Callum Beattie Eyes 'Milestone Moments' for 2026

Callum Beattie hopes to rack up what he calls "milestone moments" in 2026. The Scots singer-songwriter has a busy year ahead. He's releasing his first album as an independent artist, has a big show at Edinburgh Castle and is headlining Belladrum's opening night. "When I was younger I had nothing else really going for me other than my music," he said. "I had these big dreams and suddenly they are becoming real." Beattie's first two albums - 2020's People Like Us and then Vandals in 2023 - brought him number one successes in the Scottish album charts. His third, INDI, is out on Friday and it's his first release without being signed to a record label. "It's quite a big test for me," said Beattie, whose previous songs include Heart Stops Beating, We Are Stars and Salamander Street. "I genuinely think it's an amazing album. "The songs came very naturally and I think if it comes easy you are in the right place and they are probably good songs." Beattie said it was refreshing to have full control over his music and "making an album based on art". He said he no longer felt the pressure of having to talk about algorithms for music streaming platforms, or being told who he should sound like. "I love songs that have an identity, whether it is to a place or a situation in your life that people can relate to," said the musician, who grew up in Musselburgh. One of his new songs clearly rooted in a place is Always Rains in Glasgow. "I wrote that last year literally in my flat in Glasgow," said Beattie. "As cliched as it sounds it was raining outside, battering on the window, and I think I had been listening to Bruce Springsteen and stuff like that. "I wrote it in 10 minutes. "I wrote the chorus first. I just thought about a story of being lonely and missing people and how you can live anywhere in the world, but if you've not got the right people around you you'll always feel isolated and lonely." Laughing, he added that he had yet to write a breezy pop tune. "I should probably write one. Maybe I should cheer up a bit," he said. Something Beattie is hugely happy about is his first headline appearance at the Belladrum Tartan Heart music festival in the Highlands. He has a long association with the event, first as a fan and then as a performer. Beattie dreamed of playing at Bella when he was just 15, but he joked that his songs were rubbish and he was just a kid with no idea what he was doing. This year, he will be the festival's Thursday night main act. "For some reason the Highlands always gets behind me when I go up there to play gigs," said Beattie. "There's always an amazing atmosphere and they've taken me as one of their own. "To go and headline the festival will be a pinch me moment, so I'm really looking forward to it." But before Bella is a gig in his home city's famous castle in early July. "It's mental," said Beattie. "I used to play all the pubs around Edinburgh when I was younger, especially in the Royal Mile. "I used to wait on all the fans coming out of gigs and had maybe seen The Who or Paul Weller or Noel Gallagher and they would pile into the pub and I would be ready to play my songs to them and try to steal a few fans." He added: "It's going to pretty emotional. It's one of those things you will remember for the rest of your life. "It's milestone moments. They'll never leave you." Beattie said the gig would be a tribute to family and friends who have been with him through his journey, adding: "People I begged to go to one of my gigs on a Monday night and I didn't know how I would get through it."