Cammy Barnes was thrilled to sell out King Tut’s in January and this weekend fulfilled his lifelong dream of headlining the Barrowlands – but now he is headed for the OVO Hydro.
The piper turned rock star smashed two sold out Barrowlands shows on Thursday and Friday and now announces his first headline show at the OVO Hydro on April 23 2027.
It is a quite incredible rise from selling 300 tickets in Tut’s to a 13,000 capacity arena date in just nine months – however Cammy is anything but an overnight success.
The Whisky Roll star has been working towards this sort of success for 20 years, as a member of Red Hot Chili Pipers before going solo and picking up the guitar alongside his bagpipes.
Cammy said: “I can’t get my head round it - I played King Tut’s in January. It’s wild going from there to announcing the Hydro when I haven’t even released an album.
“The Barras felt like a dream, let alone the Hydro. It just does not feel real and I don’t know if it will until I am on the stage that night.
“But I do feel like I deserve it. It is hard for me to say that. People don’t realise I have been gigging since I was 16, that’s a full 20 years now.
“Twenty years of missing out on so much, never making a normal living. Putting everything into music and getting not much back other than heartbreak and stress.
“It’s a very tough gig. I am in a very privileged position now but I have worked very hard for a long time to get here. I’ve missed out on a lot, given up a lot over those 20 years.”
Cammy is still a piper at heart and his clever use of the traditional instrument in his music – a contemporary take on folk, country, pop and rock - has really connected with fans.
He admits seeing Lewis Capaldi shatter traditional music industry stereotypes gave him hope and spurred him on to chase his own dream.
Cammy said: “Apparently Lewis Capaldi is the only person to have announced the Hydro without an album out so I am following in some pretty good footsteps.
“I’m not anything special, just me. I’m just a normal boy from Methil who has been lucky, I play bagpipes and that’s all I have ever done.
“I never really thought I would be more than that or get to do things like this. Guys like me don’t get to do that stuff.
“When I saw Capaldi at the Hydro it really sparked something, it gave me a bit of belief because he was just one of us. He is a normal dude.
“I always felt like I wasn’t cool enough, from school to the music industry, I felt not cool enough to be in the band.
“I felt like it wasn’t for me - what would industry people think when they saw me?
“Then when I saw Lewis – he was doing it for us all, for the wee guys. Lewis broke through and showed us we can do it too.”
The Hydro show may well be the worst kept secret in music, thanks to Cammy’s love of sharing news with fans as soon as he finds out himself.
He insists he has only “hinted” at the venue with tongue in cheek teaser vids which showed him at the Hydro entrance asking fans to guess where he’s playing next year.
That cheeky disregard for the rules of the industry - like keeping announcements secret - are part of the reason fans love him. He’s one of us.
He said: “I am stubborn. When I started my solo career I said I was going to make my own rules and do it my way.
“Why not just tell people about a gig as soon as we know? There is no grand strategy. Maybe it looks like it’s all a plan but people seem to like me giving it away.
“I enjoy it and have a wee sneaky grin about it -n I just want to tell people what is happening. I’m not going to be something I am not.
“I hope people find it funny, I am just having a laugh and also trying to get my head around it all.
“I am honestly as excited as I seem, that’s all real - I kind of have to laugh at it really.”
Cammy has dreamed of opportunities like this his whole life and he promises fans they will see something truly special when he hits the Hydro stage in April.
“I’ve been planning this since I was 13. I never thought it would happen, but I know exactly what I want to do and it’s going to be something very different.
“I can’t wait.”