North-east singer-songwriter Sandi Thom has said she is looking at her impending performance at a Moray traditional music festival as “a homecoming”.
The Macduff-born performer, who stormed to the top of the singles chart in 2006 with I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in my Hair), will headline the 20th annual Speyfest extravaganza on Saturday.
As the prepared for the Fochabers concert yesterday, she said her north-east upbringing had been a key factor in her success.
Ms Thom said: “Performing so close to where I was born and grew up as a child is definitely a homecoming for me, and there will be lots of family in the crowd.
“I have always been inspired by my heritage, my Scottish upbringing and my family being so musical as a child.
“I think that carries through in all the music I write.”
Ms Thom, 31, who has performed at mammoth music festivals such as Glastonbury and T in the Park since hitting the big-time, praised the “personal” feel of gatherings like Speyfest.
She added: “I love to go out and meet the crowd after a show, and you really can do this at a smaller festival like Speyfest.
“It makes the experience so much more personal, and those are memories you can take away with you.”
Ms Thom decided to follow a career in music at the age of 17, when she became the youngest student ever to be accepted at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.
In 2005 she moved to London, and she broke into the mainstream the next year.
As well as topping the singles chart in the summer of 2006, her debut album – Smile… It Confuses People – went straight in at number one when it was released.
The singer now lives in West Hollywood, California but returned to the UK last week to headline a show in England alongside Lulu.
Speyfest 20, which launches tomorrow evening at the playing fields on East Street in Fochabers, will host a packed programme of traditional and contemporary Celtic music.
Tomorrow’s schedule features the Fochabers Fiddlers, the Calum Stewart Trio and Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain.
Joining Sandi Thom at the top of Saturday’s bill is English folk singer Seth Lakeman.
Tickets range from £10.50 to £31.50, and weekend camping tickets are also available.
More information is available at the Fochabers Institute, on 07875 212382 or at www.speyfest.com.