Scottish Alternative Music Awards

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Scottish Alternative Music Awards Scottish Alternative Music Awards
"A huge celebration of underground Scottish music" - The National

The SAMAs (Scottish Alternative Music Awards) promote, celebrate, and champion Scottish music through hosting events. The SAMAs are an annual award ceremony, and host other events including Paisley Takeover, stages at Liverpool Sound City, and Sonica Glasgow. You can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube officialsama.co.uk

For music submissions, general enquiries or sponsorship email Richy Muirhead: [email protected]

For media enquiries email Anastasia Connor @ Noise Unit PR: [email protected]

We can’t wait to be back in Castellón! 🇪🇸This week we’re heading back to Pro Weekend Fest with some amazing artists who ...
12/10/2026

We can’t wait to be back in Castellón! 🇪🇸

This week we’re heading back to Pro Weekend Fest with some amazing artists who are making waves in the Scotland’s music scene 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Come say hi and check out their performances across various venues as well as our panel with Clare Renfrew ✨

We’re thrilled to announce D I C T A T O R as the first live performance for this year’s SAMAs! ⚡️The West Lothian four-...
06/10/2026

We’re thrilled to announce D I C T A T O R as the first live performance for this year’s SAMAs! ⚡️

The West Lothian four-piece blend hip hop, funk, jazz and indie into a sound that’s entirely their own. Former SAMA award winners, Dictator have built a reputation for their bold, eclectic sound and high-energy live shows, with influences ranging from Gorillaz and Nas to Portishead and DJ Premier.

Championed by BBC 6 Music, the band have shared stages with Young Fathers and Glasvegas, and taken their live show across the UK, Europe and USA, continuing to carve out their own lane within Scotland’s music scene.

Catch Dictator live at the SAMAs ceremony on Saturday 28 November at St Luke’s, Glasgow.

Early bird tickets are available now via 🎟️

Nominations coming soon! ✨

Tallinn Music Week welcomes musicians from all around the world across various genres and backgrounds – from solo acts a...
30/09/2026

Tallinn Music Week welcomes musicians from all around the world across various genres and backgrounds – from solo acts and ensembles to rap crews and contemporary classical performers, from experimentalists to pop acts, and from electronic producers to jazz and folk players. 

The line-up of about 180 artists, selected from applications, is presented across various venues in Tallinn to an audience of around 20,000 and over 1,000 industry professionals on 8 – 11 April 2027. 

Deadline: 26th of October 23:59 EET / 22:59 CET

The SAMA Music Roundup is back after a short break! 🎧As festival season starts to wind down and we head into award seaso...
25/09/2026

The SAMA Music Roundup is back after a short break! 🎧

As festival season starts to wind down and we head into award season, we’re rounding up some of the new music that’s been on our radar this September.

From bold new releases to artists pushing their sound in new directions, here’s what we’ve been listening to:

Begho - Soft Launch
Birdvox - Shape Of A Friend
Bloody Shield - Gucci Mane
Fright Years - Dye Star
Katherine Aly - WHITE KNIGHT [for the saviour]
National Playboys - Drowning
North Atlas - Rivers
philomenah - sovereign
Possibly Jamie - I Did It All For You
Sin Clair - Affirmations #2

Listen now at officialsama.com 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Introducing your host for SAMA 2026 ⚡️We’re delighted to announce that Stephanie Cheape will be hosting the 17th edition...
22/09/2026

Introducing your host for SAMA 2026 ⚡️

We’re delighted to announce that Stephanie Cheape will be hosting the 17th edition of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards at St Luke’s, Glasgow on 28 November.

A singer-songwriter, music presenter and storyteller, Stephanie is the presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, championing emerging artists and shining a light on Scotland’s next generation of talent.

From BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music to her own career as a Sony-signed artist, Stephanie brings experience from both sides of the microphone to this year’s ceremony.

We can’t wait to have her join us for SAMA 2026 🏆
Early bird tickets now live via Eventbrite or the link in our bio!

The Scottish Alternative Music Awards are back for 2026! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿We’re excited to announce that the 17th edition of the S...
15/09/2026

The Scottish Alternative Music Awards are back for 2026! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We’re excited to announce that the 17th edition of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards is coming back to St Luke’s, Glasgow on 28 November 2026.

We’ll be celebrating another year of Scotland’s most exciting independent and alternative music, bringing together artists, industry and our wider music community for one big night.

Save the date. More details coming soon.

Grab your early bird ticket now via the link in our bio!

📅 Saturday 28 November 2026
📍 St Luke’s, Glasgow

This week we’re off to SHIP in Croatia as part of our ongoing partnership through SAMA andPITCH ! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇭🇷SAMA founder ...
07/09/2026

This week we’re off to SHIP in Croatia as part of our ongoing partnership through SAMA and
PITCH ! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇭🇷

SAMA founder Richy Muirhead joins the conference programme to moderate “Beyond The Golden Market” panel alongside Francine Gorman (Bad Rituals/The Great Escape), Debbie Clare (LittleBig Agency), Lisa Branigan (Re-Play Music/Green Futures Glastonbury), and Olaf Furniss (Wide Days) while previous SAMA nominees DOSS are also on the programme, bringing their uncompromising electronic post-punk and ferocious live show to Sibenik!

Catch DOSS at Azimut on 10th September at 00:20.

This week we're off to SHIP in Croatia as part of our ongoing partnership through SAMA and PITCH Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇭🇷SAMA...
07/09/2026

This week we're off to SHIP in Croatia as part of our ongoing partnership through SAMA and PITCH Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇭🇷

SAMA founder Richy Muirhead joins the conference programme to moderate “Beyond The Golden Market” panel alongside Francine Gorman (Bad Rituals/The Great Escape), Debbie Clare (LittleBig Agency), Lisa Branigan (Re-Play Music/Green Futures Glastonbury), and Olaf Furniss (Wide Days) while previous SAMA nominees DOSS are also on the programme, bringing their uncompromising electronic post-punk and ferocious live show to Sibenik!

Catch DOSS at Azimut on 10th September at 00:20.

Castellón 🇪🇸 We’re excited to be returning to Pro Weekend this October collaborating with PITCH Scotland , showcasing t...
10/08/2026

Castellón 🇪🇸 We’re excited to be returning to Pro Weekend this October collaborating with PITCH Scotland , showcasing three exciting Scottish artists: Alice Faye, Waverley and Wends! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

See you there! http://proweekendfest.com

GLASGOW. ⭐️What an amazing night at the iconic Old Fruitmarket on Friday!Massive thank you to everyone who came along to...
03/08/2026

GLASGOW. ⭐️

What an amazing night at the iconic Old Fruitmarket on Friday!

Massive thank you to everyone who came along to support live music and the four incredible artists on the bill: Vlure, Chiedu Oraka, Dirty Faces, and Jenn Gunn.

As ever, none of this is possible without the amazing people working behind the scenes at Merchant City Festival, Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and Glasgow Life. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen!

Next stop, SAMA heads to Pro Weekend Fest in Castellón this October, before returning home for the 17th Scottish Alternative Music Awards this November.

📸 Photography by the talented

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