Scots singer Kerri Watt hopes to take her Americana sound to the next level

Rising Scots singer Kerri Watt once dreamed of living the country-pop royalty life of Taylor Swift.

Moving to California from a small village near Milngavie when she was 16, she went to a performing arts school in the States, affirming her love of the stage and finding the sounds of folk, blues and country.

But having seen the recent Netflix documentary on how Swift’s life was changed by being propelled into the spotlight, Kerri is more than content to follow her own path to success.

“I love her and always have done, and in my early twenties I thought that was what I wanted,” Kerri says.

“It looks really lonely though, and scary. There’s a lot that goes along with being an artist at the top. There’s a level of an artist which is just ideal to me, I don’t think I’m quite there but I’m getting there. You can play some really big shows but also those small intimate ones.

“For me the dream is to play my own headline tours to maybe 2-3000 capacity venues and keep writing for myself and writing with other people. I’m not sure about superstardom, if that appeals to me.”

Kerri is well on the way to achieving her goals, with her star on the rise in recent years.

She moved back home to the UK eight years ago, and the 28-year-old is getting set to release her debut album having built a following and earning huge opportunities across the country.

Her confidence in her talents and ability to perform in front of a crowd flourished from both watching and playing at open mic nights at the likes of Maggie Mays, Pivo Pivo, The Box, Nice and Sleazy’s.

“I had no idea growing up of the musical talent and diversity of styles in Glasgow,” she recalls.

“I moved away for a couple of years and lived in London and Brighton but since coming back I’ve been so inspired and encouraged by how many people were out there doing it.

“To see how much was going on in the music scene in Glasgow really shaped me as a musician.

“I didn’t listen to much blues growing up but I found there were loads of people doing it in Glasgow. That’s been a real inspiration too.”

New opportunities keep coming Kerri’s way, with backing from top stars in her industry.

As she chatted to The Sunday Post, for example, she was preparing for a trip to radio legend Bob Harris’ home to record a live session.

“I’ve listened to his show over the past couple of years, so to hear one of my songs on it was really special,” she says.

“I’m going to his house tomorrow to film one of his Under the Apple Tree sessions.

“Every month new things happen which are more exciting than the month before, it’s really cool.”

As well as radio airplay, Kerri’s music has been heard on some of the UK’s biggest stages.

She’s played Glastonbury, supported Celine Dion in London’s Hyde Park and joined Embrace when they opened for Coldplay at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

“The weird thing is, the bigger the stages and audiences get the less nervous I get,” she laughs. “I get more nervous about the smaller, more intimate gigs where I can see every face.

“They can hear every breath I take, but with the big stages I just go out there and have so much fun. I also get to play with a band which really takes the pressure off!”

One of the most special moments on stage for Kerri was duetting with top country star Keith Urban at one of his London shows.

No sooner had she arrived at the venue than she was told to drop her stuff and immediately head on stage.

She recalls: “I thought that maybe I’d meet him for a run-through of the song or something.

“I got there and they just threw me out on stage with his whole band and all his crew running around.

“Keith said: ‘so nice to meet your Kerri, thanks for coming, ok 5,6,7,8…’ I had three minutes then it was over and he was like ‘see you on stage’!

“He’s such a pro and it made me get on top of my game. When I went out there to do it with the audience it was a really magical moment and so much fun.”

Coming later this year is Kerri’s debut album, which she recorded just over a year ago in Austin, Texas.

She says she was keen to record on the other side of the pond, with her music having more than a touch of Americana influence.

Living there gave her a different view on music and her way of life, and has influenced the way she writes songs.

And having recorded in Glasgow and down south, she wanted to try something a little different.

The natural thing to do, then, was hire a heavy metal producer.

“I wanted to find a producer to do something completely new with the sound,” she explains.

“I always knew I wanted something a bit grittier, rockier, and I found that quite difficult to do on my own as an acoustic artist.

“Machine (a.k.a) Gene Freeman is Grammy nominated for his work in metal, but he was keen to break out of his genre and I wanted to do something totally wacky.

“It was this really weird but successful working relationship that produced this sound that we’re both really excited to put out.”

As well as the album release, Kerri is focused on a new project called The Spirit of Song, where she combines a love of whisky and music.

Later this month, she’ll play an intimate acoustic show at the Glengoyne Distillery, a place she grew up just five minutes from and where her uncle was once a tour guide.

“I thought how cool would it be to have a whisky and music night there.

“I’d never done the tour at Glengoyne having lived so close to it for so long. I thought it would be cool to support local talent and the distillery and a really nice night for locals and tourists passing through.

“They have a space with full length windows which look onto the glen at the back where the waterfall is and it’s all lit up at night. It’s a perfect space to host this gig.”

The show is an all-female line-up with Kerri joined by Liv Dawn, runner up of the BBC Scottish Songwriter Award, and Beth Keeping, founder of the Write Like A Girl movement.

Fittingly, it takes place during Women’s History Month.

“When I came up with the Spirit of Song and the March date, it was perfect timing,” Kerri says.

“People don’t often associate songwriting with women as much as men. If you look at a lot of the credits on big songs there’s a lot of big really talented male writers, but there are also so many amazing female writers who have great stories to tell.”

‘The Spirit of Song’ An Evening of Whisky and Music, March 20, https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-spirit-of-song-tickets-95845750219