KIRSTY BAIRD is to be awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of her work to support Sing in the City members and her community during the pandemic.

Community, inclusivity, friendship and charity are at the heart of everything Kirsty believes in. To date Sing in the City has raised over £100,000 for various charities in the community.

When the pandemic hit and lockdown happened, Kirsty found a way to keep going and wanted to help her members and community feel connected.

Her company, Sing in the City was celebrating their 10th year in business this year and had to change their entire operating rhythm.

Singing together in rehearsal places was no longer an option due to restrictions as a result of Covid.

Supported by Annette Hanley, musical director of Sing in the City, and her team they moved rehearsals onto a digital platform and incorporated a whole range of new activities to ensure their members could still interact, learn new skills and continue singing.

Through this, she was recognised as It’s Good to Give - Local Hero by Edinburgh Rugby.

One of the many initiatives to keep people motivated and engaged was a live acoustic session which Kirsty and Annette have performed every Friday since lockdown keeping people connected.

Kirsty and Annette’s band Hanley and the Baird released a charity single Follow the Rainbows which hit #3 in the Scottish charts and #27 in the UK Download Charts.

The song inspired by their choir members, tells the story of their choir family coming together, overcoming fears and insecurities and replacing these feelings with strength and positivity, whilst raising £5,400 for SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health).

This inspired the idea of Kirsty launching Chief Radio, in which the fundamental focus is supporting independent artists, promoting Scottish music and creating a community feel through combining broadcast and social media.

Along with Sing in the City and Hanley and the Baird, Chief Radio have raised £11,000 for various charities this year.

They have also donated 46 Amazon Alexa devices to date, to care homes across Scotland. The idea was born from the show in which Kirsty hosts Rock the Care homes, focusing on 50s and 60s music every Sunday morning.

Kirsty realised the people who would enjoy this show most were likely the people in care homes who probably couldn’t easily listen. She created a donation drive to make it easy to listen, enjoy and reminisce. 

Kirsty has also taken the lead on trying to reinstate the Scottish Singles Chart and is encouraging everyone to get behind this and sign the petition. This will ensure the music that the people of Scotland are buying is correctly represented in the UK, musicians maintain the opportunity to be discovered through these channels whilst retaining the recognition prospect.