The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Awards saw Young Fathers take home the £20,000 prize for the third time.
Nicola Meighan and Vic Galloway hosted the show and celebrated all the nominees as previous winners took to the stage to perform for the audience.
Opening the performances was last year’s SAY Award winner, Fergus McCreadie. He lulled the crowd into the night with an amazing jazz performance.
In between acts, nominees who made the shortlist were celebrated on stage as videos of their music paired with judges’ comments were displayed.
Next up was Dead Pony who performed while the show celebrated ten years of PPL Momentum Music Fund. This fund supports starting artists financially as they take the next step in their careers.
Dead Pony shredded the stage with their punk-rock energy (reminiscent of Paramore) and really got the crowd moving.
Since 2021, the SAY Awards introduced two other awards alongside the main one. These are the Modern Scottish Classic Award and The Sound of Young Scotland Award.
The Modern Scottish Classic Award winner
The Modern Scottish Classic Award celebrates an album from Scotland’s past. This year the award went to Paolo Nutini for These Streets.
Unfortunately for fans, Nutini was in the US at the time of the ceremony, so his sister and manager accepted it on his behalf.
His manager said “Thank you for all the people who voted for These Streets. Paolo is really sorry that he can’t be here tonight […] he’s really disappointed that he can’t be here celebrating with you all.”
“To win an album voted for by fellow artists and your peers is something that is […] very humbling for Paolo,” said his manager.
The SAY House Band and nominees performed songs from this album to celebrate.
The Sound of Young Scotland Award winner
The Sound of Young Scotland Award is a chance for young and emerging Scottish artists to create their debut album. This year it went to No Windows, who graciously accepted it and said their thanks.
Heavy Heavy scoops first prize
Lastly, it was time for the hip-hop and pop group, Young Fathers, to be announced as 2023’s SAY Awards winner. The album was described as “cathartic, uplifting and deeply moving” and “an album for all weathers and moods”.
Heavy Heavy was their first album since 2018, and their third time winning this award. It was a huge moment for the band.
The SAY Awards
The SAY Awards have been celebrating Scottish music since 2012 and have since given out over £350,000 to Scottish artists. They are a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production and are funded by Creative Scotland.
This year saw Tiny Changes as their charity partner. Tiny Changes are “Scotland’s very first national children and young people’s mental health charity funding projects and ideas that help young minds feel better,” states the SAY Awards website.
For a full list of nominees and judges, or more information on the event, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Stirling Events
Second year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
Writer for Brig and Discovery Music, Chief Sub Editor for Brig
