AMBLE BLESS GLASGOW WITH A NIGHT OF SINGALONG IRISH FOLK JOY

LIVE REVIEW | AMBLE w/ Kean Kavanagh | O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW | 30th September 2026 by Amanda MacEachen

After only forming in 2022, Irish folk trio Amble have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting names emerging within the folk scene. Since signing in 2024, Amble have become no strangers to touring life, playing over 130 shows throughout 2025 alone while steadily building a devoted audience along the way. Their 2025 album, Reverie, was met with tremendous praise and marked a significant turning point in the band’s rise, debuting at number one on the official Irish Albums Chart.

Now, the trio are looking towards their next exciting chapter coming into the new year. Their new album, Love and All Its Wares, is set for release on January 29th, 2027, with their 2026 Autumn tour offering fans not only a setlist with old material, but also an early glimpse into some new tracks to come. Glasgow was the second night of the tour, and with a sold out O2 Academy crowd waiting on them, it was clear from the get go that this night was going to be incredibly special for Amble fans, collectively celebrating the beauty of folk music.

Supporting Amble was Texas-born, Ireland-raised singer Kean Kavanagh, who brought a unique blend of indie rock and Americana to the O2 Academy. Finn Mac Anna and Peter Brien joined Kean on stage as supporting band, and they collectively created an atmosphere that felt almost at odds with the size of the venue. There was an intimate warmth to their set, as though the room had temporarily been transformed into a much smaller space.

The crowd listened intently, making Kean’s performance a natural bridge between the anticipation of the evening and Amble arriving on stage. Finn’s drumming was particularly captivating, with constant motion between restraint and release. There was a wonderful sense of rise and fall throughout the songs, keeping the audience engaged and giving the set an unpredictable quality. Kean’s sound felt refreshingly different, yet still perfectly suited to the atmosphere that would follow for Amble.

As 9pm arrived, the excitement in the room shifted; Amble’s five piece backing band emerged onto the stage first, marking a new addition to their live setup for this tour. The backing band promised an expansive dimension to the usual trio’s set, bringing in a new abundance of traditional live instruments. The cheers grew louder as Robbie Cunningham, Oisín McCaffrey and Ross McNerney finally walked onto the stage, greeted by a sea of raised arms and enormous smiles.

They opened with the angelic ‘Schoolyard Days’, and the reaction was instant. The first strums of the guitars were enough for the entire room to recognise the song, with the crowd immediately singing along. There was something deeply emotional about hearing hundreds of people singing the same words together, in particular with a song so deeply rooted in nostalgia, capturing a moment which in itself will eventually become nostalgic. Although ‘Schoolyard Days’ portrays the bittersweet feeling of looking back on youth, there was a striking contrast between the sentiment of the lyrics and the happiness that radiated across the room, a feeling I’m sure many people that night (me included) would like to have bottled.

The pace quickly lifted with ‘The Swell’, another obvious crowd favourite as groups of friends jumped together with arms round one another, shouting lyrics back at the stage. From there, the band eased into the gorgeous melodies of ‘Marlay Park’, before introducing one of the first new songs of the evening, ‘Only to Rhyme’, from the upcoming album. For the first time that night, the crowd fell silent. Unable to sing along to a song they had never heard before, everyone simply listened. Robbie’s vocals rippled across the O2 Academy, as the audience took in a glimpse of Amble’s next era. It was a small but significant moment, as amongst a setlist filled with songs that had already become deeply familiar with fans, there was suddenly something completely new to discover. 

The setlist itself was incredibly well constructed, with each song feeling deliberately placed. The momentum never fully disappeared, and remarkably, almost every song was met with a crowd who knew every word. However, the defining moment of the night came with ‘Mary’s Pub’. It was so unexpected for a song so hushed and tranquil, and yet, Amble and the crowd were able to make it the biggest and loudest singalong of the night. It was one of the most beautiful atmospheres I have ever witnessed inside the O2 Academy, and as the band gave the crowd space to take over, every single voice gave it their all making it even more so wonderful. I found myself looking constantly around the room rather than towards the stage at that moment, and merely just taking in how happy everyone seemed to be. It felt like a perfect representation of what folk music can be at its best, community, experience, and pure moments. ‘Mary’s Pub’ transformed the venue into exactly that kind of space, and it was difficult not to feel emotional watching it all unfold and seeing tears in the eyes of people also witnessing it. 

After playing ‘Tonnta’, the band left the stage, leaving the crowd on an enormous high, but soon returned for none other than ‘Lonely Island’, which seemed to signal the final song of the evening. But Amble had one last surprise: Robbie announced that they wanted to treat the Glasgow crowd to another new song from the upcoming album to end the night, named ‘Poets Run the Land’. It was an unusual way to close the set, but somehow felt completely right for this night. So rather than ending on one of their most familiar songs, Amble chose to leave the audience with something they had never heard before, which was somewhat a perfect ending.

The entire evening had been a celebration of everything Amble has achieved so far, while simultaneously offering a glimpse of where they are going next. With ‘Only to Rhyme’, ‘Church Bells’, and ‘Poets Run the Land’ all making appearances throughout the night, the autumn tour feels like a bridge between the world of Reverie and the arrival of Love and All Its Wares.

All night, the room had been filled with dancing, singing, laughter, and genuine emotion, bringing hundreds of people together simply just because they love these songs. If Glasgow was anything to go by, Love and All Its Wares cannot come soon enough.

Amble will be heading back out on a UK/EU tour next spring and summer, which you can get tickets for HERE.

Pre-order the new album Love and All Its Wares HERE.

SETLIST

1. Schoolyard Days
2. The Swell
3. Marlay Park
4. Only To Rhyme (unreleased)
5. Hand Me Downs
6. Socrates Smiled
7. Church Bells (unreleased)
8. Moral Victory
9. One Man’s Love
10. Last Rites
11. Mariner Boy
12. Of Land and Sea
13. Tonnta
14. Lonely Island
15. Poets Run the Land (unreleased)

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Amanda McEachen

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