Here are five of the hottest Scottish singer-songwriters you need to listen to right now, as chosen by Barry Didcock
Scotland’s music scene is never short of new arrivals pushing for space and wanting to be heard, whether it’s bands or, as in this list of ones to watch, solo singer-songwriters. It isn’t all quietly strummed acoustic guitars, however: for some here it’s the piano for others the laptop, with its ability to provide beats, samples and synth sounds. Either way, it’s the individual, their voice and their lyrics which count.
Jacob Alon
It was a departure from the normal pub set in Edinburgh’s Captain’s Bar one night which set Fifer Jacob Alon on the road to self-expression. Into the usual round of folk tunes and covers Alon dropped one of his own compositions. The response was immediate – and good. And so began a journey which resulted in a slot on Later … With Jools Holland in 2024 and, following the release of debut album In Limerence in May, a place on the Mercury Prize shortlist. Alon, who uses the pronoun they, will battle it out at the Awards Show on October 16 with the likes of Pulp, Sam Fender and Fontaines DC. No pressure then. Speaking to The Herald’s Teddy Jamieson ahead of an appearance at Celtic Connections in January, Alon opened up about their Fife childhood, their difficult teenage years and finding their voice through music. “It wasn’t the thing that I set out to do, it wasn’t the thing that I was encouraged to do. I was actively discouraged,” they said. “So, to be doing it now with any form of recognition is amazing … The idea of people responding or taking something from the music is all I ever wanted. It’s a great feeling.” Catch Jacob Alon at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall on October 4 as part of A Night For MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians).
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Elisabeth Elektra
Euphoric art-pop with a Goth twist is the best way to describe the music of Elisabeth Elektra. The person serving it up, meanwhile, is a classically-trained performer whose visual identity is every bit as important and carefully sculpted as her music. Originally from Hexham in Northumberland but now based in Glasgow, Elektra first released an album in 2020 and followed that with a string of singles and remixes. Then, in 2023, came the EP Broken Promises, and in June this year she dropped her second album, Hypersigil. It met with glowing reviews. “A bold, windswept statement, full of colours in a black and white world,” was the verdict from music bible Mojo, while Clash Magazine pitched it as a mash-up of Nine Inch Nails and Lady Gaga’s “alien pop maximalism”. A recent support slot with The Sisters Of Mercy underlined Elektra’s Goth leanings, but you can decide for yourself when she plays Glasgow’s Nice N Sleazy venue on September 20 as part of cabaret night Queer Theory.
Katie Gregson-MacLeod
Born in Inverness, Gregson-MacLeod was schooled in piano and guitar from an early age and was writing her own songs by the age of 12. Aged 18 she released her first single, Still A Sad Song, and dropped her debut EP, Games I Play, a year later. She also found time to move to the capital where she enrolled at Edinburgh University to study history. Things took a turn for the surreal, however, when she wrote a song called Complex during the summer holidays, uploaded it to TikTok – then watched as it rack up seven figure views. A bona fide viral sensation, in other words. “I was inspired to write the song when I bumped into someone that unexpectedly brought up tons of memories and I became very reflective,” she has said of the song’s genesis. “I wanted to capture all those feelings in the song, so it was a very unguarded moment,”. The song itself, meanwhile, caught the ear of Grammy Award-winning American producer Greg Kurstin, who co-wrote Adele’s smash hit Hello and who has worked with everyone from Beyoncé to Paul McCartney. The Highland chanteuse signed to Columbia Records and released two further EPs of mostly piano-based ballads. Now signed to indie label Last Recordings On Earth and based in Glasgow, she dropped another EP, Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early, in July. Catch her on tour throughout Scotland from September 30.
Goodnight Louisa
Real named Louise McCraw, Goodnight Louisa’s downtempo electro-pop has been drawing praise since her debut album, Human Danger, was released in 2022. Fond of name-checking iconic female singers and actors – she has songs titled Grace Jones, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston – McCraw’s previous music-making process has included a two-week stint writing and working in a converted warehouse in a small village in the Westfjords of Iceland. Three years in the making, her second album is about to hit the shops. Titled Marathon, this one is inspired partly by her having taken up running. “Marathons take everything you’ve got, and this record took everything I had,” she says. “I started making it when I was 22 and finished it when I was 25. Throughout the years of recording the record I was not a very confident individual. I struggled a lot with coming to terms with my sexuality, illness, shame, and trusting myself.” It’s all in there. Marathon is out on September 26, and you can can catch Goodnight Louisa performing in-store at Assai Records in Glasgow (September 26) and Edinburgh (September 28).
Cara Rose
With a soulful voice reminiscent at points of Amy Winehouse and at other times – whisper it – the great Sandy Denny, it’s no surprise Glasgow’s Cara Rose has racked up plays as fast as she is winning fans. Having an accomplished suite of songs turning on love, loss and all that jazz helps a little too. The wistful Learn To Speak leads the way on Spotify with over four million streams but 2024 single Ever Been Changed isn’t so far behind. Alongside Pippa Blundell, another fast-rising singer-songwriter, the 27-year-old featured in the Widedays strand of the prestigious Made In Scotland showcase at last month’s Edinburgh Festival. She released a mini EP, How The Sun Rose, in the same month and following an extensive tour of Germany this month plays an intimate hometown gig at the Rum Shack in Glasgow on October 2.
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