SCOUTING FOR GIRLS: GLASGOW, UK
Scouting for Girls with support from Billy Lockett
at The O2 Academy in Glasgow, UK - 16/03/2026
words by Sarah Milligan
To celebrate 15 years of their sophomore album, Everybody Wants To Be On TV, Scouting for Girls embarked on a two-month-long UK and Ireland tour in early 2026 – visiting some of their favourite venues and bringing a faint shimmer of nostalgia wherever they went.
And when they arrived at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, they were greeted by a sold-out crowd who were nothing but desperate to travel back to a time of twee hipster culture and dance-pop music.
First on the bill, however, was Billy Lockett – a passionate, yet modest, singer-songwriter hailing from Northampton, who entranced the crowd with his unassuming charm and memorable melodies. With a voice reminiscent of Noah Kahan (resounding, soulful, and, above all, brutally honest) Lockett’s fresh-faced, realist approach to life – despite all that has happened to him in the past few years, including both an overdose and losing a parent – is a novelty for the music industry, and a reminder that, in Lockett’s words “When I feel you looking down on me/ I know things are looking up”. Lockett may still have a few years before his career truly takes off, but when it does, the world will wish they’d met him sooner.
And then on sauntered Scouting for Girls, looking younger and more cocksure than ever, greeted by raucous applause as they launched into ‘Famous’ – the opening slam of a synthesiser solidifying the next hour and a half as a truly nostalgia-heavy triumph.
However cool they may appear now, though, they aren’t afraid to look back on themselves and laugh; halfway through, they sheepishly admitted to ripping off Dexys Midnight Runners’ ‘Come on Eileen’ in their own 2011 crowd-pleaser ‘Gotta Keep Smiling’ - and then proceeded to mash the two up for a truly tongue-in-cheek composition that was thoroughly enjoyed, judging by the sweaty, smiling atmosphere of the crowd afterwards.
Though they often changed the pacing of the show, they never left the crowd – or, what frontman Roy Stride frequently referred to as “the unofficial fifth member of Scouting for Girls” – behind, instead always bringing them sweeping along as they smoothly transitioned from certified dance-floor fillers like “1+1” into softer, more subtle melodies like their renowned “Silly Song”, an ode to heartbreak and love alike.
Their undeniable stage presence is not to be underestimated – and the loyalty of their fanbase is not to be tested either. Seeing a crowd of around 2,500 singing and waving as if it were the album’s release year was truly something special, especially when the band themselves are so openly appreciative of that love – even going as far as to change the lyrics to their third-last song from “Take a Chance on Us” to “Sing Along with Us”, a gesture that shows their genuine appreciation and love for what they do, and for what they have.
But of course, no Scouting for Girls show is complete without their true smash-hit, utter world domination of a song; ‘She’s So Lovely’, as they lit up the O2 for a final tune with the all-too-familiar heavy drum beat and guitar riffs that echo with memories and flashbacks to a time of hope, heart, and genuine fun.
In summation, the world can be a formidable opponent; some days, the glimmering nostalgia for the hope and joy of the 2010s can feel hundreds of miles away – and other days, you can shout along to Scouting for Girls in your best West London accent and leave Glasgow’s O2 Academy with just a little bit more hope than you walked in with.
Sarah Milligan
★★★★☆