"I'M NEVER STRESSED, I'M DEAD CALM": LIAM McCAY BRINGS NEW BAND TO GLASGOW | IN PICTURES

PHOTO GALLERY | DEAD CALM w/ Paulie Swan | SAINT LUKE’S, GLASGOW | 20th September 2026 by Rebecca Kilpatrick

At just 21 years old, Donegal musician Liam McCay has surpassed expectations and set new standards for musicians so early in his career. With 14 separate aliases, McCay has achieved excellence and range within the music industry, best known from his projects Sign Crushes Motorists, Take Care, Birth Day and Dead Calm.

On Sunday, Dead Calm brought their UK and Ireland tour to Glasgow’s very own Saint Luke’s, with Paulie Swan opening the show with a melodically beautiful set.

As the lights dim for the show to begin, L’Amour Toujours begins blaring out of the speakers, the crowd immediately bouncing. A few songs into their set, McCay openly proclaims an inspiring protest.

“We believe in a free Palestine because that’s their land! I wanna say another thing. If you’re in this country and you think that it’s foreigners causing these problems, and foreigners are ruinin’ this country or whatever. I’ll tell you who’s really ruinin’ the fuckin’ country. Its the fucking billionaires who couldn’t give a FUCK about you”

“Now put your fucking phones away n’ open up a pit!”

The crowd was electric the entire show, constantly in motion, moshing and crowd surfing. It was truly inspiring to see an artist bring such life to a crowd of people, connecting complete strangers through music. They managed to treat fans not only to Dead Calm’s music, but also a range of impressive covers, incorporating numerous hits into the set, including ‘Own Worst Enemy’ by Lit and ‘Freaks’ by Surf Curse. The opening notes of their biggest hit, ‘Bleed ‘, crept through their speakers, and the crowd became impossibly more alive; I heard screams, cheers, saw tears and crowd surfers. It was all such a beautiful juxtaposition; the song really brought out every emotion possible within the room.

The set ended, and the band said their thank yous and goodbyes, but the crowd was not having it. ‘ONE MORE TUNE! ONE MORE TUNE!’ and almost instantaneously the band was back to their positions, not ready to give up such an impressive crowd. They played the opening bars of ‘Iris’ by The Goo Goo Dolls, and once again the crowd revived one final time.