The echoes of No Beattie, No Party filled the arena last night as Scotland’s very own, Callum Beattie fulfilled a life-long dream of selling out the OVO Hydro in Glasgow for a night of celebration, achievement and honestly, a concert I will truly never forget.
I need to be honest, and I think that’s something I pride myself on when it comes to writing and reviewing concerts. My music taste is mixed, anything from Pop Punk to Country to Metal to Techno with a sprinkling of every other genre in between, and I will admit, before last night, I hadn’t listened to Callum Beattie. I know, how have I missed this man in my playlists? But I wanted to go into this concert blind and see what his show was about.
Opening up with videos of Scotland’s football team, the crowd was riled up and ready to celebrate – what a week it has been to be Scottish, and Callum was here to lap up that energy.
Armed in a sequin blazer and a full band of strings, keys and incredible female vocalists – Callum gave the audience exactly what they came for – a proper Saturday night party at the biggest music venue in Glasgow.
Now there is always a sense of pride and emotion when you see someone from Scotland sell out the Hydro – and for Callum, this felt more heightened than ever. As this was a venue he came to growing up, he wrote songs in the pubs down the road and over in Edinburgh – as well as dreaming of selling out the Hydro.
“There are people in the audience tonight who have maybe only just picked up a guitar or dreamed of exploring music. This is your sign that if I can do it, you can too”
Treating fans to an array of tracks both old and new – including Heart Stops Beating, Salamander Street, 25 Seconds and an emotional nod to his Father during Daddy’s Eyes – mentioning that his family were here in the audience tonight, “thank you for always believing in me, and it’s finally paid off”
One of the highlights of the night for me was Don’t Walk Alone – there’s such a richness in Callum’s voice and this was the first concert I’ve been to where every single soul in the audience was in depth singing to every single song – you could tell everyone in this crowd has followed Callum for as long as they remember – Don’t Walk Alone unraveled a new level of emotion for Callum on stage, getting teary during the song and everyone around me waving Scotland flags and chanting back the lyrics. For someone who hadn’t heard this track before, it felt so welcoming and beautiful.
With not too long to go until his new album, INDI, drops in January – Callum played a few new songs – including Sound of Sirens and Fireproof (which had a nice touch of added pyro) – but the one that truly highlighted the power of Callum Beattie’s music on his fans was when he mentioned he released a song last week, It Always Rains in Glasgow – and despite being a week old – the crowd CHANTED back the lyrics – even Beattie on stage looked in awe that his music was mere days old and already a household track in the biggest music venue in the city. What a moment.
“I’ve been writing for 20 years, but I never expected I’d achieve the dream of selling out The Hydro” – having to take a moment to hold it together, this was truly one of the most surreal concert experiences I have been to – how have I gone this long without listening to Calum Beattie – I loved every single second.
One of the truly most magical moments of the evening was when Callum dedicated the next track to people he – and the audience – have lost over the year – the ones we no longer get to spend time with – and covered ABBAs Dancing Queen – this song in particular stopped me in my tracks – everywhere you looked around the Hydro – Scots have their arms around one another, dancing – twirling each other around as a rainbow confetti cannon goes off – every age, every gender, every background – just here in the Hydro having the time of their lives. It’s not often at a gig that I get to just take in the moment and see everyone having the time of their lives, but without a shadow of a doubt, this concert will be etched in my memory for eternity.
Continuing to pay homage to his home country, Callum was greeted on stage with a Scotland flag draped over his shoulders for a cover of Caledonia, which had the crowd singing every single word back one by one. They’re not joking when they say there is no crowd like a Scottish crowd.
I cannot stress enough, how incredible Callum Beatties show was – I’m English and I’ve lived in Scotland for 7 years now, but there was something about seeing Callum’s passion for Scottish culture, embracing the fans who want nothing more than to see him succeed and filling out an arena he once dreamt of playing at – made me so proud to live here in Scotland and Callum, I hope you are incredibly proud of the show you put on – absolute 10/10 for me, now to go and learn every single song under the sun ready for the next tour. This is also a prime example of why you should go to every concert, because you may just find your next favorite artist.
Review by Lauren Page
Photographs by Stephen Wilson Photography
