Since T in the Park ended, TRNSMT has become a regular highlight of the Scottish music scene. Since 2017, it has been held annually in Glasgow Green.
The popular festival has established itself as a major event in the UK’s summer music calendar attracting a diverse line up of not only top international acts but some grass roots artists.
Day one , saw the sun shine on the beautiful grass park at Glasgow Green that is home for Scotland’s top festival. No mudfest or hideous campsite carnage that has blighted the UK’s festival season in past years. The Glasgow Green is the perfect location for the multi-stage event. The crowd can breeze between stages as they wish and catch their favourite acts or simply chill out with some refreshments with the copious amount of food and drink outlets.
The Main Stage at TRNSMT is always the place to be for the early birds to grab their spot on the barrier. As soon as the gates opened, the rush to grab the prime spot was on and sure enough, the Oasis shirts were their in numbers but not to be out done with Garbage and Snuts shirts! They would have a few hours to wait before their favourites would appear so plenty time to take in the rest of the show.
Jalen Ngonda had the pleasure of opening up the weekend on the Main Stage. The UK based American R&B, Soul singer effortlessly kicked off with a chilled out vibe for the day.
His voice has been likened to Marvin Gaye, rich praise and an indicator of what he’s about. The stripped back three piece certainly delivered a soulful performance.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
Irish chart toppers Picture This brought their stadium pop rock show to Scotland and wowed the early crowd. The screaming teens on the barrier lapped up the polished performance from the well versed band airing tunes from their new album “Parked Car Conversations” as they gear up for their European Tour later this year.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
Lauren Spencer Smith came bounding on stage like it was her back garden. It’s hard to believe the 20yr old has been building on her career for 10yrs and exploded on tic toc when she released her first single “Fingers Crossed.” in 2022. Born in England, she has spent most of her life in Canada but her universal appeal certainly drew the crowds at TRNSMT.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
No stranger to TRNSMT, Declan McKenna‘s music has transformed since his first appearance. The awkward indie pop star has a chameleon like approach as he expands on his musical influences to work out where he wants to get to.
Meanwhile, the crowd experience McKenna’s latest offering “What Happened to the Beach.” The huge screen provides the backdrop for his performance as it mixes live video and featured song titles. The atmosphere peaked during “Brazil” as the crowd were at their most animated as McKenna strutted around the stage with his bright gold telecaster.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
The Sugababes have reach pop royalty status are were treated accordingly by the swelled crowd. Singing in the sunshine in Glasgow, they last played Scotland in 2022. The 1998 line up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhan Donaghy kicked off with “Freak like me” and the hits kept coming.
The stage setup for The Snuts looked like a pile of stacked old TV’s. It’s the first sign of any form of theatre on the huge TRNSMT stage. Another artist returning to the festival, the swagger was there as Jack Cochrane almost staggered on stage.
The nonchalant delivery could’ve been mistaken for apathy but the band were lapping up the atmosphere. The new chart topping album “Millennials” was so appropriate for audience and judging by the number of T shirts on display, the fans were out in numbers.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
In stark contrast to The Snuts stage set up. Garbage went for the stripped back look. No amps, only a drum riser/drum kit and some instruments were visible. “Be Kind” were the words on Vig’s kick drum skin, nice touch and an essential message for attending festivals!
The impressive sight of the Strathendrick Pipe Band Association marching on stage was an ever nicer touch before they struck up a rousing version of “Flower of Scotland”, disappointingly there were a few boo’s but for the most part, the crowd were in full voice as they sang along with the pipes n drums. Butch Vig clapped them off and he wasn’t alone as the rapturous applause was probably heard in Sauchiehaul Street! Shirley Manson looked resplendent in red tartan.
Her dry wit came to the fore as she doubted the young crowd would even know who the band were, even though Garbage were bourne of the early 90’s similar to the headline act of the evening.
Undaunted, playing to a largely partisan crowd, the band played through a well crafted catalogue that spanned their career. The hits were well received and Manson paid tribute to Taylor Swift for taking on the music business and making it her bitch! This preceded her own tale of how Siouxsie & the Banshees were an influence on her at a young age as the band played a cover version of “Cities in Dust”. The night ended with “Pushit”, Shirley felt the love from the crowd before making her leave. the band head for the capital on Sunday where the audience definitely know who Garabage are!
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
Liam Gallagher needs no introduction to TRNSMT or any other venue on the planet. He is without doubt, one of the most recognisable pop/rock stars of the past 30 years. With the promise of playing “Definitely Maybe” in full, the crowd expected to be entertained. The story started 30 years ago at King Tut’s in Glasgow, where the band performed and were signed thereafter.
Who knew, decades later, the songs would be aired to 50,000 revellers just a few miles away. It was an inspired performance, blistering at times and full of the swagger and attitude you would expect but the ebb and flow showed Gallagher has mellowed with age. The final song, “I am The Walrus” paid dues to the bands greatest influence, The Beatles.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
Of course, there’s more to TRNSMT than headline acts and the Main Stage. The King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut stage has seen many legendary performances through the years and been a hot bed for talent.
Siights, the alt-pop duo hailing from Dublin and Glasgow were the first band to play any of the stages this weekend. Their debut release in 2020 and subsequent collaborations have seen them grow in stature.
The Scratch followed on and continued the Dublin connection. Their fiery fusion of Irish folk melodies and metal with a punk attitude fairly shook up the proceedings. The band sat down with PCN Magazine for a quick interview before they set off to play a festival in The Netherlands.
In stark contrast to the wild men of Ireland, Bellah Mae entertained the crowd with her passionate pop tunes. The young rising star has made a massive impression on the music industry so far with her industrious approach to songwriting.
The die hard Miley Cyrus fan has morphed into her own larger than life character and having spent sometime in the deep south of USA, learned her craft at an early age. We grabbed her for 10 minutes after she came off the stage to dig into what she’s been up to.
Nieve Ella grew up not far from Bellah Mae but prefers to promote her songwriting with a backing band. She works out her life through her songs and has had a meteoric rise on the scene in the past 2 years.
Another singer-songwriter was up next in the form of Matt Maltese. He has had a slightly longer career than his counter parts on the King Tut’s stage having material released for past 6 years. More heart felt music for the crowd to muse over.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
The crowds always come and go at the various stages but for the last three bands on King Tut’s Stage, they grew in numbers. Wunderhorse seen an influx of numbers to watch their performance. Initially, it was singer son write Jacob Slater’s project but it grew into a fully fledge band. in the past 2 years, it has seen them support the likes of Fontaines DC, The Pixies, Foals and Sam Fender.
TRNSMT was the obvious platform to continue their exposure. Another band on the musical fast track is The Last Dinner Party. They oozed class as they ran through their set. Abigail Morris captivated the audience, her stage presence and theatrical posturing maintained the crowds gaze and along with her fellow band mates, drew some well deserved applause.
They certainly live up to the hype and delivered a great set. Example headlined the stage in Friday night. He was sporting a shirt with Techno written on it and there was no doubt what the crowd was there to do, party! With nothing to prove, Example did what he does best and get the crowd going. he was ably assisted by Martin Compston, the actor, who “stormed” the stage waving a scotland flag and shouting “here we fucking go” and “no scotland, no party”. Standing to his right was Gary Tank Commander who looked like he was playing the part of a body guard to Compston. He might have needed it if he stayed much longer! Cringeworthy at best but hey no, it’s a festival so anything goes.
If the Main Stage and King Tut’s wasn’t enough to keep the crowds occupied, there was plenty going on elsewhere. The River Stage was tucked away in the trees but well attended. Another stage with a diverse selection of acts. We managed to catch Tallia Storm and Ben Walker
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
One of the highlights of the day as the surprise gig by Glass Onion in the secret garden. It was a tightly guarded secret and only those with good historical knowledge of Scottish music will have know who it was. The chalk board was put out side the chilled out bar area and numbers grew as the word got around. The distinctive looks of Fran Healy confirmed who it was, TRAVIS. It was 1994 when the band appeared at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and subsequent T in the Park appearance 6 years later.
Photograph Credit : Raymond Thomson
Day 1 complete and coming soon our coverage of Day 2 and Day 3 TRNSMT 2024
All Videos You tube , BBC Scotland for TRNSMT
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