Edinburgh to host top music awards for first time in history

Edinburgh is to play host to the Scottish Album of the Year Award ceremony for the first time in its history.

The Assembly Rooms will host the event in September under a £30,000 deal between the city council and the Scottish Music Industry Association, which organises the contest.

The £20,000 prize, which was first awarded in 2012, has been won twice previously by the Edinburgh-based band Young Fathers. Other previous winners have included RM Hubbert, Kathryn Joseph, Anna Meredith and Sacred Paws.

A special “Live at the Longlist” event will be staged at the Queen’s Hall, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019.

The SAY Award, which is also supported by national arts agency Creative Scotland, was first held in Glasgow before moving to Paisley for the last three years.

Robert Kilpatrick, general manager of the SMIA, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing the Scottish Album of the Year Award to Edinburgh in 2019. Edinburgh has no shortage of fantastic cultural events, but as Scotland’s national music prize, we’re delighted to see one of our country’s most exciting music events make its debut in the capital city.

“Edinburgh excels at providing a platform for many other cultural strands, so we are delighted to be working with the city council to amplify the cultural importance of live music in our capital city.”

Donald Wilson, the council’s culture leader, said: “Edinburgh is delighted to be the host city for the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2019.

“The award has gone from strength to strength and now represents the pinnacle of creative achievement in contemporary Scottish music. With Young Fathers winning last year’s award, it feels very exciting and relevant to be the host city for 2019.

“We are committed to making Edinburgh a great city for music on all fronts – from grassroots all the way through to our world famous festivals and venues. The ‘Live at the Longlist’ will be hosted in the Queen’s Hall and the final ceremony will take place in the Assembly Rooms.

“We feel this will provide a great addition to the exciting 2019 calendar of music lined up across in the city.”