Why TikTok Could Be the Ideal Platform For Scottish Indie Folk Music

Why TikTok Could Be the Ideal Platform For Scottish Indie Folk Music

Words by Yasmin Donald

For those who may be unfamiliar with the genre, Scottish Indie Folk Music combines traditional Scottish folk music with Indie Rock. It was popularised in the mid-2000s by acts like Frightened Rabbit, Belle and Sebastian, and The Twilight Sad.

Nowadays, Scottish Indie Folk Music is like many other musical genres: directly at your fingertips. All you need is a phone and a music streaming platform. And whilst Scottish Indie Folk Music can be readily accessed, TikTok could be the application to push the genre into the spotlight.

According to The Eagle, one of the defining qualities is the incorporation of “acoustic musical arrangements.” These often accompany very raw and emotive vocals. When we consider that TikTok aims to be a place which is “authentic, genuine and unfiltered,” this stripped-back style aligns well with the app's desired content.

Kirsteen Harvey, a Scottish singer-songwriter who performs her own music and Scottish covers of Indie Folk songs, has over 90 thousand followers and 2 million likes. Most of her videos feature a close-up of her strumming her guitar softly and singing in her Glaswegian accent. Her cover of ‘Sailor Song’ by Indie Folk Artist Gigi Perez has over 9 thousand likes – showcasing the raw power of an acoustic accompaniment and gentle Scottish vocals.

The incorporation of the Scottish accent in Indie Folk songs not only displays a sense of national pride but produces a unique tonal quality. According to the OED, singing in a Scottish accent often involves “the rhotic pronunciation (pronounced ‘r’ sounds), often with a strong ‘r’ articulation.”

Scottish creators tend to be very popular on TikTok. In the music world, the hashtag #ScottishCovers has amassed over 13.5 million posts. Nathan Evans’ version of ‘The Wellerman’ is a prime example of how popular Scottish covers of folk songs can be.

The Wellerman was originally a folk song popularised in the 1970s in New Zealand. After Nathan Evans covered the song on TikTok, it propelled the song into an Indie Folk hit: reaching number one in the 2021 music charts. The TikTok features Evans drumming his fist along the back of his guitar whilst singing the lyrics in his Glaswegian accent. His TikTok has amassed a total of 2.6 million likes, and he currently has 1.9 million followers.

Another element of Folk music which gives it mass appeal is the use of personal narratives. According to Volt, these narratives focus on “history, identity and Scottish culture.” This aspect of Folk music is very fitting with TikTok’s mission of encouraging users to express themselves and connect with others.

An example of this is Nina Nesbitt’s album Mountain Music. Mountain Music made it to Number 3 on the Folk Album Charts, making it her most critically acclaimed record to date. Nina shared snippets of this album across her socials before its release. Her top streaming song from the album on Spotify, ‘Pages’, was teased in a 21-part playlist exclusively to TikTok. Her first 28-second clip of the song was entitled ‘Part 1’ and features her sitting on a pier in the rain with the song playing in the background. The clip has 3.1 million views and has 70.7 thousand likes.

As described by her, “the song is an autobiographical account of her 20s. The chaos, heartbreak, and golden days.” Since the song is about her Scottish upbringing, it features lyrics relating to her heritage such as: “I got in trouble with my Scottish humour / Cause the jokes don't land, I just sound kind of mean.”

Out of all of Nina Nesbitt’s socials, she sits most popular on TikTok with 716.3 thousand followers, demonstrating that her musical style resonates with a lot of people on this platform.

Scottish Indie Folk Music can connect with individuals through its story, the accent and the acoustic setup, but the tonality of the music is another important element. Indie Folk music often has a melancholic and reflective tone.

TikTok is an apt platform for such a sound as, according to TikTokhashtags.com, “#Sad is widely used on TikTok, with over 87.5 million posts and approximately 764.8 billion views, making it a significant tool for creators aiming to connect with audiences on themes of sadness or melancholy.”

The Scottish singer known as Nati Dredd has taken full advantage of this. The singer has 1.8 million followers on the app, and her most popular cover happens to be her rendition of ‘My Mother Told Me,’ a Norse Skaldic folk song. The song captures the spirit of Viking culture, with themes of seafaring, battle, and the strong influence of mothers on their sons. The video starts with her singing acapella in a darkened room, looking directly into the camera. She then begins to create drum beats to accompany her haunting vocals. This video has over 10.2 million views and 1.6 million likes. It is also her most popular song on Spotify with 12 million listens.

Nati herself notes how TikTok helped grow her career. She told The Scotsman: “I sang some tunes, then sang something in Gaelic, and people saw that, saw the big red hair and the Scottishness and the fact the song was from Brave, and went, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ A lot of people from America really took to me, and I gained a following overnight.”

Whilst TikTok is only the fifth most popular of the social media giants, not only does the app's ethos appear to align well with the characteristics of Scottish Indie Folk Music, but there are artists within the app that can testify to its success. If you are a Scottish Indie Folk Artist, TikTok might be where you find your audience.

References

Kitt CarrMay 20, 2025Comment