Getting To Know... Bethany Ferrie

After being shortlisted for the BBC Radio Scotland Singer/Songwriter Award in 2019 and playing King Tut's New Year's Revolution, emerging frontwoman Bethany Ferrie now returns to deliver her stunning new single 'Stayed.'

Dubbed as somewhere between the sound of Fleetwood Mac and Taylor Swift, her latest offering looks to put a smile on the face of anyone who hears it. With its bright and euphoric indie-pop tones, this new delight shows exactly why so many have been keen to tag her as the next big name to emerge from Scotland.

So with her profile rising at a soaring rate, we caught up with Bethany to find out more about her earliest beginnings and what has led her to this point in her career.

-

What was the first instrument you fell in love with?

I was 10 when I picked up the guitar. I loved the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift and I wanted to be just like them when I was younger. It’s hard to fall in love with an instrument when you’re just starting to learn; it hurts, your fingers hurt, and you can’t get the sound out of it that you know it’s supposed to make. But once I got that first chord, it was kind of game over for me and I couldn’t put it down. I’m glad I did though, it’s a skill that’s served me well this far.

What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?

I write a lot of songs from stories in my head. I write a lot from books and sometimes what I watch and other people. But I think I get the most out of it when it’s something I’ve been through personally; sometimes you need that experience to fully grasp what the feeling of something is like.

What kind of music did you love as a teenager?

My earlier teenage years were full of Justin Bieber, something my mum was sure I was going to grow out of. It’s only just now that I’ve grown out of it at 22. I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since Love Story first came about and that’s something I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of.

I never really stuck to one genre; I liked Arctic Monkeys and Catfish and the Bottlemen and then I liked really acoustic artists like Ed Sheeran and obviously, One Direction.

Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?

I don’t think I could put it down to one song. I grew up and my dad always had a mix CD in the car and it was always a very eclectic mix; I remember it was Dixie Chicks and Fountains of Wayne and Jags. If I’m totally honest, it took me a good few years into my teenage years to realise it was what I wanted to do and not until I finished high school and moved into university that I figured out to pursue it as a career.

When you wake up in the morning, what kind of music do you like to listen to?

I usually stick on a playlist. I set monthly playlists for myself so I’m not listening to the same stuff over and over again. I pick out any new tracks or albums that have just come out and some really old songs that I forget about and just let it shuffle.

How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?

It’s only over the past year or so that I’ve taken my writing seriously. I think if I’d been writing in high school I’d have a lot more songs around teen angst and thinking I loved someone when I clearly didn’t, so the numbers are not as high as some people might think. The songs I have written about people are all in many, many different notebooks so I don’t know the actual amount. I have a lot of feelings that I don’t share unless it’s in a song.

What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?

Just a few months into my music career and releasing music and starting to take things seriously, I was shortlisted as one of ten semi-finalists for a singer/songwriter award. It was a new thing run by BBC Radio Scotland. I got to record a live performance of a song I wrote in their studios and it was a bit surreal how it all happened so quickly after I first started really putting myself out there. It definitely gave me a bit of encouragement that my songwriting was good.

Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?

I haven’t really had anything else going for me but music since I was young; which probably isn’t the brightest idea since it’s such an up and down business. I think I fell a little bit in love with words and the way the biggest of meanings can be put down into as little as three words.

If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?

Leaving school, I would have no idea. Now, however, I would probably go into English. Reading was a task in high school and you kind of hate it when the teacher told you to read a full chapter that night for the next day but now I’m working my way through books I missed out on in high school.

And what advice would you give to those looking to start a career in music?

Put yourself out there as soon as you can. Even if it’s just local talent shows or school talent shows or a video on YouTube or Instagram to start.

-

Bethany Ferrie's new single 'Stayed' is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to it in the player below.