Young Fathers, Becky Sikasa and Bemz included in Scottish Album Of The Year Award 2023 shortlist
The SAY Awards has also given Andrew Wasylyk, Cloth and Paolo Nutini nods in a shortlist crammed with pop, rock, jazz and trad albums
The Scottish Album Of The Year Award (SAY) shortlist has been unveiled for 2023, ahead of the full awards ceremony on Thursday 26 October. Scroll to the bottom of this article for the full shortlist.
Some of the bigger names on the list include Young Fathers for their latest album Heavy Heavy, pop-balladeer turned psych-rock singer Paolo Nutini for Last Night In The Bittersweet and indie's reigning intellectual poet Hamish Hawk for Angel Numbers. They're joined by Andrew Wasylyk, Becky Sikasa, Bemz, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Brooke Combe, Cloth and Joesef. This year’s Modern Scottish Classic Award winner was also unveiled as Paolo Nutini’s iconic debut These Streets.
Running since 2012, the SAY Award has become one of the most prominent celebrations of Scottish music in the country. The first album to win the award (and the £20,000 prize money) was Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat’s jazz/spoken word piece Everything’s Getting Older. Nine runner-up prizes of £1,000 each and a design commission are also up for grabs on the evening, alongside the Modern Scottish Classic Award (recognising an outstanding album from Scotland’s past) and The Sound Of Young Scotland Award (facilitating the recording and production of a debut album from a young and emerging Scottish artist).
Jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie won last year’s award for his album Forest Floor. He was joined on last year's shortlist by Kathryn Joseph's for you who are the wronged, AiiTee’s Better Days, Hamish Hawk’s Heavy Elevator and other acts from the worlds of trad, indie, jazz and rap.
This year’s winner will be announced at a live ceremony taking place at Albert Halls, Stirling, on Thursday 26 October.
The full SAY Award 2023 shortlist:
Andrew Wasylyk – Hearing The Water Before Seeing The Falls
Becky Sikasa – Twelve Wooden Boxes
Bemz – Nova’s Dad
Brìghde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us
Brooke Combe – Black Is the New Gold
Cloth – Secret Measure
Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
Joesef – Permanent Damage
Paolo Nutini – Last Night In The Bittersweet
Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
Tickets for the SAY Award are on sale now.