Some voices just catch you, instantly. Scottish singer-songwriter Jamie Rafferty is one of those, a bold and authentic new artist whose unique sound is about to make huge waves in the UK music scene. 

A natural storyteller, Rafferty leans on his working-class upbringing in the small village of Croy, Scotland, for inspiration. The songs from his debut EP are instantly catchy, with lyrics influenced by the characters he grew up with. Like Bruce Springsteen and Sam Fender before him, he writes what he knows: of small towns, of humble, hard-working people, of the love and compassion he finds there. 

Rafferty was surrounded by music from a young age. His uncles played in local cover bands, while his dad and a number of cousins are members of the village’s brass band. Meanwhile, his mum fed him a varied diet of Simple Minds, Oasis and Ricky Martin. His parents encouraged him, too, with a drumkit for Christmas when he was five years old, then a guitar, after he saw Noel Gallagher headline a gig in Glasgow when he was a teenager. 

Yet the idea of being a professional musician himself seemed like a faraway notion: “I always thought writing songs was a bigger thing,” Rafferty explains. “Having an actual career in music, for people in my town… it’s kind of beyond comprehension.” So his first original songs were recorded in secret, made with money he earned working with his dad on building sites. One day, he summoned the courage to show them to his mum, who then showed Rafferty’s dad without revealing the identity of the artist. “He was like, ‘Fuck off, this isn’t Jamie,’” he remembers, laughing. “They were amazed I’d done it all on my own.”

He started honing his craft on the live stage at the village hall, playing in front of the neighbours and family who’d known him since he was born. “I got a buzz from it and I’ve been going ever since then,” he says with a grin. Since then, he’s notched a few early career highs at Scottish institutions including King Tut’s, Barrowlands and TRNSMT Festival, playing to ever-growing audiences each time.  

Rafferty believes his socially observant side stems from his upbringing, in a place where everyone knows one another’s business. “It was a mining village, originally, and both my parents had miners in their families,” he explains. “My mum and dad also know the history of pretty much every house and the people who’ve lived there going back decades, it’s crazy.” He’s fiercely proud of where he comes from: “I still live in the village, and I don’t really see myself moving far from here,” he says. “People make a place what it is, and I love where I’m from.”