What a fantastic evening we had in Glasgow on Thursday 5th March as we attended the Scottish Live Music Awards 2025 at Òran Mór.

We’re absolutely delighted to share that Heartland Festival was named runner-up in the ‘Festival of the Year 2025’ category. To receive this recognition after only launching the festival in 2024 is something we’re incredibly proud of.

The award celebrates festivals across Scotland that deliver outstanding live music experiences and support the country’s thriving music scene. The category was won by MacMoray Festival, and we’d like to place on record our congratulations to them on their achievement.

To be listed alongside other fantastic festivals such as Belladrum, Edge Fest, Tiree Music Festival and TRNSMT was a real honour for the whole Heartland team.

Festival Promoter and Managing Director Graham Howie said:

“We’re delighted to secure the runner-up spot in only our second year. This is a great testament to the dedicated Heartland team and all our fabulous supporters.”

The evening also highlighted just how strong the Scottish music scene is right now, and it was fantastic to see so many artists connected to Heartland Festival recognised across the awards.

The Laurettes, who will be performing at Heartland Festival 2026, were named runner-up in the Folk & Traditional Live Artist of the Year category, while Katie Nicoll, who will appear on the Friday night line-up supporting Marti Pellow on 26 June, won Young Live Artist of the Year.

There were also nominations for artists connected to Heartland, including Roisin McCarney, runner-up in the Electronic Dance & Pop Live Artist of the Year category, and Ben Walker, who performed at Heartland Festival in 2025 and will return to the Main Stage in 2026, who was recognised in the Indie / Alternative Artist of the Year category.

It was wonderful to reconnect with so many artists who have appeared on both our Main Stage and Discovery Stage, as well as others who will be joining us in Pitlochry this summer. The evening was a brilliant celebration of the depth of talent we have here in Scotland.

From the very beginning, our aim has been to create a welcoming festival that celebrates Scottish music while giving emerging artists a platform to grow. To see that recognised on a national stage is something that means a great deal to all of us.

Thank you once again to everyone who voted for us, supported the festival, and helped make Heartland what it is today.

We’re already looking forward to welcoming you all back to Pitlochry this June.