More about: Hello Tomorrowfrankie beetlestone

On the cutting edge of new names to know, say hi to the future with our monthly Hello Tomorrow picks. Focusing in on one up-and-comer each month, get to know the artists and bands you should be keeping eyes and ears locked. For January, we're heading north for the next gen of Sheffield indie rock...

After a year-long break, 21 year-old Sheffield songwriter Frankie Beetlestone has returned with his latest bombastic single ‘Popstar’. It comes ahead of a year which looks set to see him take the world by storm, with world domination on his mind, but for now it begins with a Zoom call on a cold London Thursday, as the industry kicks into gear once more. “I’ve had a really great month” he laughs when asked about his start to the new year, “I craned it at Christmas; but from January first I’ve been in the studio non-stop”.

Beetlestone’s musical journey began with a Christmas morning at the age of 13, where he was lucky enough to find a keyboard nestled under the tree. He’d had a guitar for a few years, from his self-described “Ed Sheeran fanboy era”, but had never quite got to grips with it. The keyboard was different however, and he spent hours teaching himself how to play before slowly building up his skills on the guitar simultaneously. Despite his growing interest in the keyboard, it was his passion for musical theatre that caught one and earned him a scholarship to a London musical theatre college. “It was the first time I felt like I was good at something. I was confident in my own abilities,” he recalls of playing the cheshire cat in his primary school’s production of Alice in Wonderland, “I was a bit of a show-off growing up; singing and stuff is just something I’ve always done”.

"This music is 100% what I want to say. I look at myself a few years ago and think ‘aw, you’re just a scared little kid’ and I’m not that person anymore...”

In college, he committed his time to theatre and acting, but the school also offered a class in musical technology. He slowly learned how to produce his own material and by the time he graduated it was clear he had to give his songwriting career a chance to prosper. Moving back to Sheffield, he got a job at Nandos and spent his nights writing and recording in his bedroom, before releasing the since removed Nursery Project EP in the depths of the pandemic. During this time, he entered the Emerging Talent Competition to play Glastonbury and made it to the final eight. The industry took notice, and by the end of 2021 he had management and had released three singles, a mixtape and supported Tom Grennan on his UK arena tour. Then silence.

“I’ve basically been writing for a couple of months and really took my time deciding what to do next” he explains of the hiatus, “At the back end of last year I got an opportunity to put out a batch of material so it’s been a long process of deciding what songs to bundle together. I’m enjoying it a lot. A lot of the stuff I’m putting out are a couple of years old to me but I’m excited to put them out”. It’s great to hear the positivity flowing for Beetlestone. As an artist who has been part of the music industry since the age of 18, it would be entirely natural for his enthusiasm to wane. The truth is, however, he feels like he’s only getting started. 

“Everything I’m going to do this year is going to come from a place of 'I’m doing this because I love doing it'” he smiles, “This music is 100% what I want to say. I look at myself a few years ago and think ‘aw, you’re just a scared little kid’ and I’m not that person anymore”.

NEXT UP...

Keep an eye out for Frankie's next single, 'Cannonball', landing February 9th. 

IRL...

Catch him supporting Ines Rae at The Grace on February 10th.

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Hello Tomorrowfrankie beetlestone