Katie Gregson-MacLeod on her upcoming album, the legacy of Complex and why festival stages should still feel intimate
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
Written by Lauren Page | @LiveWithLP
Some artists have voices that stop you in your tracks. Katie Gregson-MacLeod is one of them.
The last time I caught Katie perform was at BST Hyde Park last summer, and walking into TRNSMT Festival this weekend, she was right at the top of my list of artists I wanted to catch up with. Fresh off the King Tut's Stage after another stunning performance, the Inverness singer-songwriter was all smiles as we chatted about new music, life after Complex and why, no matter how big the stage gets, she's determined to keep every performance feeling personal.
"I do feel most at home in those intimate venues," Katie admitted.
"I'm able to connect person to person so much more easily. The bigger festival stages are a challenge because you're trying to figure out how to scale everything up but still make that connection."
Thankfully, Scotland makes that job a little easier.
"The Glasgow crowd always make it easy," she smiled. "Even today felt like an intimate gig in a way. It didn't feel different, and that's always my goal. I want to keep the feeling I have when I'm playing in a tiny room, just on as big a stage as possible."
It's that authenticity that's made Katie one of Scotland's most exciting songwriting talents. Listening through headphones is one thing, but hearing her live is something else entirely. Every lyric lands exactly as it's meant to, and every performance somehow feels deeply personal, even in front of thousands of people.
That connection stretches far beyond Scotland too. With almost 200,000 monthly Spotify listeners and fans scattered across the world, I wondered if she still gets surprised seeing just how far her music has travelled.
"When you see the list of countries, it's bizarre," she laughed.
"You're sitting there thinking, 'How did they find this?' Then I'll go on tour somewhere like Poland, somewhere I've never been before, and people are there singing the songs back. It's such a strange feeling."
For Katie, that's one of music's greatest strengths.
"It's the power of music. People connect with it beyond language. It's a feeling, and when that travels across the world, that's a really lovely feeling as an artist."
The conversation naturally turned to her latest release, I Don't Think of Kissing You, which arrived just days before TRNSMT.
"It's from an album that's coming out later this year," she teased.
"I probably can't say too much about it yet! But it's a piano ballad, which feels like going back to my roots. It's my first piano ballad single since Complex and White Lies, and honestly, I think it's my favourite song I've released. I'm really proud of it."
Of course, it's impossible to talk to Katie without mentioning Complex - the song that exploded across TikTok and introduced millions of people to her music almost overnight.
What's fascinating is that, four years later, she still hasn't quite got used to it.
"Sometimes it feels like a cover," she admitted with a laugh.
"It belonged to so many people so quickly. I'd written it and then suddenly millions of people connected with it. Sometimes I'll be singing it and think, 'Oh... that's actually my song.'"
Every so often though, reality catches up with her.
"You'll see people in the front row crying or singing every word and suddenly it hits you that I wrote that. It came from my own experience and now, years later, it's connected with people all over the world."
That impact is something fans continue to remind her of every single day.
"I hear so many stories about how that song helped someone leave a relationship, or process grief, or friendship, or just grow as a person. It still surprises me how many people tell me it came into their lives at exactly the right moment."
It's a beautiful reminder of why Katie's songwriting resonates so deeply. While Complex may have introduced millions of listeners to her, it's the honesty running through every song that keeps people coming back.
Before wrapping up, I asked Katie my favourite question to finish every interview: which artist deserves a little more love?
After already praising fellow Scottish singer-songwriter Lizzy Reid, there was one name she couldn't wait to shout about.
"Hector Shaw! He's one of my really good friends. I took him out on tour around Europe recently and he's incredible. He's very folk-influenced, an amazing guitarist and a proper poet. Every time I hear one of his new songs I'm just like.. how have you done that? If you like my music, I think you'll love his too."
With a new album on the horizon, a brand new single already capturing hearts and another standout TRNSMT performance behind her, Katie Gregson-MacLeod continues to prove exactly why she's one of Scotland's finest songwriters.
Whether she's playing to a packed festival field or a room of a hundred people, she has an incredible ability to make every listener feel like they're the only person she's singing to.
Katie's latest single I Don't Think of Kissing You is out now