Scottish Album of the Year Award Ceremony 2025
By Emma Carrington
As 2025 draws to a close, we are reminded of many Scottish artists that have put their talent out to the world this year.
The Scottish Album of the Year Award (SAY Award) ceremony takes place on 6 November, hosting some of the biggest names in the Scottish music scene.
Fighting for the place this year, we have bands such as Franz Ferdinand with their January release ‘The Human Fear’ and Beluga Lagoon’s ‘The Tombs O' The Faeries.’
These mainstream bands are neck-in-neck with Scotland’s alternative scene, with Bleed from Within’s ‘Zenith’ racking up votes. Bleed from Within also opened for Slipknot’s ‘Here Comes the Pain’ tour in 2024, setting them up nicely for their widely anticipated album to be under the spotlight at this years award ceremony.
Indie seems to be popular with the public voters, with Brooke Combe’s ‘Dancing at the Edge of the World’ and Zoe Graham’s debut album ‘TENT’ entering the shortlist by way of the fans – the other nine of which selected by a judges panel.
Making the shortlist in of itself is a coveted feat, this means your name is amongst some of the biggest names in recent music history. Putting your album on a pedestal alongside the likes of Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, and Twin Atlantic.
This year, the ceremony is taking place at Caird Hall, the historic concert building Dundee – at which The Beatles famously performed in 1963 and 1964. Hosting this year’s event is Vic Galloway and Nicola Meighan, with Galloway previously presenting the infamous ‘T in the Park’.
This ceremony will include notable performances from acts such as 2024’s winner rEDOLENT, jazz outfit corto.alto, singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and more!
The winner of the prestigious award gains not just the title of releasing the best album from Scotland, but also a £20,000 prize fund. With each shortlisted artist also receiving a £1,000 prize.
It is prevalent that the award show will be packed with talent and excitement, with numerous current and previously shortlisted artists making an appearance.
Tickets are still available to witness the ceremony at The Scottish Album of the Year Awards 2025. And the ceremony will stream live from the SAY YouTube page (The SAY Award - YouTube), starting at 7pm Thursday evening.