AMPLIFI April 2023

The Queen's Hall presents Season 2 of our gig series showcasing the sounds of modern Scotland.

With artists hand-picked by guest curators Arusa Qureshi and Halina Rifai of We Are Here Scotland - staged in our intimate performance space - AMPLIFI presents an exciting opportunity to see new and rising artists in a setting designed to amplify their voices and put them centre stage.

PERFORMERS:

James Liandu is a musical artist hailing from Dundee, Scotland, who puts a completely different spin on the term “singer/songwriter”. He is all about making music that you can really feel. Taking influence from every song, every project he’s been a part of, and everyday life; he applies it all to his music. 

So far, he has dropped a debut EP (2020) & 4 singles (2020 - present). These songs showcase the different sides to him musically, showing that he won’t box himself in any specific genre, rather create something of his own nature. Expect a lot more to come… 

Alyssa Chan rose to fame on the BBC show ’The Traitors’ which launched late last year and became a massive hit with over 3 million views gripped by the high-octane programme.

Music is a huge passion of Alyssa’s and with her incredible talent, she is hoping to pursue this passion as a career.

Nyla is a singer-songwriter from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, now living in Glasgow. Armed with an electric ukulele, she sings songs about grief and yearning. She has played bass in punk band Joyce Delaney since 2012. When not making music, she can be found reading.

CURATORS:

Arusa Qureshi is an award-winning writer, editor and speaker with a passion for music, diversity and accessibility within arts and culture. Her book about women in UK hip hop, ‘Flip the Script’, is out now via 404 Ink. She has bylines in The Guardian, NME, Clash, Time Out, The Forty-Five and The Scotsman.

Halina Rifai is a podcast producer, music writer, PR & digital marketer. She founded music site Podcart in 2009 and went on to become a podcast producer, working with the likes of BBC Scotland, The Big Light, Mental Health Foundation, Fringe of Colour and more. She works in PR & Marketing with Scottish Women Inventing Music and Dardishi: a creative platform for Arab & North African women and gender monitories.

Supported by Creative Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council.

Winner of the Creative Edinburgh 'Inclusion' Award.

Presented by The Queen’s Hall and We Are Here Scotland