The Hot 100 2017: 60–51
Rachel McCrum, Nico Simeone, Young Fathers and Kelly MacDonald among our favourite cultural contributors this year
Another blockbuster year of Scottish culture has just whizzed by and once again we've taken on the monumental task of ranking in order our top movers, shakers and pioneers. From award winners, artistic directors, new talent, experienced campaigners, great venues and memorable festivals, you should find all the people and places who made 2017 another landmark year for the arts and entertainment industry. But who has nabbed this year's top slot?
60 Wee Red Bar
As well as playing host to a regular stream of local and international underground talent all year round, Wee Red Bar has become home to many new LGBTQ+ nights including the excellent XOXO, synth-pop heavy Temptation and newly launched A Midsummer Night's Queen. (AQ)
59 Susan Calman
In a past Fringe show, Susan Calman recalled the days when she just wanted to dance in Swan Lake. This year, she's been strutting her stuff on Strictly. Thankfully, she found time to do that live comedy thing that she's also good at, stopping off for an emotional gig at the Traverse on The Calman Before the Storm national tour. (BD)
58 Catriona Morison
Winner of not one but two prizes at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World event (including being the first ever British victor of the main award), Edinburgh-born mezzo-soprano Catriona Morison is an ensemble member of Wuppertal Opera, featuring recently in their stagings of Rigoletto and Les contes d'Hoffmann. (BD)
57 Peggy Hughes
Taking up a new post as programme director at the Writers' Centre Norwich in November, Peggy Hughes leaves a large footprint behind on the Scottish literary scene, most recently as director of the Dundee Literary Festival and the (now sadly ended) Dundee International Book Prize. Her final event welcomed Jacqueline Wilson, Andrew O'Hagan and Denise Mina. (DP)
56 Nico Simeone
Glasgow-based Six by Nico serves a brand new six-course tasting menu every six weeks, each one based on a different theme. Nico's other restaurant, 111 by Nico, also continues to impress the city's diners, with affordable fine dining and a training academy for disadvantaged young people. (LS)
55 Rachel McCrum
Though she now calls Montreal home, Rachel McCrum remains a mainstay on the Scottish poetry and spoken-word scene. This was emphasised by her wonderful debut poetry collection, The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate, a lyrically beautiful and tender piece of work that draws attention to the strong and vulnerable voices of women. (AQ)
54 Green Door Studios
Founded in 2006, Green Door is a vital hub for the Glasgow music scene. Their youth courses have been game-changing, while their collaboration with the Tafi Cultural Institute in Ghana has brought about genuine cultural exchange. (SS)
53 TRNSMT
Fronted by Radiohead, Kasabian, Belle & Sebastian, Stormzy and Rag'n'Bone Man, the inaugural 'replacement' for T in the Park on Glasgow Green was an unqualified organisational success. We're thrilled it's coming back in 2018, hopefully with more female artists this time. (DP)
52 Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald popped up for a brief but crucial cameo in T2. However it was in the second half of the year that she really stretched her acting wings as a grieving mother in the TV adaptation of Ian McEwan's The Child in Time (pictured) and as a nanny in biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin. (HN)
51 Young Fathers
They may have received a ridiculous amount of backlash for it but Young Fathers' short film, Random White Dudes, made in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, was a terrific and bold interrogation of white privilege. The Edinburgh trio also contributed heavily to the T2 soundtrack, getting the seal of approval from Danny Boyle and Irvine Welsh himself. (AQ)