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Feature: The five best sets from TRNSMT 2019

Here we f***ing go! Here are the best things we saw at this year's TRNSMT Festival.

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“Can I get that wee big one please?” enquired the girl queuing up at the doughnut stall at this year’s TRNSMT Festival, which took place over the weekend at Glasgow Green.

While the question may be an oxymoron, “wee big one” actually kind of sums up TRNSMT Festival perfectly. Scotland’s flagship music festival is undeniably huge, but it also maintains a sense of intimacy. It’s easy to get from stage to stage, meaning that clashes are avoidable, and the sense of community that TRNSMT manages to foster is truly one of the things that sets it apart.

The sun shone, as it always does over Glasgow, as 150,000 people gathered to sing songs together and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Here are the five best sets from the weekend:

Header image by Ryan Buchanan


Lewis Capaldi is a genuine festival headliner 

Replacing Snow Patrol as last-minute main support to George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi drew arguably the biggest crowd of the weekend for his main stage slot on Sunday evening. Opening with breakthrough single Grace, the local-lad-made-good drew massive singalongs from the word go, telling the crowd that he “felt like Freddie Mercury”. Lewis seemed genuinely humbled by how many people had turned out to catch his set, a true indicator of how much he’s grown in popularity over the past twelve months. Judging by the crowd’s reaction to their hero, it won’t be long until he’s asked back to headline.

Get tickets to upcoming Lewis Capaldi shows at Ticketmaster.co.uk

Photo by Ryan Buchanan 


SWMRS bring the California vibes to Glasgow Green 

Jumping around on stage like a man who’d drunk one too many Irn Brus, SWMRS frontman Cole Becker led a frenzied crowd, including members from The Amazons, through a set packed full of tracks from the band’s excellent new album Berkley’s on Fire. The Oakland punk rockers’ set was a 30-minute long explosion of joy, which surely won the band an army of new fans.

Get tickets to upcoming SWMRS shows at Ticketmaster.co.uk

Photo by Gaelle Beri


Jade Bird is one of the UK’s best songwriters 

Performing on the King Tut’s Stage on Saturday afternoon, the sun was is at its most fierce when singer-songwriter Jade Bird took to the stage, filling the field in front of her with her high energy Americana tunes. The power in Jade’s voice was highlighted on tracks such as Uh Huh and Love Has All Been Done Before, but the stand out track of an accomplished set was the emotive My Motto, which left more than a few teary-eyed.

Get tickets to upcoming Jade Bird shows at Ticketmaster.co.uk

Photo by Ryan Johnston 


Stormzy follows up his triumphant Glastonbury set 

If there were any fears that any shows from Stormzy post-Glasto would be a bit of anti-climax, the London musician was quick to squash them as he headlined on Friday night. As if Stormzy felt that he needed to ingratiate himself to the Glasgow crowd any further, he did so with a touching cover of Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved. Finishing his set with a one-two of Big for Your Boots and Blinded by Your Grace, Pt 2, Stormzy reaffirmed his position as one of the UK’s brightest stars.

Keep up to date with Stormzy tour news at Ticketmaster.co.uk

Photo by Ryan Buchanan 


The Snuts play the biggest show of their lives 

Until recently, Buckfast fuelled indie rock and rollers The Snuts were one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets, but well, that has just changed. Performing early on the main stage on Saturday afternoon, the future rock stars looked completely comfortable performing the biggest show of their career so far. A highlight of the set was latest single All Your Friends, drawing huge crowd participation.

Get tickets to upcoming The Snuts shows at Ticketmaster.co.uk

Photo by Ryan Johnston 


Although only three years old, TRNSMT has again proved itself as a platform for new homegrown talent to show what they’re made of, and why the rest of the world should be paying attention.

The festival is not afraid to take a chance on new artists, letting them perform on their biggest stages in front of thousands of potential new fans. 2019’s edition of the festival was Lewis Capaldi’s third time at TRNSMT, working his way up from the King Tut’s Stage in 2017 to the main stage in 2018, to this year’s hugely successful main support slot.

It’s not inconceivable that artists like The Snuts, who performed on the main stage this year, before they’ve even released their debut album, could be headlining festivals all across the UK in a few years time.

For those on the lookout for new talent performing in front of a highly passionate crowd, and for equally impassioned performances by established artists, TRNSMT Festival is the place to be.


Grab tickets for TRNSMT Festival 2020 through Ticketmaster.co.uk