Edinburgh artists feature on the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award longlist which has just been revealed.
Musicians from the capital are among those in the running for Scotland’s national music prize, after the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award longlist was published on Thursday – whittled down from an original entry of 303 albums.
Barry Can’t Swim and Boards of Canada lead the Edinburgh contingent, alongside indie band swim school, jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie and Sean Edo Morrison, who records as Sonedo and launched his debut album From Here On Out at The Jazz Bar on the Cowgate. McCreadie, a former SAY Award winner, returns to the longlist with his latest release The Shieling.
Glasgow is also well represented. Five-piece VLURE have been nominated for their album ESCALATE, described as a tribute to their home city, while Admiral Fallow, Emma Pollock (formerly of the Delgados) and The Twilight Sad make up the rest of the Glasgow contingent, along with Glasgow-born singer-songwriter Michael McGovern and the Hen Hoose Collective.
The late Beldina Odenyo of Heir of the Cursed is also on the list. She made Glasgow her home, though she was originally from Kenya via Dumfriesshire.
Her sister Leah McAleer said: “On 8th November 2018 Beldina texted me and said she was going to make the best album, and then we would tour the world.
“On 7th December 2021 I promised her that we would spread her songs as wide as words and music can travel. Since then we have worked together to release her album Heir of the Cursed, each of us committed to keeping those promises. It is heartbreaking and heartfilling to have this album on The SAY Award 2026 Longlist. I know wherever Beldina is she is dancing with delight, but her quote is probably unprintable.”
The 20-strong longlist includes six debut albums released in the past year, among them releases from Pippa Blundell, a former Sound of Young Scotland nominee.
The winner will receive £20,000 and the title of Scottish Album of the Year, announced at a ceremony on 5 November at the Caird Hall in Dundee.
Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: “It’s hard to believe that 2026 marks The SAY Award’s 15th year, with over £425,000 in prize money distributed to Scottish artists to date – and soon to be more. As ever, the 20-strong Longlist showcases a bold, intimate, powerful and ever-evolving recorded output from across our country – one that continues to inspire, captivate, challenge and connect. Music is at the heart of our cultural identity, and each year The SAY Award Longlist gives us the opportunity to reflect on both who we are and who we’re becoming as a nation. I’m incredibly proud of the value we continue to place on music, and on the album as an artform. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees. We look forward to celebrating their records – the soundtrack and stories of our lives – as we return to Dundee’s Caird Hall for this year’s Ceremony on Thursday 5 November.”
Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland, said: “The 20 works of human brilliance that make up this year’s SAY Award Longlist are an antidote to the negative impacts of generative AI to the music industry. These heartfelt statements of artistic expression in album form will make you cry, sigh, dance and cheer – the full spectrum of emotions that only music can inspire. With attention-grabbing debuts standing shoulder-to-shoulder alongside future classics by favourite bands, it’s clear that 2026 has shaped up to be a special vintage year.”
The SAY Award Ceremony is delivered in partnership with Fettercairn, with tickets available via www.sayaward.com. General sale begins on Monday 28 September.
In a few weeks the longlist will be cut to ten, with music fans invited to Have Their SAY in a 72-hour public vote.
The SAY Award Longlist 2026, in alphabetical order:
Admiral Fallow — First Of The Birds
Andrew Wasylyk — Irreparable Parables
Barry Can’t Swim — Loner
Biffy Clyro — Futique
Boards of Canada — Inferno
Brìghde Chaimbeul — Sunwise
Brògeal — Tuesday Paper Club
Emma Pollock — Begging The Night To Take Hold
Fergus McCreadie — The Shieling
Heir of the Cursed — Heir of the Cursed
Hen Hoose Collective — The Twelve
Michael McGovern — Thin White Road
Pippa Blundell — common thread
Sian — araon
Sonedo — From Here On Out
swim school — swim school
The Twilight Sad — IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE
Vagrant Real Estate — Neither Collar Nor Crown
Valtos — The Last Light
VLURE — ESCALATE
