Singer Thom upset at being left off Scottish line-up at US festival

SHE is a chart-topping Scottish songwriter who counts the First Minister among her biggest fans.

But the singer Sandi Thom claims the Scottish Arts Council has left her out of a key showcase for Scotland in the US.

The singer, 27, is performing independently at the festival rather than as part of the Scottish showcase. She was not invited to be part of the official line-up by promoters and she blames the SAC.

Thom, who has performed I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker to audiences worldwide, said she was "hurt" and "confused" to be excluded from the official Scottish line-up at the South by South West festival in Texas, known as SXSW.

"I'm pretty upset about the fact that the Scottish Arts Council said 'No' to me performing on the Scottish stage," she said.

"It came as a real blow as it would have been so cool to represent Scotland."

Ms Thom features prominently in the Homecoming 2009 line-up, heavily promoted by Mr Salmond and the SNP government.

Born in Macduff, she has been living in England and recently moved to Brighton, although her parents still live in Scotland.

She performed at the A-list Ayrshire dinner kicking off celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth.

The event was the start of a Homecoming tour of Scottish cities with various guest artists. In Banff, she performed both with her father, Sandy Thom, and Mr Salmond, who sang Dougie Maclean's song Caledonia with her.

"Last year when I approached them (the SAC] they were really lovely and seemed very keen on the idea of me playing but since then for some bizarre reason they've changed their minds," she said.

A spokesman said bands were invited to showcase lesser known acts.

Ian Smith, the SAC's head of music, said the decision not to include Thom was based on music. He said that she had her own showcase at the SXSW festival and that including her in the official Scottish line-up would have kept out a lesser-known band.

Thom's song, Ungrateful Heart, has been included on a promotional Scottish CD, the SAC said.

Ten Scottish bands will appear at this year's SXSW which begins today.

It is traditionally where record distributors in the huge American market shop for new talent.

Over the four days, the performers will meet with international promoters, record companies and booking agents.

Two "Showcasing Scotland" events, presented by the SAC, will also take place.

The second event includes three bands – the English-based Primal Scream, The Proclaimers and Glasvegas.