Beth Malcolm with Heather Cartwright

Scottish Folk-inspired Singer/Songwriter and keys player

Scots Singer of the Year 2022, 2024, Scottish Traditional Music Awards

★★★★★ The Scotsman

‘Beth is one of the most inventive new artists brought up on the Scottish folk scene.’

Donald Shaw, Creative director of Celtic Connections, The Herald

Beth’s voice has a magical quality, stunning in its intensity and delightful in its captivating warmth. This talent alone, rightly, brings her many fans. However, at this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest (25) we were also blown away by the sheer ingenuity of her song writing, her capabilities as an arranger of traditional songs, and her ability to put together a measured and beautifully timed show.”

– Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producer Edinburgh Tradfest

‘Beth Malcolm brings passionate commitment to whatever she sings…a glowing future beckons.’ Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman

‘I just discovered Beth Malcolm’s voice recently…and was absolutely blown away by her voice. Absolutely fantastic.’ Kathleen MacInnes, BBC Radio Scotland

Scots Singer of the Year 2022 and 2024, Beth Malcolm has been surrounded by Scottish folk music from a very young age. Beth was only four years old when she first took to the stage at Kirriemuir Folk Festival to screch out ‘Ally Bally Bee’, and she has been performing ever since.

A songwriter, piano player and singer of stories, Beth has established herself as one of Scotland’s most sought-after young artists. Beth was still early in her career when she became an award-winning songwriter: winning Edinburgh Folk Club’s yearly songwriting competition with her song ‘Choose My Company’ in her teens. A few years later, her song ‘Leavin’ Loch Leven’ won a national songwriting competition.

While she studied History in Glasgow, and then spent two years teaching bairns at a High School outside Edinburgh, she took the leap to pursue her music full-time in 2022. Beth released her debut album ‘Kissed and Cried’ shortly after, which received a 5***** review in The Scotsman: "Beth Malcolm brings passionate commitment to whatever she sings... the album bursts with warmth. Judging by this debut, a glowing future beckons."

Now officially in her ‘quarter-life-crisis- era, Beth released her second album, ‘FOLKMOSIS’ in 2024. An autobiographical collection of self-penned and traditional song, ‘FOLKMOSIS’ is set in scene by spoken word. Not confined by genre, Beth takes the listener through her early years, as she drives through a songbook from Perth, her hometown, to the red fields of Angus, to sing with her Granny. Next, the album sings of her angsty, heartfelt late teenage years, and first experiences of the ‘world beyond folk music’. Finally, the story culminates with a returning to the music of Scotland, and songs that brought Beth home to the sounds of her childhood.

Performed live as a story, gigging ‘FOLKMOSIS’ represents a seismic shift in Beth’s creative life. Intrigued by the concept of gigging ‘folk stories’, she is currently writing album number three, which will also incorporate oral histories into her storytelling.

Outside of her solo work, Beth has collaborated with many performers, including NITEWORKS and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Adam Holmes and most recently with electronic outfit LUSA. She has spent these past years gigging around Scotland and the UK, and further afield to Europe and the USA.

Whether singing auld Scottish song, writing new stories, or belting out Joni Mitchell classics, Beth comes alive when she sings. Beth's music is not confined to folk, but the traditional influences are strong, and Scotland, its people and their relationships to each other, are her muse.