Uchechi Adeboye

My name is Uchechi, and I am a 21 year old law student from the north of Scotland. Outside of my studies, I am an avid concert goer and music enthusiast. Photography has also been my passion for as long as I can remember, so getting to combine my two passions through concert photography has been great. When I’m not with my camera or typing with my keyboard, I am enjoying nature with my friends.

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Katie Gregson-MacLeod just before her performance at the St. James Quarter Sessions, a festival that’s fast becoming a key platform for Scotland’s emerging talent. Katie was one of over 80 acts that came to Edinburgh to perform in the St. James Quarter.

We discussed her journey from Inverness to gaining global recognition through TikTok, the vulnerability in her songwriting, and what it means to debut at the Edinburgh Fringe. With her debut album in the works, Katie offered insights into her creative process and deep connection to the Highlands.

Reflecting on her unique career, she candidly shared, “It’s an extremely bizarre, intimate career. There’s no other job where you are looking at someone in the eye in front of hundreds of people and singing a song that details their every move.”

Katie also spoke about the challenges of being vulnerable in her music and her aspirations for the future as she continues to evolve as an artist. Read the full interview below to learn more about her journey.

Katie was excited to be performing at the Fringe for the first time, mentioning how much she loves performing in Edinburgh. Growing up in Inverness, she admitted she never expected to make it this far in her music career. ““You don’t see it around you,” she explained. “I didn’t know how to go from A to B, or what it took to get there, but I muddied my way through.” Despite the uncertainty, she credited playing as many gigs as she could for building her confidence, even though she had no idea what the industry was like at the time.

Looking back, Katie said she would remind her younger self that it’s okay to evolve and that reaching your “final form” doesn’t happen overnight. “It’s very much okay to allow yourself to evolve and to not punish yourself for disagreeing with choices you made in the past. We’re all growing in public, and people can hear it, even though we may disagree with it now.”

When discussing the vulnerability in her music, Katie admitted that it can be tough, especially when performing in front of the people she’s singing about. “It’s hard to play to your exes sometimes,” she laughed. She shared that her current boyfriend ella, who inspired her upcoming love song EP, has reached a point where he can be objective about the songs, even giving her feedback on ella. “At first, he was just very weepy whenever I played it,” she joked.

Katie is also working on her debut album, which has been a significant goal for her. She described the process as a snapshot of a moment in time, trying to make peace with the idea that she can’t say everything she wants to in one record. “I’m just trying to look at it as that was me for those two weeks or that year I made the record and try to be at peace with that.”

We also talked about how her environment influences her creativity. Katie shared that while London offers a different energy, she feels most connected to her music when she’s back in the Highlands. “Nothing compares to the way I feel when I have that space,” she said. She revealed that her next EP was created in the Highlands, where she felt she could regenerate and connect deeply with her roots.

As we wrapped up the conversation, I asked Katie what color she would associate with her music. “Maybe the color I’m wearing now, like a forest green? I’d love it to be that. The next record is very green, going back to my folk roots, so it feels like an appropriate colour.”