TRNSMT 2025
Glasgow Green, Scotland
11-13th July 2025
Saturday at TRNSMT: A triumph of the Celts! Biffy Clyro and Fontaines DC deliver storming sets to a huge crowd as Glasgow Green swelters in 30 degree heat on a day dominated by Irish and Scottish acts.
For those old enough to remember, the late Phil Lynott perennially asked the same questions at early Thin Lizzy gigs. “Have any of you got any Irish in you? Would any of the girls like a little more Irish in them?” Well today, everyone on Glasgow Green gets a lot more Irish in them – musically speaking of course.
Opting for a mellow start in the scorching heat, Amble prove tasteful openers. Confessing to feeling a little fragile after celebrating their support slot with Neil Young last night, they’re Irish singers writers and storytellers in a traditional vein. The trio (with 6 musicians on stage) combine emotive vocals, melody and impressive instrumentation. It’s easy to appreciate their growing success in the folk world and they draw a large appreciative crowd to the King Tuts Stage.
It’s time to raise our energy levels and Brogeal do just that. So what are they like?Imagine a toned down Pogues meeting The Dubliners on speed and you’re just about there. Irish? Well they should be but no, these guys are almost local and the Amble crowd hang around to ensure that the boys from Falkirk get a great reception.
Up next on King Tuts there’s more Irish, but with a Spanish twist. Originally from Ireland, and having lived in Spain, Biig Piig offers something engagingly different; a mix of singing and hip hop delivered in English and Spanish. She’s a performer who never stops moving, and when Spanish hip hop’s fused with tasteful jazz sax it’s really quite special.
Anyone for a little more Irish? Inhaler are one of those bands on a slow but ever rising trajectory toward the top. Today, their 50-minute set delivers tracks from across their three albums. For your reviewer it’s still their early tracks like It Won’t Always Be Like This, and closer, My Honest Face, that shine most brightly. X Ray, from current album Open Wide, also impresses.
Vocalist Elijah Hewson’s suffering a wardrobe malfunction though, insisting on wearing a thick jacket under the scorching sun. He’s surely either bound by some kind of clothing sponsorship deal or suffering from a dubious form of Liam Gallagher syndrome.
Of course not everything today comes with Celtic connections. Sigrid brings her off kilter Norwegian take on indie pop. Effervescent, passionate and bouncing around as always, for 45 minutes she’s a vision of perpetual motion. Uplifting choruses, songs made for dancing with a great summery vibe, she’s a mid-afternoon highlight. Unsurprisingly, her exertion in the sweltering heat begins to take its toll. Mid set she pauses stage front for a water hosing from security. Performance over, backstage she’s taken ill with heat exhaustion. I wish her well.
For those with a nationalist bent, what of today’s English? Well not much. Miles Kane, replacing Wunderhorse, is workmanlike but uninspiring. Perennial festival crowd pleasers, The Kooks, do exactly that, but their appeal’s lost on your reviewer. James Marriott draws a huge crowd on the King Tuts Stage. He’s moustachioed, with gleaming teeth and grinning from ear to ear, performing uplifting indie pop laced with a few smart guitar flourishes. Every move and utterance elicits screeches and screams from thousands of teenage girls stage front. I’m sure he’s going to be huge but its all too much for me. More positively, a trip to the BBC Introducing Stage introduces me to Chloe Slater, a songwriter with social awareness and a performer with energy and enthusiasm. One to check out further.
Fontaines DC are surely festival headliners in waiting. Many would say they’re already there. Some bands are born with a sound, there’s no evolution and they thrive or die with what they’ve got. A couple of Mancunian brothers come to mind. Others evolve. Fontaines DC are a band in motion with each new album a progression from what’s gone before.
Tonight, their youthful, more abrasive and brutal material comes early. Televised Mind and Boys In The Betterland come and go in the first 15 minutes. Much of what follows is culled from their recent Romance album. The newer songs are sonically brighter, boasting big production with kaleidoscopic sounds and some lush pop melodies. Live, when fused with Grian Chatten’s stage presence and his increasingly colourful accomplices, these are songs destined to fill arenas and festival fields.
Death Kink is forceful, mid paced with heavy beats, while It’s Amazing to Be Young is uplifting, melodic and undoubtedly commercial. It’s designed for hands in the air mass adulation, and tonight that’s exactly what it gets. At times there are psychedelic overtones in the instrumentation. Motorcycle Boy and In The Modern World conjure visions of psychedelia, of pastoral charm hand in hand with vibrant colour.
Live, Fontaines DC ooze confidence. There’s an aura of grandness, of the epic, in their performance. Closing number Starburster sums up just how far they’ve come. It’s got so much in one song. An orchestral, keyboard-led intro segues to heavier beats. Urgent, hop hop infused lyrics are spat out with venom while there’s a whiff of melancholia in quieter moments.
So, a great performance, but have Fontaines DC become too commercial, have they sold out? No, they’re a band evolving ever upwards. Beneath the big production, the epic sounds, there’s a lyrical disconnect. Listen closely and they’re still as visceral, as miserable, and as abrasive as ever. When they next return to TRNSMT, expect them to be headliners.
Have the rising stars stolen tonight’s show? They’ve been outstanding but the answer’s emphatically no…
This is Biffy Clyro headlining. As a live act they’re hard to beat where ever they play but this is Glasgow. This is a hometown show and they’re unstoppable.
From the opening bars of The Captain, arms are held aloft. As the chorus hits, “Somebody help me sing,” 50,000 voices roar back. That Golden Rule follows, firing out an even heavier riff as the band are bathed in a mass of golden light. Who’s Got A Match sees Simon Neil stage front, twirling a lantern around his head as pyro explodes all around.
Biblical builds from gentle beginnings but its epic chorus finds thousands of voices singing in unison. When the band pause for breath the first chants of, “Biffy fucking Clyro” echo around Glasgow Green. Re-Arrange brings brief melodic respite before Wolves Of Winter howls back with brutal vengeance as streamers erupt from above. Tiny Indoor Fireworks verges on jangly pop with a muscular undercurrent, while new song, A Little Love follows in a similar vein.
As the show rolls on, fan-favourite Black Chandelier pushes energy levels higher. Its huge chorus, and more fireworks, bring a sense that we’re heading toward a climax. Mountains just heightens emotions with the crowd singing in deafening unison before they close with Stingin’ Belle. It’s a cue for more huge riffs juxtaposed with a stop start chorus, a lone piper centre stage, a blizzard of confetti and even more pyro.
Of course there’s an encore. Simon’s back on stage with the band’s two violinists for an acoustic singalong. Machines brings a few tender moments before mayhem returns. Bubbles’ chorus proves irresistible, enveloping us in a feeling of mass euphoria.
Impossible to surpass? No, Many of Horror ups the volume again as the crowd roar and fireworks fly overhead. There are heartfelt thanks from the band before the inevitable departing words from Simon Neil. “We are Biffy fucking Clyro!”
TRNSMT Festival festival can be followed on Facebook and their website
~
Words and photos by Trev Eales. More work by Trev on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s profile. His photography portfolio is here
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
