Glasgow Sessions

In this episode of Glasgow Sessions, host Richard Lee sits down with Glasgow rapper, DJ, promoter and community builder Raj Mahal.

Born in Rutherglen and raised in Giffnock, Raj discusses growing up with mixed Punjabi Sikh and Scottish heritage, navigating identity and belonging, and finding hip-hop as a vital source of expression. He reflects on family history, the challenges of building an independent career, and the role music has played in turning difficult experiences into connection.

Raj also speaks about his work across the Glasgow music scene - from solo rap and DJ sets to Raj Against the Machine, his six-piece jazz-rap collective, and inclusive events including Drum and Bars and Steer Queer. Together, Richard and Raj explore grassroots venues, the importance of local community, creative collaboration, burnout, live performance, and why showing up consistently matters.

Featuring four live performances recorded in the Glasgow Sessions Studio, this is an open, energetic and inspiring conversation with one of Glasgow’s most hardworking independent artists.

Follow Raj Mahal on Instagram: @rajmahalmusic

Listen on Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

#GlasgowSessions #RajMahal #GlasgowMusic #ScottishHipHop #IndependentMusic #LiveMusic #Podcast

In this episode of Glasgow Sessions, host Richard Lee shines a light on some of the brilliant artists he has had the privilege of recording and sharing through the podcast.

Featuring original music from AJ Davies, May Terra, Colm O’Sullivan, The Girl Upstairs, James Low, Archie Spencer, and Maddie Nisbet, this episode is a celebration of the talent, character and creativity coming out of the Glasgow music scene 🎶

Each artist brings something unique - and it has been an absolute honour to record their work, help introduce their music to new listeners, and support the independent artists making things happen across the city.

The aim of Glasgow Sessions is simple: to give great local artists another platform, help them reach wider audiences, and get more people listening to the music being made right here in Glasgow. These are artists who deserve recognition - and some of them have featured on BBC Introducing 📻✨

Please support the artists featured: follow them, stream their music, catch them live, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear what Glasgow has to offer.

In this episode, Richard Lee is joined by the incredible Kaz Sharply - @wittyandsharp / @kazsharply - for a conversation that has been well worth the wait.

Kaz brings warmth, quick wit and real honesty as we explore her history, the experiences that have shaped her, and the inspirations behind her creative voice. Along the way, we share plenty of funny stories, unexpected tangents and big laughs - but we also make space for a candid, heartfelt conversation about mental health and the importance of speaking openly.

It’s a funny, fearless and deeply human episode, full of creativity, reflection and connection.

You can listen to Glasgow Sessions on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Spotify. Follow @glasgowsessions for new episodes, behind-the-scenes moments and more from Glasgow’s creative community.

Out at Mugdock Country Park for some quiet nature and ambiance recordings on a warm Sunday afternoon, host Richard Lee stumbled into something completely unexpected: the Dunbartonshire Wind Ensemble in full flow.

What started as a field-recording trip turned into an impromptu live session with a multigenerational community band whose youngest member is 12 and whose oldest is in their 80s. After a chat, they kindly agreed to let him hit record – and this episode is the result.

This is exactly what Richard loves about Glasgow and the surrounding areas: you go out for one thing and end up discovering something beautiful happening in a corner of a park.

The next full Glasgow Sessions episode is with Kaz Sharply, but this little moment from today jumped the queue and he wanted to share it while it’s still fresh.

Enjoy this spontaneous session with the Dunbartonshire Wind Ensemble. If you like what you hear, give them a follow, support your local music community, and look them up on Facebook to see what they’re up to next. You can also find out more on their website:

https://dunbartonshirewindensemble.co.uk/

And if you’d like to keep up with Glasgow Sessions, you can follow the show on Instagram at @glasgowsessions, and listen on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

In this episode of Glasgow Sessions, Richard sits down with actor, writer, director, voice‑over artist and acting coach Kat Harrison – the working‑class creative force behind Chaos Collective and Break A Leg Academy (BALA).

They talk about Kat’s journey from youth theatre in Cumbernauld to founding her own theatre company and launching a pay‑what‑you‑can acting school in Glasgow, built to open doors that were almost closed to her. Kat shares what it really looks like to balance single parenthood, neurodivergence, creative work and community building in a sector that isn’t always kind to working‑class artists.

The conversation dives into BALA’s new production of John Lyly’s 16th‑century play Gallathea – a queer Elizabethan “romp” about love, disguise and identity – and what it means to stage that story in 2026 at The Ferry on the Broomielaw. Kat also reflects on the time she met and worked with @hitrecordjoe, and the vital work he’s doing to champion artists in a fast‑changing era of AI.

Along the way, there’s honest chat about access, confidence, class, and the power of small acts of kindness to change the whole direction of a life.

🎟 Gallathea – Show Info

Break A Leg Academy (BALA) presents Gallathea at The Ferry, 25 Anderston Quay, Glasgow G3 8BX, on June 15, 16 & 17.

Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 7:30 PM

More info: breakalegacademy.com

🔗 Follow

Kat on Instagram: @kat_harrison_creative

Break A Leg Academy: @breakalegacademy_bala

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

You can find Glasgow Sessions on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music – follow or subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

In this episode of Glasgow Sessions, host Richard Lee sits down with returning guests Keeks Mc and Cat Cochrane, and welcomes debut guest Kaz Sharply, for an hour of poetry and chat in modern Scots. Together they explore how the language is being spoken and written right now – in families, schools and streets – and what happens when that collides with TikTok slang and global internet English.

Across the session you’ll hear poems about family and home, school days and unforgettable classmates, PTSD and the way places hold memory, alongside the daft, funny moments that keep us going. The guests talk about code‑switching, emerging dialects, and why it’s vital that young people see their own language on the page, not just hear it in the playground.

The episode also touches on the growing support for Scots in competitions and funding, the pressure to “translate” into English, and the importance of staying authentic to your own voice. As Glasgow Sessions continues to evolve into a cultural archive, this instalment captures a living snapshot of how Scots carries who we are – right now – in this city.

Guests:

Keeks Mc – Instagram: @keeksmcpoetry

Cat Cochrane – Instagram: @catchochrane_writer

Kaz Sharply – Instagram: @kazsharply and @wittyandsharp

In this episode, Richard Lee is joined by three phenomenal poets and dear pals of the show: Keeks Mc (@keeks_mc), Stephen Watt (@stephenwattpoet), and making his debut as a fellow co-host of Glasgow Sessions, Dev McMath (@devmcmath_poet). Across the episode, we move from belly laughs to gut punches, talking Scots language and identity, Glasgow’s buzzing spoken-word scene, and the strange comfort of 90s nostalgia, VHS tapes, and Super 8 reels.

Keeks brings fiercely heartfelt Scots work about voice, class, and the “kinch wi death”; Stephen mixes whisky timelines, bats, and family home movies into that singular blend of humour and tenderness he’s known for; and Dev charts finding home in Scotland and trying to make sense of the chaos of the new twenties.

There are plenty of daft stories - from Irn-Bru sacrilege to teenage Disaronno schemes - alongside conversations about grief, dementia, aging, and why this city’s poetry community means so much to us. It’s a warm, raucous, deeply human episode, and we're delighted to share it with you.

Follow the poets:

Keeks Mc - @keeks_mc

Stephen Watt - @stephenwattpoet

Dev McMath - @devmcmath_poet

And keep up with the show at @glasgowsessions.

In this special announcement episode of Glasgow Sessions, host Richard Lee is joined by Dev McMath to reflect on how the project has grown over the past few months - and where it’s heading next.

What started as a grassroots platform for live music and spoken word has quickly evolved into something bigger: a growing cultural archive of voices, scenes, and stories from across Glasgow. With more artists reaching out and more listeners tuning in, the conversation turns to what that growth means, and how Glasgow Sessions can continue to develop.

Together, Richard and Dev discuss the vision behind the project, the idea of documenting the city in a meaningful way, and why now feels like the right time to expand.

This episode also marks a call-out to creatives across Glasgow - especially editors, videographers, and collaborators - who want to be part of building something that represents the city on a wider, international stage.

Follow Dev McMath: @devmcmath

Follow Glasgow Sessions: @glasgowsessions

Ash-Lee De Halevang joins us for a fiercely honest conversation about identity, transience, and finding home after a childhood stretched between London, East Lothian, Singapore, Malaysia, Cornwall, and now Glasgow. We talk about growing up dyslexic and uprooted, Warrior Cats as a gateway into reading, and the moment a single creative writing exercise catapulted Ash from bottom set to top set and set them on the path to becoming a writer.

Ash traces her journey from early filmmaking into poetry, the “real university” of open mics, and a three-year commitment to writing a poem a day. We dig into influences like Audre Lorde, Gil Scott-Heron, John Cooper Clarke, Savannah Brown, and hip hop, and what they taught Ash about voice, politics, and performance.

There’s frank discussion of mental health, dyslexia, and the feedback loop of sad poetry – as well as how community, mentorship (including Mothtales and Phil Thomson), and spaces like Loud Poets, the Lilac Collective, and Glasgow’s spoken word scene helped Ash find a more sustainable, communal way of making art. We also talk about working across poetry, scripts, and film, and how an idea finds its form.

A central thread is gender identity and trans rights: Ash shares the story of coming out as transgender to her parents last October, how that moment reshaped her relationship to their work, and what it means to create as a trans poet in the current political climate.

This episode contains personal reflections on mental health and one poem that engages with real-world politics, including corporate complicity in war. Listener discretion advised.

Follow the show on Instagram: @glasgowsessions

Listen to Glasgow Sessions on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

Peter Brown - Pete the Street | Glasgow Sessions

If you've ever walked through the city and spotted someone standing at an easel in the pouring rain - no umbrella, no shelter, just paint and canvas - there's a good chance you've just met this week's guest.

Peter Brown, known as Pete the Street, is one of Britain's most celebrated plein air painters. For over thirty years he's stood on pavements from Bath to London to New York - and increasingly, right here in Glasgow - painting everyday life exactly as it unfolds, in all weathers, never from a photograph, always in the thick of it.

He's a Past President of the New English Art Club, Banksy chose him to feature in Cut & Run at the GoMA, and just recently he was on Union Street painting the Glasgow station fire as it happened while the TV cameras filmed him doing it.

In this episode we talk about building a career from scratch on the pavements of Bath, painting lockdown London when the streets fell silent, his Banksy collaboration, why Glasgow has gotten completely under his skin - and his forthcoming Glasgow paintings exhibition.

Follow Pete:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petethestreet1/

🌐 Website: https://www.peterbrownneac.com/

🖼️ Glasgow Paintings: https://www.peterbrownneac.com/glasgow/

Subscribe to Pete's newsletter at peterbrownneac.com for updates on his upcoming Glasgow exhibition.

Listen to Glasgow Sessions on:

🟢 Spotify

🎵 Apple Podcasts

🟠 Amazon Music

📸 Instagram: @glasgowsessions

Glasgow Sessions is a podcast celebrating the artists, musicians, poets, and creative voices of Glasgow and beyond. New episodes regularly - follow and subscribe wherever you listen.