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Music Fans First to Know this Year’s SAY Award Longlist at Special Glasgow Gig

On Wednesday 1st August, the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award Longlist will be exclusively revealed in front of a live audience at Glasgow’s renowned King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut.

‘Live at the Longlist’ will see performances from previously Longlisted and Shortlisted artists, including a special collaborative set from Stina Tweeddale of Honeyblood and Carla J. Easton of TeenCanteen, as well as a live performance from Emma Pollock, whose album “In Search of Harperfield” was shortlisted for The SAY Award in 2016. Emma’s contribution to music in Scotland cannot be overstated, as both a founding member of The Delgados and Chemikal Underground Records, a member of The Burns Unit, and an acclaimed solo artist.

 Journalist and broadcaster Nicola Meighan will reveal the twenty outstanding Scottish albums which will make up The SAY Award Longlist for 2018, and following the announcement, a cinematic and expansive DJ set from Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite will extend the celebration of Scottish music into the late hours. All proceeds from ‘Live at the Longlist’ will be donated to Help Musicians Scotland, The SAY Award’s charity partner for 2018.

In keeping with the authentic grassroot principles which drive the Award, this means that music fans will be the first to hear which albums are in the running for the annual £20,000 prize, and the coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year 2018.

A record number of 253 eligible albums were submitted for this year’s SAY Award, and all are available to view and stream at sayaward.com. It is now the task of 100 impartial ‘Nominators’, chosen for their specialisms in sectors including journalism, broadcast and radio, music retail and live music venues, to consider the titles from The SAY Award’s Eligible Albums. Each Nominator lists their five favourite albums, ranking them in order of preference, and Nominators cannot have a commercial interest in any of the albums being discussed. A score is assigned to each title in a Nominator’s Top 5, and once all 100 are collated, the 20 highest scoring albums will make up The SAY Award Longlist for 2018.

Robert Kilpatrick, General Manager at the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) who produce The SAY Award, said: 

“The announcement of The Longlist is without doubt the most exciting part of The SAY Award campaign. Much more than just a list of 20 great albums, The Longlist is the product of an extraordinary nationwide consultation, where 100 impartial Nominators working across the music industry democratically select the 20 most outstanding Scottish records of the last year. I think this process is what makes being Longlisted really special and valued, and what makes people really want to listen to these great records.

Last year we introduced ‘Live at the Longlist’ to allow artists, industry and music fans to all come together to celebrate the incredible strength and diversity of our country’s recorded output. This year we’re delighted to be hosting the event at Glasgow’s much loved King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, with a fantastic bill of previously Shortlisted and Longlisted acts, with Nicola Meighan making the exclusive announcement. The event is raising money for our charity partner Help Musicians’ Scotland, who do such important and essential work supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of musicians. Join us for what will be an incredibly special night for Scottish music and culture.”

Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, Renfrewshire Council’s cultural spokesperson, added:

“The Scottish Album of the Year Award is one of Scottish music’s biggest nights of the year and we are thrilled to be welcoming it back to Paisley Town Hall for a third year in a row.

Being the home of an event like this has really helped establish our place as a key destination on Scotland’s major events map.

The longlist announcement gig has a great line-up and like all music fans I am really excited to hear which 20 albums have made the list this year.”

Following an absorbing promotional campaign, The Longlist will be further whittled down to a Shortlist of 10 albums, one of which will be chosen by the public during a 72-hour online vote and 9 chosen by judges. The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 23 August, with the Award Ceremony then taking place on Thursday 6 September in the surroundings of Paisley’s elegant Town Hall with support from Renfrewshire Council.

Previous winners of The SAY Award include Sacred Paws (2017), Young Fathers (2014), Kathryn Joseph (2015) and the exceptional Anna Meredith (2016), who since winning the prize has been campaigning for greater female representation in the industry, and whose compositions will feature in this year’s BBC Proms. 

Launched by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) in 2012 with instrumental support from Creative Scotland, The SAY Award has been key to showcasing Scotland’s wealth of musical talent on a global scale. Wielding one of the UK’s most lucrative prize funds, The SAY Award champions the extraordinary strength and diversity of Scotland’s musical landscape.

Tickets for Live at the Longlist are on sale now and are available at sayaward.com. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Help Musicians Scotland, The SAY Award’s charity partner for 2018.

Keep up to date with The SAY Award on Twitter @SAYaward and on Facebook: facebook.com/SAYaward and use hashtags #SAYaward #SAYlonglist18