In September 2019, Scottish singer-songwriter Liv Dawn was selected as a finalist in the prestigious BBC Radio Scotland’s Singer/Songwriter of the Year Award. Liv showcased her talent at the live award final held at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow and her song which was originally shortlisted, ‘Welcome Home’, lead Liv on her journey to the final.
Through the duration of the award, Liv gained radio play on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Mornings With Kaye Adams’ and ‘The Afternoon Show With Grant Stott’ as well as being invited on the show to perform a live version of ‘Welcome Home’ and undergo an interview with Grant, who commented: “We look forward to following what is undoubtedly going to be a very exciting musical career.” Liv also gained press coverage from the BBC, Scottish Field, Daily Record, Alive and Gigging and the Observer.
The live final was hosted by Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross and Liv performed in front of five judges – Karine Polwart, Horse McDonald, Fran Healy, Dee Bahl and Geoff Ellis. Horse McDonald mused that Liv’s musical ability had “grown a hundred-fold” throughout the competition and continued to describe Liv’s performance as being “blown away” and “a really, really good performance”. Ricky Ross also praised Liv’s performance by saying: “Absolutely amazing, just watching you, you seem so at home. Great performance, well done.”
A year later, within the duration of lockdown, Liv created a fuller version of ‘Welcome Home’ in her small studio set-up at home. Eslpeth Mackay, a strings performer at the Singer/Songwriter Award, crafted a cello arrangement along with Gus Harrower, one of the other finalists, recorded a piano track to compliment Liv’s original melody. Liv wanted to involve individuals linked with the Singer/Songwriter Award within the creative process to keep and highlight the special connection between her song and the award.
Within one week of release, ‘Welcome Home’ has already gathered support and radio play from BBC Radio Scotland, Amazing Radio, Chris Country and Pulse Radio. Amazing Radio’s Jim Gellatly described the single as “a beautiful song” and Tim Prottey-Jones from Chis Country Radio described Liv as an “immense talent” and how “Welcome Home is a wonderfully written track that really shows off Liv’s voice and writing talents”. ‘Welcome Home’ was aired on the Iain Anderson Show, co-hosted by Horse McDonald, who spotlighted Liv’s new release. The single has also been featured and added to Scottish release playlists curated by Off The Record and Alive and Amplified.
‘Welcome Home’ tells the tale of a friend returning home who Liv has not seen in a long while, and she asks if time has changed them. The single touches on mental health, the importance of looking after oneself and growing as a person. A story is lyrically unfolded from a special connection to someone and holding onto hope, while the raw, emotive sense is drawn from beneath Liv’s powerful vocals. Liv is releasing a home-made lyric video for ‘Welcome Home’ nearing the end of December.