When Kirriemuir musician Katie Nicoll nabbed her first gig in the town’s Ogilvy Bar, she thought she’d hit the big time.
At 13 years old, Taylor Swift-inspired songstress Katie was nervously strumming to punters with pints, having only picked up a guitar a couple of years previous.
Since then, she’s spent time writing and releasing her own tracks, playing shows and making a name for herself across the region by supporting indie hitmaker Callum Beattie.
Just last month, Katie’s latest single ‘jodi said’ gave her a second Track of the Week on BBC Scotland, much to amusement of her eponymous best pal.
“Jodi’s one of my best friends and I said that I liked this guy, because we go out quite a lot to the pubs and stuff,” laughs Katie.
“Anyway, she saw him once and decided she didn’t like him. So I kind of wrote the song as a joke and then decided that I liked it so much that I didn’t want it to be a joke. So I went ahead and put it out.”
The prolific young artist has also had a previous song, Be Mine, featured on a Ticketmaster UK advert.
“It feels pretty amazing when you work so hard, and then something like that happens,” she remarks. “It feels like it’s all worth it.”
Triumphant homecoming for Katie Nicoll
And now at age 20, Dundee-based Katie has returned to her hometown in glorious fashion – as the first official host of the town’s annual rock extravaganza, Bonfest.
“I’ve always been involved with the festival, just being from Kirrie,” says graphic design student Katie ahead of the festival.
“When I first started playing it was for fun, and I didn’t think I’d ever even start gigging.
“So I think my younger self would be pretty chuffed if she knew that this was going to happen.”
Her involvement with Bonfest began when she joined the DD8 Music youth group in her hometown at age 11, which is the organisation behind the yearly event.
“I have a lot of fun memories of helping out,” Katie recalls.
“At the time I went to DD8, a lot of the other young people played music, so it was fun to experience the weekend with them and go down to the big festival tent in the evening.”
Ordinarily, the Bonfest acts would be introduced on stage by DD8 chairman John Crawford, but this year Katie was asked to take on a more formal emcee role.
“Obviously a little bit nervous too because I don’t really know what to expect,” she admits. “They’ve not had a proper host before. But I’m really excited!”
Friend of the AC/DC family
Though the festival caters primarily to AC/DC fans, named as it is after hard rock legend and Kirriemuir native Bon Scott, Katie admires the variety of acts on the bill this year, with straight-up tribute acts mixing with rock, blues, and local up-and-comers.
“There’s a lot of bands I haven’t seen before,” she says. “The festival is a great place to discover new bands and meet new people.”
And having been a fixture at the festival throughout her teenage years, she reveals she has met members of Bon Scott’s family who travel to Angus each year from Australia.
“I met Bon Scott’s son (Dave Stevens), he’s been over for the last few Bonfests – though I’ve not spoken to him a huge amount other than to say hi,” Katie explains.
“I think he gets a lot of attention at the festival! But Bon’s ex-partner Mary (Renshaw) is lovely.”
Bonfest gives indie artists hope for scene
As an independent artist on the Tayside and Fife circuit, Katie admits it can be a “battle” to get punters out and supporting live music.
“Considering the scene here is so small, it does well,” she observes.
“The thing I struggle with most is getting people to come to gigs. It seems like a bit of a battle to get people to come out and buy tickets and support live music.
“But also it’s so difficult for everyone because of the cost of living,” she reasons. “It’s tough, but I feel like it’ll get there.”
However, despite the ongoing financial challenges of putting on Bonfest, the 2023 event turned a small profit, and Katie says the demand for the festival is palpable in Kirrie.
“Especially in Kirriemuir, the festival’s such a big thing and it brings so many people out,” she says.
“Even over the last few years, especially since Covid, it definitely seems to be bigger. It grows every year. And obviously people from all over the world come over for it, which is really cool.”
Here come the girls
As well as playing on the bill herself at Bonfest on the Sunday, Katie is excited to be prepping her first ever headline show later this month at Roots (formerly Conroy’s Basement) in Dundee.
Keen to support local female artists like herself, Katie decided to make the Roots show an all-female line-up, featuring Dundonian pop artist Neave Marr, plus local singer-songwriters Hoyden (Lorna Adams) and Sin-é.
“I knew I wanted to have all girls on the line up, because I noticed that there’s gigs all the time in Dundee, but there’s not a whole lot of all-female line-ups,” she observes.
“I thought it would be really cool to get everyone on the same bill and support one another. I’m so excited.”
And she was bowled over when the show sold out in just a couple of weeks.
“I’ve been wanting to do a headline gig for a long time now. I think I probably started thinking about it over a year ago, but I was always so scared to do it in case people didn’t come,” she reveals.
“But I went and planned it in early March and I’m disbelief that it’s sold out.
“The owners said this was the first sell-out gig since they took it over and the first all-woman one! So I felt quite proud when I found that out.
“It’s cool to be a first anything.”
Bonfest 2024 takes place from May 4-6. For more information, visit the Bonfest 2024 website. Katie Nicoll’s music is available on all major streaming platforms. You can keep up with her on Facebook or Instagram.
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