreadie – Stream
- Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand – Willson Williams
- Lucia & The Best Boys – Burning Castles
- Malin Lewis – Halocline
- Mama Terra – The Summoned
- Rachel Sermanni – Dreamer Awake
- rEDOLENT – dinny greet
- The Snuts – Millennials
- Theo Bleak – Pain
The SAY award longlist is selected by 100 impartial nominators, drawn from journalism, music shops and music venues across the country.
Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and creative director of the Scottish Music Industry Association said: “Each year, The SAY Award provides a bold and unifying platform where Scotland’s most outstanding albums – across all genres – can be celebrated, discovered and championed.
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"On behalf of the SMIA, I’d like to say a massive congratulations to each of this year’s nominees.
“It’s been a really difficult few weeks for Scotland’s cultural sector, coming after a tough few years.
"The SAY Award Longlist highlights the strength and diversity of Scottish creative talent, and the essential role that our cultural output plays in helping us reflect on who we are as a nation."
Previous award winners and shortlisted artists include Young Fathers, Fergus McCreadie and Paolo Nutini, with the first two making entries in this year's competition.
Alan Morrison, head of music at Creative Scotland added: “Yet again The SAY Award Longlist is full of surprises, discoveries and albums that became instant favourites.
"It’s a brilliant snapshot of the ambition and creativity that exists in every music genre in Scotland and a testament to the talent and commitment of the country’s musicians."
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