TikTok sensation Ben Walker is switching from performing online to preparing for the biggest gig of his career.
The Montrose musician started posting his work from a local farm near his hometown in 2022.
Since then, the 21-year-old has shot to stardom playing festivals such as TRNSMT, Manchester’s Tramlines and Y Not in Derbyshire.
He was also crowned the ‘Scottish Young Live Artist of the Year ‘ at the Scottish Live Music Awards last year.
Now, Ben is gearing up to play in front of hundreds at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow on February 14.
He told STV News: “It’s been an absolutely nuts year; I mean, at the start of last year, I headlined King Tut’s in Glasgow, which was an absolute dream come true; it’s been on the bucket list since I left school.
“We got a couple of awesome festivals last year. It was just an absolute crazy year, and I’m really excited to get into 2025.”
Many of his inspirations draw from his experiences of bullying, love, and loss.
“It just became a way to release and to channel what was happening to me,” he said.
“When I first started, it was a total taboo thing – I mean, generally expressing yourself at school is, especially as a young lad. It’s nice to be able to shed light onto that, and hopefully, it inspires more folk.”
Music has become an outlet for the musician to convey his thoughts and feelings, however singing wasn’t always on the cards for him.
Initially, Ben was set on becoming a pilot through his time at air cadets or working on the farm in his hometown.
Taking a chance to make his hobby into a career has been the best decision he’s made yet.
He said: “I was very torn between all three things; I had this kind of hobby I would love to do but I’m increasingly aware of how hard it is to make money within it and it’s such a brutal industry to be in.
“I just had to go headfirst for it, and I was really grateful and lucky to have the opportunities that I had when I had them. I hope they still keep coming my way.”
With the increasing number of young talents coming out of Scotland, Ben believes there should be more resources to help start up their careers.
He said: “I hope that we see a bit more funding coming into it in the years. I think that’s certainly something that suffers.
“If this is what a lot of folk are doing, with the tools that are available just now, it would be amazing to see what would happen if it had a wee bit more light spread on it.”
While Ben’s journey has just started, he hopes 2025 can be a repeat success of the previous year.
“It would be really cool to go back to something like Belladrum or TRNSMT again. That was an incredible experience,” he added.
“I would love to do a few charity gigs; I think that’s certainly something that the boys and I absolutely love doing.”
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