Parents criticise 'inappropriate' Caity Baser set at youth music festival

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Caity Baser played TRNSMT the weekend before YouthBeatz By Nichola Rutherford , BBC Scotland  and  Lori Carnochan Published 8 hours ago Angry parents have criticised a youth music festival in Dumfries, amid claims singer Caity Baser swore and made sex references on stage. They say the 22-year-old musician asked the Youth Beatz audience - which included children as young as seven - whether they had ever had sex with a friend. Run by Dumfries and Galloway Council, Youth Beatz is billed as the largest free youth music event in Scotland. It is aimed at young people aged between 12 and 25. Baser told BBC Scotland News she was told she did not need to "censor" her set by festival staff, and apologised for "any upset". Dumfries and Galloway Council said it had received a "small number of complaints" which it was taking seriously. Image source, Dumfries and Galloway Council Image caption, Youth Beatz is a free festival in Dumfries for young people aged 12 -25 Scores of people posted their concerns about the performance on social media in the days following the festival last weekend. Annmarie Dowell said she knew a lot of Baser's music was explicit but expected her to perform "radio edits" to her young crowd. "What shocked me more than anything was openly asking a crowd of teenagers to raise their hands if they'd had sex with a friend. Completely inappropriate." She said that in introducing one song, Baser used an expletive and said she wanted to get "laid". "More thought should have been put into the act performing for the age range of the festival - not age appropriate at all," Dowell added. Image source, Emma Davies Image caption, Baser said she was "super sad" some people were unhappy with her set Another mum, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was "gobsmacked" by some of the language used by Baser on stage. She was there with her seven-year-old daughter and decided to walk away half way through the set. "I completely understand that that is the type of artist she is, that's what her songs are, but why book her for an event meant to be aimed at [young people aged] 12 and up? "I really don't think it's appropriate to be asking the audience to 'put your hands up if you have ever had sex with your friends'." Image source, Dumfries and Galloway Council Image caption, Youth Beatz is a popular annual festival in Dumfries Baser has more than 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with hits including Feels This Good, Pretty Boys, and Friendly Sex. She has performed at Glastonbury and Boardmasters, and supported Olivia Rodrigo at BST Hyde Park. In 2023 she was nominated for a Brits Rising Star award, eventually losing out to The Last Dinner Party. Her YouthBeatz set was due to begin at 18:00 on Saturday, when many young families were still in the crowd. 'I'm really sorry for any upset caused' Baser told BBC Scotland News she was "super sad" to learn that some people were unhappy with her Youth Beatz performance.