Fifteen year old award winning singer songwriter and musician, Zoe Bestel had never considered music as a career until she moved from busy Liverpool to Dumfries & Galloway at the tender age of 8. It was the head teacher at her primary school in Wigtown who encouraged her to take to the stage.
She went on to win awards at the Galloway Music Festival for the recorder, oboe, piano and Scots songs and started to really develop her love of performing. But it was in January 2011 at the age of 13 that she first picked up the ukulele and started teaching herself to play.
Since then she has won admiration from the press and supported internationally acclaimed and award winning folk musicians including: Steve Tilsten, Chris Wood, Steve Hicks and Lynn Gouldbourn, The Paul McKenna Band and The PeatBog Faeries. She’s performed live on BBC Radio Scotland and at festivals around SW Scotland including: Wickerman, Eden, Knockengorrach and Comlongon
Her style is described as ‘nu folk’ and her songwriting and performances have been amazing audiences all over the country with her natural talent and an ability to perform with all the poise of someone twice her age.
In 2012 she launched her debut single entitled ’35 Missed Calls’ and was delighted when it went to No.3 in the Amazon Folk Chart. Over the last 18 months she has played all over Dumfries and Galloway supporting some of the region’s best talent including: Finding Albert, Emma’s Imagination and multi award winning Emily Smith.
She was awarded a Dumfries & Galloway People of the Year award in 2012 by a panel of judges overwhelmed by her achievements, dedication and commitment to giving back to the community that has supported her.
In January 2013 she won a place on the world famous Danny Kyle stage at Celtic Connections which led to her being invited up to theStonehaven Music Festival to support Paul Brady and this month she’s back at the Wickerman Festival for a second year after rave reviews like this one from 2012:
“My up and coming find of the festival was a 14 year old by the name of Zoë Bestel. Zoë was first up in a pretty busy acoustic tent and she completely held the audience with a really great voice, some great songs and some pretty decent ukulele playing to boot. She certainly has that modern female singer-songwriter feel about her that seems to be everywhere at the moment, but she manages to make it her own, take the genre in her own direction and stick her neck out above the crowded stream. I think what impressed me more than anything was her confidence. So young yet so commanding, I’ll wager anyone this young lady will go very very far.” Live Musician Magazine at The Wickerman Festival 2012
Zoe’s latest single San Francisco was launched on 4th July
For more info: zoebestel.co.uk
