Scottish Album of the Year Award heading to Dundee

The Scottish Album of the Year Award has a new home. The annual prize is heading north to Dundee, with the 2025 ceremony set to be the first in a three-year run in the city after three editions in Stirling. This year's SAY Award will be presented at the Caird Hall on 6 November, with 2024 winners rEDOLENT the first acts confirmed for the ceremony.

With its £20,000 top prize and sparkling set of past winners, The SAY Award has fast become one of the most important music prizes in the UK. Past winners include Sacred Paws, Mogwai, Auntie Flo, Young Fathers – to date, the only act to win the award twice – and the aforementioned rEDOLENT.

The SAY Award also incorporates the Modern Scottish Classic Award and the Sound of Young Scotland Award, details of which will be announced later in the year, as well as the SAY Award Design Commission. The Design Commission, inviting local Dundee designers and makers to put themselves forward to produce bespoke awards for this year's nominees, offers a £3,000 fee for design and materials – full details on the SAY Award website. 

SAY Award season kicks off in earnest next week, with the open submission process for eligible Scottish albums beginning on 1 July. Bands, labels and music lovers will have the month of July to put forward their favourite Scottish records from June 2024 to May 2025 – those will then be winnowed down to a 20-album longlist by 100 nominators from across Scotland's music scene. Those 20 will then be narrowed down further to form this year's shortlist.

Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director at the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), which runs the SAY Award, said: "Dundee has long been a city we’ve aspired to bring SAY to, and now feels like the perfect time to do so. From iconic artists and grassroots music venues to major cultural institutions and a proud DIY spirit, it’s a place where creativity, innovation and collaboration are deeply embedded, and we’re honoured to be adding to its rich musical heritage."

The SAY Award 2025 ceremony is at Caird Hall, Dundee on 6 Nov; Early Bird tickets are available now via sayaward.com