1.3 million followers and counting: Now Shrewsbury busker gears up for first Shropshire headline show

Jason Allan can often be seen busking on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury town centre, engaging with members of the public and performing his music.

The 26-year-old, who is originally from Aberdeen, has called Shrewsbury his home for the last two years and said the best thing about the place was the people.

"When I’m busking on the streets in some places it can feel pretty unwelcoming, but I’ve received nothing but love from the locals when I’ve been doing my thing on Pride Hill," he said.

"It’s one of the reasons I was buzzing to finally move here."

Jason has become a bit of a TikTok sensation, amassing a following of 1.3 million on the social media platform, which allows people to create short-form videos and clips.

When asked about his following, Jason said: "I’m not going to lie I still have imposter syndrome about that. I see the little ‘M’ (1.3 million) next to my name and I’m like really? How? Why me?

"But to be honest I’m just so grateful people are enjoying what I do and my music is really resonating with people.

"I think at the start people enjoyed watching the crazy stuff that would happen to me whilst busking, but over time I feel my audience has taken a personal interest in me which is an honour but pretty scary at the same time.

"I’m just trying to make them proud, and still provide a few crazy moments when I can."

Now, Jason is gearing up for his first hometown headline show at The Buttermarket, which will take place on Sunday, December 3, from 7pm until 11pm.

It follows his first-ever headline show which took place in Aberdeen earlier this year, but Jason said by performing in Shrewsbury, many of his new friends and family will see him perform for the first time.

"I’m ecstatic for this one. Sometimes it just feels right," he said.

"All of the Salopians I’ve grown to love over the years, they know me as a busker but now I finally get to show them what I’m really about. I’m getting shivers just thinking about it.

"I don’t like to hold back when I’m on stage, I feel if I’m not having a good time why should my audience? So yeah, I’ll be all over the place giving it proper beans, but then randomly I’ll whack out a sad ballad like my song ‘N/A’ and all of a sudden we’re all crying together, it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster."

Jason said being a musician is the best job in the world, but admitted it is "actually quite hard" as he often finds himself doing 10 people's full-time roles all at once.

Originally, Jason wanted to be a footballer, but said he had to make the decision of being a goalkeeper or head chorister at the age of 11.

But so far, he feels he's made the right choice.

He said: "I’m independent so I’m a songwriter, social media manager, content creator, booking agent, manager, label, transporter, promoter and performer all in one.

"I have my bestie, Ban, and uncle, Andy, who help me immensely but other than that it’s just us versus the world.

"At the same time I’m trying to have a personal life with my beautiful girlfriend, Mia, who’s actually the reason I moved here in the first place. I wrote a song called We Got This which depicts this pretty well."

Jason Allan's music can be found on Spotify and is a mix of multiple genres including pop, indie and rock.

His biggest inspirations in music include The 1975 because, he said, as a band they are not afraid to push boundaries and explore whichever type of music they feel without being pinned to a specific genre.

To listen to Jason's music visit spotify.com

Tickets for the show on December 3 are available to purchase via the website Skiddle