Hit The Road is a youth music touring project for young musicians aged 14-19 in Scotland and this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. Previous applicants include the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Be Charlotte and Man of Moon. The project allows aspiring young musicians a chance to tour Scotland for 3 nights and work with industry professionals learning about life on the road. To find out more or to get involved visit – https://www.hittheroad.org.uk/
Devin Casson – @devincassonmusic
Singer/Songwriter Devin Casson (like the country but with an I) is from the Scottish borders.
Casson has a beautiful vocal range and some serious finger picking guitar skills. Mixing genres to create her own unique style, we were treated to some originals such as Too Much To Ask For (which had a great rap middle 8), The Shore and Left To Lose, which had a real delta blues feel about it. Devin is a bright spark and has such confidence on stage that even in a small room like Assai demanded the attention of the crowd.
Holly J – @hollyjohnson
Having recently had radio play on BBC Introducing Scotland with her track Wasted Time, at just 18 Holly is already getting heard in all the right places. Mixing pop and R&B, Holly brings a lot of soul into her set.
Johnson’s latest EP Perfect Timing was released in September, which includes one of her favourite tracks she’s worked on – Touch ID.
Holly and her guitarist Jack create a lot of melody for a duo, using creative loops with the Spaceship (what Holly calls Jack’s pedalboard). Check out her original material on Spotify.
Isla Scott – @isla_sct
Hailing from the Isle of Harris, it’s fair to say young singer songwriter Isla had travelled the furthest for this tour!
We were treated to some of Isla’s original material and some stunning covers including Birdy’s Lighthouse. Isla explained that she often doesn’t write in English as her main language is Gaelic. Her original song When The Night Comes was beautiful. I’m not going to be a fool and try and write the Gaelic translation of this, however I do hope she records this for everyone to appreciate it’s beauty.
Sin-È
Headliner of the night Sin-È hosted the Assai night of the three part tour. There was a lot of people there to support the Dundee singer songwriter which was great to see. Sin-È said she had been inspired by the Hit The Road Touring project and has put pen to paper and wrote a bunch of new material. It was unique to see a solo artist play electric guitar, which changed the overall feel of her set.
She opened up with her newest song My Big Fat Cowboy Wedding, which is inspired by My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Her songwriting has a real storytelling feel about it and at a young age it is clear to see she has a real talent for songwriting.
Included in the set list was her latest single This Is Alone and People That Lived in My House, also perfectly placed in the set was her own artistic spin on the King’s of Leon song Pickup Truck.
These young musicians really have some creative talent. The future of the Scottish music scene is in safe hands! A really wholesome Friday night with great music. I hope Assai can host more nights like this.
