The Sound of Young Scotland Award

Since moving from Pitlochry to Glasgow in 2021 to attend the jazz course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Dillon Barrie has quickly become one of the best known and most exciting names in the Glasgow Music scene for both his musical output and his drumming. He quickly made a name for himself through his hugely popular “Supersonic Thursdays”; a regular night of live music ranging from Jazz and Hiphop all the way to Dub and Drum and Bass which went from selling out the Blue Arrow Jazz Club every week to selling out venues such as the legendary Oran Mor. These shows cemented him as a dynamic force in the city through his unique and mature compositions, his exciting playing style and his creative design that surrounded each show.. Dillon has also been able to collaborate with many of the top musicians in Scotland such as writing and producing music for social media with Noushy Nanguy of the world renown band, Kokoroko, or stepping in to cover the great Graham Costello in the Rebecca Vasmant Ensemble. Through all of his work Dillon has strived to grab at part of creative design surrounding the music that he could, which led to multiple drops of supersonic themed merch and then eventually the first his own clothing brand called “Forma”, all of which sold out, or being asked to step up as the creative director of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in march of this year, presiding over the hugely successful “NU-Age Sounds” Tour in which 8 of Scotlands top Jazz artists came together to perform their music with the orchestra. Having lovingly ended his 2 and a half year run of Supersonic shows a few months ago, Dillon has been completely focusing on composing and producing his own music in preparation of finally releasing an official body of music. Most recently he composed 3 songs for his end of year recital at the Conservatoire which earned him the George Duncan Prize for Composition and an A2 Grade.

Alice Faye is a contemporary singer-songwriter with a distinctly vintage and unmistakably recognisable voice. Alice has an innate ability for live performance, coupled with a distinct singing voice and genre-fluid song-writing style that gives her an inspiring and truly unique sound. She has carved out this confidence and sense of artistry through her varied musical influences ranging from Vaudeville, 1940s jazz, 1960s pop and vintage-country. After years of introspection, solitude and practice, Alice burst into the Glasgow music scene with an unshakeable POV. She is an exciting hodgepodge of classic to contemporary influences, describing herself as 'variations on pop' (e.g. pop-opera or retro-pop). The musical world of 'Alice Faye' contains a whole host of moods and genres, with her voice acting as the glue that binds each song together. Faye's lyrics speak to the experiences of a young woman's heart, resulting in a fanbase that varies completely in age, lifestyle and background. Alice has had widespread airplay on BBC Radio 2 (Jo Whiley), Radio 6 Music (Guy Garvey), BBC Radio Scotland (various) and BBC Radio London. Featuring too in articles for the List, the Skinny and Snackmag. Recently, Alice also featured in 'The Piano' (Channel 4) representing Scotland with her original song 'Edie' for the show's final performance held in Aviva Studios, Manchester. She recently had the chance to support Rufus Wainwright twice for his Scottish shows in Perth Concert Hall and Eden Court Theatre. Alice Faye is a true perfectionist when it comes to live performance and songwriting, reaching a wide range of passionate music lovers. She is an Artist that will perform, sing and write songs for the rest of her life no matter what capacity.

Goliath is the artistic project of Jack Fagan, a twentyone year old singer songwriter from Airdrie.

Goliath has been writing, recording and producing music in his home recording studio for the past four years.

During this time he has won the praise and support of Scottish musicians including, Fran Healy of Travis, Mike Scott of The Waterboys and Duglas Stewart of the BMX Bandits.

His single Everybody Cries, was single of the week on Janice Forsyth’s Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland and was also played on the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 2.

Goliath also played a live solo session on the BBC Afternoon show following the release of his single, The Garden.

Goliath’s music is eclectic and doesn’t easily fit into a particular genre. His influences include, Frightened Rabbit, Animal Collective, Black Country, New Road, Grizzly Bear, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

After seeing Goliaths first gig, Cumbernauld FM DJ , George Paterson wrote “In fifteen, twenty years, I'll sit my grandkids on my knee and tell them that I saw Goliath’s first ever gig.” Goliath has since played with the BMX Bandits and was personally invited by Mike Scott to support the Waterboys at their Queens Park gig this past June.

Pippa Blundell is a Glasgow grown songstress. Her lyrics are prominent and raw with gentle accompanying guitar and layered vocal harmonies that wrap you in a blanket and hug. Her sound is influenced by her classical vocal roots, by the storytelling of folk artists, contemporary urban tales and ambient sounds, culminating in a modern hushed and intense experience that soothes yet soars.

Pippa graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2022 with a degree in Mezzo-Soprano voice, initially aspiring to be an opera singer her passions naturally led her to songwriting and composition. She found her true belonging in the pubs, clubs and venues of Glasgow’s thriving contemporary music scene. Her debut EP, “sisters”, launched in September 2023 as a set of four stripped back and reflective tracks, an interrogation of the women in her life and what it means to be a woman in your early twenties. In May 2024 she released her single ‘That’s Fine’, a love letter and reflection on her home city of Glasgow, about how the people of Glasgow support each other through difficult times with friendliness, humour, and a strong community spirit.

Pippa is now working with a four-piece band to bring a new depth and sound to her intimate performances. They have sold out headline shows at ‘Stereo’ and ‘The Rum Shack’ in Glasgow.

Pippa was one of the 5 nominated artists for the Sound of Young Scotland in the 2023 Scottish Album of the Year Awards and listed as an exciting upcoming act in 2024 by The List Magazine. Radio Scotland’s Vic Galloway named her as a Top 25 Act to watch in 2024. Pippa toured as the support act for Glaswegian Jazz Collective ‘Corto Alto’ on the UK tour of their Mercury Music nominated album ‘Bad With Name’s’. She was invited to perform at the 2024 Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s graduation award ceremony when an Honorary Doctorate was awarded to Vashti Bunyan In 2024 she has supported artists such as Rachel Sermanni, Kaia Kater and Constant Follower, appeared at music festivals across Scotland including Kelburn Garden Party, Solas, Eden, Doune the Rabbit Hole, Perth Festival of the arts and the Glasgow Jazz Festival. She has had radio plays across BBC Radio 6, BBC Scotland and has been championed by Roddy Hart with regular plays on his Tuesday evening BBC Radio Scotland show.

Since their official formation in April 2019, Spyres have racked up over three million streams on Spotify alone, with break-out singles Otherside, Fake ID and I Don't Care, all receiving an incredible outpouring of radio support from the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, Radio X’s John Kennedy, BBC Introducing Scotland’s Phoebe I-H and Vic Galloway. The reaction to the band has been mirrored in press with fevered endorsements from DORK, Gigwise, The Scottish Sun, Daily Record, Tenement TV and Distorted Sound at a glance. 

Making a name for themselves on stage, Spyres supporting credentials include The Jesus And Mary Chain, Nothing But Thieves, The Snuts, Soft Cult to name a few. In spite of the pandemic, in 2021 Spyres made serious ground in the live space in their own right. Their headline show at Glasgow’s King Tuts on the Summer Nights programme sold-out in less than 24 hours of the onsale date, and months later, the band sold-out London’s Old Blue Last, Glasgow’s Stereo and Edinburgh’s Mash House. In addition to this, Spyres made their debut at a number of major festivals; TRNSMT, Neighborhood, Live At Leeds, including a headline slot on the This Feeling stage at Isle Of Wight Festival. 

In 2022, the band released their highly anticipated debut EP ‘Dear Diary’, featuring the likes of Lost Without You & Test. Hitting the road for their first headline tour, Spyres took over the UK for a week on their ‘Dear Diary Tour’ selling out shows in Dundee, London and Leeds. Taking stage on the world renowned Barrowlands supporting local hero Declan Welsh & The Decadent West later on in the year, Spyres showed that they’re ready to take on these types of venues. This showed as they rocked their own headliner at Glasgow’s St Luke’s.
Since then, Spyres have released a 5-track EP, ‘Karaoke Sellouts’. Showing their range of talent through tracks like ‘Money’ & ‘Sleep Forever’. This set up Spyres nicely into 2024 where they supported NewDad just before heading over to the USA to play New Colossus Festival, New York and SXSW, Austin, TX.