PITCH Scotland (27-29 August) 2025 programme announced
PITCH 2025 will also spotlight a strong cohort of Scotland-based artists such as AD3, Ay Bangz, CLING, Conscious Route, Eastside, intibint, Kai Reesu, KennyMgee, K Pence, Sherlock, Wends and Viv Latifa.
PITCH, the international hip hop conference produced by the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA), is back with a full programme of artists and speakers for 2025, running 27–29 August across Glasgow.
Entering its fourth edition, PITCH returns bigger than ever, with this year’s headliners including genre-blending New York artist Pan Amsterdam, known for his jazz-infused hip hop and latest Heavenly Recording’s album ‘Confines’; rising Jamaican-Irish rapper JayaHadADream backed by Balamii, Rinse FM, BBC 1Xtra, and Reprezent, whose raw storytelling has captivated audiences everywhere; and boundary-pushing German born.
This year’s programme also boasts a heavyweight lineup of international talent, including Rouzi (Serbia), a rising voice in the Balkan underground scene known for his raw delivery and genre-fluid style; Sika Deva (France), whose experimental blend of rap, poetry, and electronic textures challenges conventional hip hop forms; Lola Bunz (Canada), a Toronto-based powerhouse with razor-sharp lyricism and a growing reputation across North America; Harvey Whyte (England), a South London wordsmith fusing introspective storytelling with piano; and Leo Miyagee (Northern Ireland), a boundary-pushing artist whose thoughtful, jazz-laced soundscapes have earned critical acclaim on both sides of the Irish Sea. PITCH 2025 will also spotlight a strong cohort of Scotland-based artists such as AD3, Ay Bangz, CLING, Conscious Route, Eastside (Chef The Rapper, Princyboii, Madani), intibint, Kai Reesu, Kenny Mgee, K Pence, Sherlock, Wends and Viv Latifa. The final festival lineup was selected in response to an open call that received over 400 applications, with curation led by the PITCH team in collaboration with partners including Be United, Wide Days, Hip Hop Scotland, ZaZa Zine, and others.
Taking place at music venue Drygate, and McChuills Music Bar & Venue, PITCH will feature an array of panel discussions exploring career sustainability, access - education and equity, artist infrastructure, intergenerational perspectives, and global connectivity, plus workshops, music A&R listening sessions, 1-1 speed meeting sessions, networking receptions, short films, writing camps, and open mic sessions.
Notable speakers also include one of the most prominent regional hip-hop activists and DJs Phat Phillie from Croatia, Toronto’s Everton Lewis JR, a leading music supervisor with syncs on Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Dublin based cultural curator, radio presenter and artist manager Bekah Molony founder of Mo Cultivation, Dutch music journalist Pay Kolmüs who has interviewed many artists and industry moguls, such as Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Nas, and Vince Staples.
Further confirmed speakers include Micah Smith, the curator and booker of Crescendo Fest - a groundbreaking platform amplifying African Nova Scotian and Black artists. Jo Ricketts of Nxgen Management working with artists including grammy nominated Jordan Adetunji, plus homegrown executives from leading organisations including Raven AfriKulture, Unmastad, Studio GLA, Tiny Changes, and SNACK Magazine.
International music export plays a major role in PITCH’s activities throughout the year hosting stages at numerous events including SXSW London, and New Skool Rules Netherlands. Talent buyers are heavily reflected in this year’s festival programming including Cranium Arts Project (Ottawa), Soultrane Festival (Belfast), Pro Weekend Fest (Spain), SHIP (Croatia), and FOCUS Wales (UK). Since October 2022 PITCH, which is presented by Scotland's new music champions the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA), has exported Scottish artists abroad including AJforty7, Eyve, Bee Asha, Bemz, Kryptik, Namesbliss and Vagrant Real Estate.
Conference passes are available from £30.00, with evening showcasing tickets from £10.00 on Eventbrite.