Gerry Cinnamon

In one of the few interviews he’s given, Gerry Cinnamon discussed his contrarian spirit with Apple Music. “If people tell me not to, I’ll probably do it,” said the singer-songwriter. “So [2017 debut album Erratic Cinematic] is about saying ‘fuck you’ to the people who were trying to tell me there was a system that you have to follow.” The path he refuses to tread is music’s traditional yellow brick road: sign with a label, make a record, glad-hand, smile for the camera… Instead, wary of industry “snakes and pretenders”, the Glaswegian (born Gerard Crosbie in 1984) is defiantly DIY. His self-released debut was announced via one social media post before word of mouth emanated from Glasgow’s pub circuit and helped it go gold in the UK. By the time his second album The Bonny arrived in April 2020, he’d already played Scotland’s largest-ever indoor gig. Cinnamon turned to acoustic folk-pop after the dissolution of his indie/synth-pop band The Cinnamons in the early 2010s. While his songs often mine troubled times and “a bit of a f****d-up childhood”, they’re full of wit and optimism, which arrive like a friend turning up in your darkest hour with a bag of cans and words of encouragement. British audiences hadn’t heard small-town grit turned into main-stage sing-alongs this potent since Oasis first broke big—although Cinnamon’s belief in a brighter day continues to be hard-won. Just before making Erratic Cinematic, he almost quit when his struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome left his hands so swollen he couldn’t pick up the guitar, and the COVID-19 outbreak stalled an arena tour heralding his entry into alternative music’s big leagues. Every obstacle is surmounted the same way, though: his way.