Festival fever is in the air in Glasgow as everyone looks forward to the upcoming TRNSMT Festival, and tonight we were treated to a forty-five minute warm up show from Glasgow’s own Dylan John Thomas, with all proceeds going to care charity Who Cares? Scotland. With no support act the intimate venue was jam-packed with 300 fans, eagerly anticipating what songs they would get to hear.
We didn’t have to wait long, as the main man appeared on stage around 8:30pm alongside the three other band members to a massive roar from the crowd. Everyone knew that Jenna was going to be the opening track tonight, it’s one of those numbers that gets the crowd moving early on and was always the choice first song on the 2023 UK tour. Sure enough it was and the iconic venue exploded into life, continuing in this manner for the remainder of the thirteen track set. Dylan John Thomas has been steadily building a massive following around the UK since he toured with fellow Glaswegian Gerry Cinnamon in 2019, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that both artists will be appearing at TRNSMT on Saturday – we would love to see them do a duet, how good would that be? The set featured a nice mix of old and new tracks, with Rich Boy one of the highlights of the show. A surprise acoustic cover of the ABBA classic Mama Mia went down a storm, as everyone in the room sang the chorus back to the stage. Dylan looked very relaxed throughout the set, as he took in the atmosphere being created by the passionate crowd.
Wake Up Ma is always the song that tugs at the heartstrings during the live shows and tonight was no different, as Thomas and his keyboard player worked up a good response from the fans once again. The live version of this track, recorded at Barrowland, appears on his debut album and is well worth a listen. The energy stays at 100% for next track Feel The Fire, another fine moment of crowd involvement as the lyrics are once again sung back to the stage: “And I can feel the, feel the fire, burnin’ up ma skin/Yes I can feel the, feel the fire, burnin’ up ma skin” – it’s a great moment. Back in the earlier stages of his career Dylan John Thomas would appear on stage by himself armed only with an acoustic guitar, but we think having a full band playing alongside him has made a massive difference. Tracks such as Yesterday Is Gone are examples of how his music journey has progressed over the last few years, the keyboard melodies on this one were a standout. The set ended with two of his most popular tracks – Nobody Else and Fever – the latter sending the crowd manic and the atmosphere reaching fever pitch. Other than TRNSMT the band play at various festivals throughout the UK during the summer, including Y Not Festival.
Dylan John Thomas is without a doubt the best up-and-coming talent not just from Glasgow, but the whole of Scotland. We will watch his journey with interest as he takes on a bigger UK tour in December, starting off in Belfast on 5th December and ending with his most ambitious show to date at the OVO Hydro on 20th December. We can’t wait for that one! 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
