About

Celebrating music genres and artists from across Scotland.

The Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA) recognises the best new Scottish music, shining a spotlight across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.

Throughout the year, the SAMA’s also host the following events:

SAMA Paisley Takeover - Two-day music festival
Pitch Scotland - Scotland’s hip hop & grime conference
Pitch International Showcases at New Skool Rules Holland, Future Echoes Sweden, FOCUS Wales, Wrexham, Pro Weekend Fest Spain.
SAMA x Liverpool Sound City - Scottish Showcase
SAMA x Pro Weekend Festival - Scottish Showcase in Spain
Scottish Alternative Music Awards - Annual music ceremony - 15th edition announced in 2024

The 7 SAMA’s 2023 award winners were:

Best Live Act: VLURE

Best Metal: Sixth Wonder

Best Acoustic: Alice Faye

Best Newcomer: Majesty Palm

Best Rock/Alternative: Bottle Rockets

Best Electronic: Casual Worker

Best Hip Hop: JusHarry

The awards were established in 2009 by Richy Muirhead whilst studying at university. Now in it's fourteenth year, the SAMAs have supported a range of award winning artists including Hannah Laing, Kintra, Bemz, Taahliah, Steg G, Zoe Graham, The Snuts, Gerry Cinnamon, Be Charlotte, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5, Fatherson and Lewis Capaldi.

SAMA are proudly part of global network and movement Keychange working towards gender equality within the music industry.

The awards are ran by a small team of creatives based in Scotland who have a great passion for music, events and collaboration.