James Johnston: Bagpipes, Highland Cows and a Packed Night in Glasgow

Written by Lauren Page | @LiveWithLP

James Johnston is over from Australia bringing his country flare to the UK

There’s something slightly different about interviewing an artist after you’ve watched them tear a stage apart. Usually, I’m backstage before the show, chatting about what’s about to happen. This time, I’d already watched James Johnston walk out in front of a packed SWG3 crowd, bring a bagpiper onto the stage and somehow turn a Glasgow gig into what felt like a country nightclub.

So when I caught up with him afterwards, he was still trying to process it himself.

“That was amazing, I can’t believe that,” he tells me. “I can’t believe I’m here in Scotland, I’m in Glasgow, and we just played that show. That was surreal.”

Surreal is probably the right word.

Johnston’s first Glasgow headline show had already been upgraded due to demand, and by the time he hit the stage, the room was jam-packed. At the back, Maggie’s Line Dancers were somehow still finding enough space to throw themselves into routines amongst a crowd that was very much not designed to accommodate line dancing, but it was welcomed with open arms.

“They try and make their own space,” Johnston laughs. “It was jam-packed, but they still managed to find a little bit of room.”

The biggest Scottish moment of the night, though, came when Johnston performed his brand-new track Country Song, released just days before the show, complete with live bagpipes.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he explains. “Before I’d even thought about coming to Scotland, before I put this show on, I had that song. It’s been around for a little while.

“I knew when I was coming here, this is the time to release it. It was pretty cool to walk out there and have bagpipes in Scotland playing the new song.”

And because apparently Australia follows Johnston wherever he goes, the bagpiper in question turned out to be a fellow Aussie.

“I found probably the only Australian bagpiper in all of Scotland,” he laughs.

You genuinely couldn’t write it.

But Johnston’s connection to Scotland actually runs much deeper than a conveniently Australian bagpipe player.

His grandfather is Scottish, with family connections to Fife, and back home the Johnston tartan has always been part of the family.

“My grandfather’s a proud Scot,” he tells me. “At his house, we even had the Johnston tartan. He’s 96 now and he’s very proud.”

His grandfather had originally hoped to make the trip to see the show but wasn’t quite up to travelling. Instead, Johnston has been sharing the Scottish adventure with him from afar - making an already special first headline show here mean that little bit more.

And judging by the response Johnston is getting on this side of the world, it certainly won’t be his last.

With his Glasgow show packed out and Country Calling still to come, UK country fans have very quickly taken the Australian singer under their wing.

“The UK, I love you,” he says. “It’s crazy.”

“I still kind of pinch myself because I grew up in Australia. The idea that, as an Australian in country music, I can come over and play shows in the UK and people are loving country - it’s pretty wild.

“I didn’t even know if that was a thing that would have existed five years ago. Now people are showing up in droves and it’s pretty special.”

Before letting him escape to meet fans at the merch table, there was one final piece of important Scottish business to take care of.

After meeting the Maggie’s Line Dancers during the show, we presented Johnston with a Maggie’s Rock ’n’ Rodeo hat and T-shirt - complete, naturally, with Highland cows.

It turns out we accidentally found the perfect gift.

“One of the things that my wife is most excited about coming to Scotland for is Highland cows,” he tells me. “She is obsessed with Highland cows. To a point where it’s a bit dangerous because of how much she wants one.”

There is, unfortunately, one fairly major obstacle to Johnston adding one to the family farm.

“Where we live, it’s about 40 degrees in the summer, and I don’t think Highland cows are designed to be in 40-degree temperatures,” he laughs. “Otherwise, we would buy a Highland cow for our farm.”

For now, the T-shirt might have to do. Although Johnston reckons his wife may steal it before he even gets home...

From bagpipes and family ties to line dancing and Highland cows, Johnston’s first Glasgow headline show couldn’t really have been more Scottish if he tried.

The good news?

When I tell him I hope this is the first of many trips north of the border, there’s no hesitation.

“Absolutely. I’ll be coming back soon.”

You heard him. It’s happening.

Don't miss James Johnston's UK dates before hitting Country Calling Festival this weekend