It’s about time Loyle Carner returned to Scotland.

Last night London-based rapper Loyle Carner continued the UK & Ireland leg of his world tour, following the release of his most recent album hopefully. This will be his first time performing in Scotland since his 2019 Not Waving, But Drowning tour.

The first of multiple Glasgow dates occurred last night, kicking off what is sure to be an electric three-night sprint.

The show kicked off with support act Rejjie Snow warming the crowd up with a 20-minute set. He was a great choice for a support act, having music in the same style as Loyle Carner with his own unique quirks.

Snow is a solid performer, having good breath control and the right amount of energy.

He really was trying his best to draw good energy out of a crowd that clearly wasn’t familiar with his music. At times it did feel like he was having his own personal vibe session, but his music had enough groove to keep the crowd somewhat engaged.

I would give Rejjie Snow’s performance a 7/10.

Rejjie Snow at Electric Picnic Festival Day 1

Now, onto the main event. Loyle Carner’s set was unbelievable.

Being accompanied by a tremendous live band, Carner put on possibly the best sounding gig of the year. Each individual instrument sounded so crisp and clear, whilst still not overshadowing the vocals.

The backing band consisted of a drummer, bass guitarist, rhythm guitarist, keyboard player and his musical director Aviram Barath, who played many instruments such as trumpet, acoustic guitar and synthesiser.

Each band member got their moment in the spotlight during the gig, being given at least one solo each.

As for Carner himself, he is a natural performer.

His rapping was of high quality for the entire show, having great breath control and a really stable voice. I could count on one hand the number of times he paused during verses to take a breath and still have fingers left.

His performance of the song Homerton was especially special. The scattering drum pattern was so strong in a live setting, and Carner gave an even more impassioned vocal performance than the studio recording.

Loyle Carner at O2 Academy Glasgow, 12/11/25

He loves to go back to some of his past lyrics and change them to suit his current situation, such as in his most popular song Ottolenghi where he changed the lyrics “Wonder if I’ll have a son or a daughter” into “I have a son and a daughter”.

His concert had such a personal feel, often breaking out into monologues in between tracks by telling stories or just speaking to the crowd. There were even a couple people in the front row that he continuously interacted with throughout the show.

To further the personalised feel to this show, extra elements were added to certain songs. Most notably, his song Loose Ends having an additional verse at the end that blends seamlessly into his performance of the track Ice Water.

I would give Loyle Carner and his band’s performance a 10/10.

Gig Review: Loyle Carner at the O2 Academy 12/11/25