Florence Road at the QMU, Glasgow

23 May 2026

Story by Emily Strout

18/05/2026

Is it possible to transition online popularity to a successful live show? This was the question that brought me to Florence Road, an indie rock quartet made of four childhood friends from Ireland and named for the street on which they met. The band has built up a following for years through posting quirky covers online, several of which went viral. Millions of eyes were on them before they’d even released an original song of their own.

Florence Road, however, has taken that momentum and used it to catapult forwards. They’ve made a name for themselves beyond a mere cover band, with two original EPs and opening slots for acts like Olivia Rodrigo, The Last Dinner Party, and The Academic. With endorsements like these it was safe to say that my expectations were high. Thankfully, “flo ro” (as they’ve been affectionately titled) did not disappoint. It was the girl group’s second ever headline in Glasgow and the start of their UK tour, playing to the buzzing crowd that clustered in the Queen Margaret Union. As the band took the stage, it became immediately clear to me why this tour has completely sold out: put simply, Florence Road is hard to ignore. While I enjoyed the recorded tracks I’d heard beforehand, the live show was something else altogether. Lead singer Lily Aron dominates the room with incredible vocal chops and a fun stage presence aided by her barely-contained grin. Her voice is raw yet well-controlled, and her joy is infectious—it’s hard not to smile back when she gazes gratefully on a crowd that sings every word back to her. She spins around stage, sometimes with guitar in hand, looking back at the band surrounding her. There’s Emma Brandon on guitar, Ailbhe Barry on bass, and Hannah Kelly providing double duty on drums and keys, collectively rocking the stage with upbeat songs like “Figure It Out” and “Storm Warnings” that have the audience (myself included) bopping their heads. I’m reminded some of Wolf Alice, with a tiny bit of another Florence (Welch, that is), but at the same time, Florence Road carves out their own sound.

The energetic set was interspersed with quieter moments, too. “Rabbits Can Swim” was a highlight, and as the opening chords rang out fans tossed various animal hats onto the stage for the band to wear. And when Aron sang the melancholic lyric “just tell me you love me,” dozens of Irish flags emerged from the depths of the crowd, each one scrawled on with the same message: WE LOVE YOU. Moments like these are what make Florence Road special. There’s something refreshing about the genuine joy that radiates from the group on stage, and the mutual adoration from their fans. They are just a delight to watch. It’s the sort of feeling you can’t get just from listening to the recorded tracks on streaming; here is a band that begs to be seen live. Florence Road is definitely on the (Florence) road to big-time success, and I look forward to seeing what they do next