Cameron Ferguson has been announced as the opening act for this year’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, after being named as the winner of a talent search launched in collaboration with BBC ALBA.
BBC ALBA teamed up with The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival to find the best of Scotland’s up-and-coming musical talent last month, with artists from across the Highlands and Islands submitting their best work to win a slot on the Belladrum main stage. Following a rigorous judging process to whittle the budding talent down to a shortlist of just five, Tain-born songwriter Cameron Ferguson has now been chosen by public vote to open the festival in its 20th anniversary year.
Cameron’s music encapsulates a punchy guitar style, with dreamy open chords and hard-hitting lead, combined with bass that locks in with the solidity of the drums. With lush synth sounds and cutting vocals, Cameron presents a unique style.
Since late 2022, Arabella-based Cameron (19) and his band – made up of Glasgow-based Cameron Hill (19), Lanark-based Calum Duncan (19), Alness-based Jamie Mackay (26) and Inverness-based David Bromham (19) – have been tearing into the Scottish music scene, having played at legendary venues, such as King Tuts in Glasgow. To close 2023, Cameron Ferguson supported rising Glasgow stars Declan Welsh and the Decadent West following their sellout Barrowlands show.
Celebrating 20 years of Belladrum – and its longstanding support of Scottish artists – the search brings the spirit of the much-loved family festival to life, with the best talent ‘homegrown in the Highlands and Islands’ now given the opportunity to open the main stage on Thursday 25 July, kicking off the weekend of live music and arts.
Belladrum brings together top musical acts, comedy, cabaret, spoken word, dance, drag and even wrestling as part of the annual family-friendly festival, with Cameron joining the star-studded line-up which includes Deacon Blue, James Arthur, Twin Atlantic and Sugababes.
Cameron Ferguson said: “Our hearts have been warmed by the amount of support during the public vote. It has blown us away. Massive love to everyone who voted, it wouldn’t have been possible without you. Also, a huge thanks to BBC ALBA and the Belladrum team for the opportunity. As an artist from the Highlands, I feel incredibly proud to be opening the Hot House Stage this year.
“The band and I are absolutely ecstatic and can’t wait to get up on that stage to showcase some homegrown rock ‘n’ roll, straight from the Highlands.”
Cameron will also have the opportunity to play an acoustic session in the BBC ALBA studio which will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer as part of the broadcaster’s festival coverage.
Calum McConnell, Commissioning Executive at BBC ALBA, said: “We’re always eager to spotlight emerging, local talent and so it’s great to be able to showcase Cameron’s exciting brand of driving rock music on the main stage of the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival – especially in its milestone 20th anniversary year.
“Belladrum is a highlight in our summer festival schedule, and we are excited to bring the best of the weekend to viewers across the country, thanks to funding from MG ALBA. We look forward to celebrating the vibrant mix of music and arts that Belladrum is known for, and to sharing the performances of this year’s talented line-up with our national audience.”
Dougie Brown, Belladrum festival producer, said: ‘We are delighted to have partnered with BBC ALBA on our talent search to open the main stage and can’t wait to welcome Cameron to the festival. Supporting the next generation of Highlands and Islands artists is at the heart of Belladrum and we look forward to watching Cameron’s journey!”
Musicians were invited to apply to the BBC ALBA Belladrum talent search by submitting a bio and link to their music, with entries judged by a panel of experts, including Megan MacLellan, presenter of BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s ‘new music’ show Rapal, Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis, and Belladrum representatives.
The shortlist then went to public vote on the Belladrum website, with Cameron narrowly beating out fellow finalists and Highlands and Islands natives Ali Macfarlane (a singer-songwriter from the Isle of Skye), Scotstown Dance Band (an indie-ceilidh group from the Western Highlands), HJEM (a dynamic four-piece band born and raised Inverness) and El Sartel (a Scottish indie band from Skye and Lochalsh).
For those unable to attend Belladrum, BBC ALBA will be bringing the best of the festival to viewers at home with its annual live coverage broadcast across the weekend, available on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer. A series of BBC iPlayer exclusives are also set to go live from Friday 26 July, with 33 live sets from a mix of artists performing on the Garden Stage and Hot House Stage, as well as special BBC ALBA acoustic sessions.
Watch live or on demand from Thursday 25 July: Belladrum on BBC ALBA.
