“I LOVE BEING SCOTTISH” | TRNSMT FINAL DAY SHOWCASES LOCAL TALENT

FESTIVAL REVIEW | TRNSMT 2026: DAY 3 | 21st June 2026 by Ella Dowell

The sun was well and truly beating down on Glasgow Green for day 3 of TRNSMT Festival. With another packed lineup, and it set to be the busiest day of the weekend, I knew that the festival was going out with a bang.

It was a busy day of interviewing on Sunday, so unfortunately, I didn’t catch as many sets as I had hoped. I spent some time chatting with people attending the festival however, and everybody was in great spirits! The bands don’t always praise a Glasgow crowd for no reason.

I had travelled around the whole festival and met some great characters who reminded me why I love being Scottish. Over the whole weekend, so many people were representing Scotland with anything from football tops to cowboy hats which made me very happy. My first wander was just after the gates opened and it was a rather sweaty wander. I landed at the main stage to see Uddingston’s Kerr Mercer open the final day of Scotland’s music festival.

TRNSMT 2026 (Becca Kilpatrick/Northern Exposure)

Kerr Mercer

Kerr Mercer took to the stage with a buzz that was felt from the crowd. Three years in a row the singer-songwriter has played at TRNSMT, but this was his first time on the main stage. His soulful vocals were incredible, and his songs were met with an adoring crowd. Things have been looking up for this talented vocalist for a while now, and a main stage TRNSMT debut is a big milestone that he was proudly grateful for.

Vida

I then darted across to the King Tut’s stage to catch a bit of Vida’s set. I had never heard of these guys before, a 5-piece Britpop-inspired band from Alloa. They certainly had the Britpop energy down, but with a Scottish flair- Scotpop. Doesn’t sound as good, ah well. It was another set with a great, enthusiastic crowd; some of them travelled through from Alloa and were thanked by the band, which was sweet. Vida had a great set of raw indie tunes, and it felt right watching them with a pint in the sun.

Jacob Alon

My next wander was once again to the main stage to hear the angelic tones of Jacob Alon. I had never seen the Ivor Novello winner live, and their voice was truly beautiful. Pin drop beautiful at points. Every sound that came out of the band felt so perfect; the set belonged in an enchanted forest for sure. I found it very moving! It was great to finally see them live, and it’s always great to see another fantastic Scottish artist gaining recognition.

TRNSMT BBC Introducting (Hope Simmers/Northern Exposure)

Billie Reekie

And speaking of Scottish artists (I’m sensing a theme here…), I caught one song from Kirkcaldy’s Billy Reekie, a soft rock singer/songwriter with an amazing voice. He was a great performer, the band were tight, and his audience received him well. I’m certain that he left the festival with more fans than he came with!

After a wee hour or so interviewing in the press village, I had another kick about while Two Door Cinema Club were playing the main stage. It was then that I really started chatting away to people, as there was a serious buzz brewing; the festival was really filling up now.

Two Door Cinema Club (Becca Kilpatrick/Northern Exposure)

Out of pure curiosity, I decided to check out the boogie stage for the first time, before feeling far too old… It really is its own wee corner of the festival. Jenn Gunn was playing, who I’ve heard of before, and she had a packed crowd! I can imagine a day in the sun there at 16 being life-changing stuff. It wasn’t long before I had to rush across to the main stage for CMAT, who I’d never seen live, but had been very intrigued by.

CMAT

A blue podium was lined with yellow stars along the back of the stage, a nod to her 2025 album Euro-Country. All of the band were dressed in yellow and black, CMAT wore a hooded spotted skater dress; it was such a bright scene. Everyone on stage was having a ball; the backing singer was even strutting up and down the stage with CMAT, which I loved. What a voice CMAT has, her emotion and power had her audience in tears at points and jiving at others. A phenomenal and fun performer that I would definitely go see again!

Shay O’Dowd

After another round of interviewing, I caught a bit of Shay O’Dowd’s set. I had first seen Shay at an acoustic performance ahead of the Scottish Music Awards, a confident and promising Glasgow singer/songwriter. His TRNSMT set was great! And it was evident that he had a ball performing. It was at this point, however, that I began to wilt. It had been a very long weekend…

I decided to go home to watch Biird’s set, the 11-piece all-female trad band. I was so buzzing for it, I was also buzzing for my jammies. I was absolutely devastated when I was halfway to the train station and discovered that the BBC introducing stage was not televised. Biird if you are reading this, I’m sorry. Gutted.

Crawling into bed was a triumph, and I had a legendary sleep. What a great weekend spent with great artists and the brilliant people attending. Everyone shone on the TRNSMT stages, and thankfully, the sun shone on us too in the end! Until next time…