Katie Grace goes back to the future
Fresh from a triumphant return to the Mouth Of The Tyne Festival, North Shields singer songwriter Katie Grace drops new single Dead On The Floor. We checked in with the hotly-tipped 21-year-old
For Katie Grace last weekend’s starring role on the all-new Sunday For Sammy stage, a welcome addition to Sunday’s Mouth Of The Tyne Festival slate, felt like a full circle moment.
Not only was the former King’s School pupil back on Tynemouth’s Front Street, where she learnt her trade as an 11-year-old busker, but her return evoked fond memories of 2025’s full band show within the walls of the village’s famous Priory.
“Playing with the Sunday For Sammy crew was such a lovely gig — it was really cool to be able to see my old busking pitch from the stage,” says the London-based artist and former winner of the prestigious Alan Hull Award for Songwriting.
“I also got the chance to catch up with so many of the people I’d met through the community music projects I was part of growing up and it was brilliant to be able to map that trajectory from where I was then to where I am now.
“Behind me everyone was getting ready for James on the main stage in the Priory and I still can’t believe that was me 12 months earlier. My band had never been to the North East before and we had the best week — performing at the festival and then recording songs for my EP.
“None of that would have been possible without financial support from Sunday For Sammy so I jumped at the chance to play their stage this summer.”
It’s already been another big year for a musician likened to Joni Mitchell and early Taylor Swift — Katie sold out her first headline show at London’s legendary Troubadour, secured new management and graduated from the capital’s prestigious Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
New single Dead On The Floor drops on Friday and more new music is set to follow as her latest EP teases the next chapter for an evolving musician always honing her craft.
Lindisfarne drummer and Sunday For Sammy trustee Ray Laidlaw made a point of referencing Katie’s songwriting prowess prior to her latest homecoming show and it’s a strength that’s already turning heads down south.
“Songwriting has gone from being something I did for fun to something that’s an instinctive part of every day for me,” she adds.
“I normally write at least a couple of lines of music per day and it’s almost subconscious to me now — I can’t imagine not writing songs.
“I wouldn’t be myself without it. I feel so thankful for all the support I’ve had as a young songwriter over the years — from my community groups to the Alan Hull Award and Sunday for Sammy — because without that I’d never have believed in myself as a songwriter at all!
“I had no idea this was something someone could do with their life. And now my whole world revolves around songwriting. It’s amazing.”
Dead On The Floor is further evidence of a special talent swiftly finding her feet. Several years in the making, the finished version is an emotionally charged take on self-discovery.
“Dead on the Floor started as a train of thought sung over acoustic guitar,” explains Katie, who burst onto the scene at 2024’s Camp Bestival following her first sold-out headline show at The Engine Room in North Shields.
“Originally it felt so personal that I didn’t know if I would ever play it live, let alone release it!
“It came to life when I started producing it in my student digs and brought it to my band.
“Since then, it’s gone from a song exclusively played in my bedroom to being on the main stage of Mouth of the Tyne festival!
“The next day we were straight in at Blank Studios — working with Chris McManus and using my grant from Sunday for Sammy — to record the EP.
“Dead on the Floor is the first single in a new chapter for me. It’s my first time releasing a studio EP and it feels like a culmination of all the things I’ve learned as a songwriter, and as an independent artist, over the past few years.
“I’m so thankful to have the amazing North East support networks around me that I do and to have all the incredible musicians that I’ve met in London spurring me on.”
North East fans don’t have to wait long for Katie’s return. Darlington’s Last Train Home Festival (September 5) features a full band set and she adds: “The first time we played as a band in the North East last summer was genuinely the best week of my life.
“We had such a great time and I loved getting to show the band around where I grew up making music — we went for a Lowlights pie and everything!
“I’ve played in Darlington a couple of times over the last year and I loved it. I’s another town that’s really proud of its venues, so I’m really excited to head back with everyone in tow.”
With the haunting indie folk of Dead On The Floor set to soundtrack late summer what’s next from the increasingly diverse Katie Grace songbook?
“The EP’s on the way after a couple more singles,” she insists. “But right now I’m just writing all the time, trying to develop my sound and figure out what I want next from music, as well as my life in general.
“This is a weird stage of life for anyone, at the best of times, so I’m just trying to take it slow and work out how to do the best work I can as a musician without burning out first. “But all the stress and confusion has resulted in some pretty cool songs, so I can’t be that mad about it.”
Despite a decision to stay down in London, Katie constantly feels the pull of her precious North East roots and she feels it’s a special time to be part of a growing North Tyneside scene — spearheaded by Sam Fender, Heidi Curtis and Hector Gannet.
“The North East has an incredible attitude towards its musical talent, supporting it and nurturing it rather than just ‘putting up’ with it, as it sometimes feels like in other places,” she adds.
“It’s not just great for the musicians themselves in the region — promoters, managers and venues are all supported too, which has resulted in this incredible creative community.
“I’m really proud to be from somewhere that isn’t afraid to put in the effort to support its music scene and we’ve seen how it’s already starting to pay off. Having the longest-running UK number one single written by someone from North Shields — about the North East — helps too!”
Dead On The Floor is available to stream from July 17.
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