The band’s Glasgow date had been re-scheduled.

All seems to be going Only The Poets way this year. The Reading four-piece have been attracting more and more attention in the thirteen months since their highly praised River Stage performance at TRNSMT. They returned to Glasgow soil on Thursday night for a rescheduled headliner slot. It was pushed back from the original date to allow the lads to support British sensation Yungblud on his European tour. 

Up-and-coming Scottish Singer-songwriter Kerr Mercer started the evening with beautiful piano and guitar ballads. The crowd squealed in delight at his cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit track Please, Please, Please. 

Kerr shared the exciting news of his sold-out St Luke’s gig in October before revealing that he had kept 50 tickets back for anyone in the crowd tonight who wanted to attend. He didn’t stop there as he added he also had some wristbands with a scannable QR code available from the merch stand. The code led any who scanned to a page of upcoming gigs and news. Kerr is bound to go far with his incredible storytelling ability and unrelenting enthusiasm for promoting his work. I’m sure he’ll see many familiar faces from tonight in the crowd on the 1st of October.

The excitement grew as Only The Poets set drew closer and, by the time they took to the stage, the scream from the crowd was homogenous. The crowd were singing every lyric right from the start and energy levels reached an all-time high during Looking At You as hands waved side to side at an epic pace to keep up with the beat. 

Before launching into It’s Okay (Not To Be Okay), Tommy emphasised that Only The Poets are a band that spread positive messages through music and encouraged anyone struggling to reach out for help.

He riled up a cheer for Kerr Mercer, praising the young musician’s talent before excusing himself for what he stated would be ‘a quick 47-second toilet break’. While I didn’t get my stopwatch out, no sooner was he back and jumping into the crowd to sing unreleased track Black and Blue, along with Clem on guitar. Everyone huddled around the pair in a circle, illuminating the space with phone flashlights as they savoured the touching rendition of the track that would be available from midnight.

Only The Poets have created something special within their fanbase. It’s beautiful to watch a room get behind a band so fully and it’s a testament to their heartfelt lyrics and engaging performances. The Reading lads deserve every bit of hype they have been subject to and I’m sure the coming years will have even more in store for them.

All photos by Isla Kerr.

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