The 21 year old artist and producer Frankie Beetlestone is leading the next wave of incredible new talent hailing from Sheffield. Beetlestone dropped his latest EP 'Caravan' on the 11th May. Titled to pay homage to the caravan he lives in on his Grandmother’s driveway in Sheffield, it’s not only where Beetlestone calls home, but also his creative haven where each track on the phenomenal body of work was born.

We chat to Beetlestone about his latest EP, message behind the songs and he tells us about being on tour with Tom Grennan.

Thanks for talking to ReVamp, congratulations you have just been on tour with Tom Grennan, how was that and how did you prepare for this?

I absolutely loved it! It was amazing to be able to play my songs in front if that many people. To be honest it was kind of like any other gig, we got a setlist together, rehearsed for a couple of weeks and played the shows. Finishing at the O2 in London was a bit surreal, but at the same time me and my band have big aspirations and we felt like we belonged there. We feel really blessed to have been asked to do it. Now we’re back to working on our own show.

Who would you say inspired you to start creating music?

Growing up my mum listened to a lot of Etta James and Aretha Franklin. She also listened to Carole King, who has been a huge inspiration for my writing. A lot of my songs actually start on the piano in that style, and then turn into something completely different. I’m also really inspired by a lot of New Wave bands  like INXS, Talking Heads, The Police. And of course my gods growing up were always Oasis and Arctic Monkeys, they’re kind of at the core of everything I write.

Your new EP ‘Caravan’ came out last week, how did you get ready for the release of this?

I’m excited for it to finally be out to be honest! The EP itself is kind of a diary for me. We’re playing it live loads and now that it’s actually done I’ve just having a laugh teasing the songs. I try not to take that side of things to seriously, other wise it just drives me insane. I work really hard on the songs, the videos and the love shows. So I want them to speak for themselves and in the mean time I’ll stand over here and make me daft little Tik Toks! [laughs]

Can you tell us what ‘Caravan’, is about and what would you say was the hardest track to write?

Last summer I was living in a Caravan on my Nanna's driveway, that’s when I wrote the songs. I think people think it’s kind of a sob story but the ironic thing is that I was actually loving it haha. Don’t get me wrong, the last 3/4 years have been a bit rough in places. A lot changed in my life very suddenly. But the truth is that I’m absolutely blessed to be in the position I’m in now, and this record is about growing up, but doing something with your life that you love to do.

What would you say are you most excited about for this release? 

I’m most excited to play it live. The live show is everything for me, and if people come to see us and know all the songs that obviously makes it 10x better ! I’m also quite excited to put it out and start working on the next one. That might sound quite negative but I don’t intend it to be. I’m just eager to keep writing, and I feel like I need a bit of a clean slate before I start doing that! It’s almost like I’ve had a backpack full of CD’s for the past year, and now I get to hand them out and fill it up again.

Can we expect any tours or shows of your own in the future?

Definitely! We’ve got a headline show at The Foundry in Sheffield coming up on the 20th May and we’ll be playing festivals over the summer  like Ynot, Your City, Eskfest etc. 

Download 'Caravan' by Frankie Beetlestone