The Rooks - Fright Years - Fool Nelson

Great Escape pre show @ King Tuts Glasgow 8th May 26

Story by Dylan Hughes

26/05/2026

The Road to the Great Escape began at the iconic Glasgow venue King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, a week before the big 20th anniversary show for the annual Brighton festival.

The opening act of the night was a band I had never heard of until the gig, the Australian three-piece, Fool Nelson, performing live in Scotland for their very first time. My personal favourite of the band’s set was the hit single from their 2024 EP, ‘Falling Apart’. The band felt a little awkward prior to it – perhaps due to being first billing and unfamiliar with Glaswegians – but after this, they had finally caught the crowd’s attention. Tom Broadbent’s heartfelt vocals were a stand-out in the song, along with guitarist Darcy Stevens' infectious sonic guitar riff. You could feel Fool Nelson’s palpable desire to show why they’re widely regarded as one of Australia's best indie-rock bands. They even began to have a laugh with the King Tut’s audience after gaining their confidence, with drummer, Tom’s brother, Ned Broadbent, making sure to let everyone be made aware of the very important fact that Darcy stepped in dog poo only a minute after stepping off the plane earlier in the day. Blurting out before their next track, “Darcy stepped in dog shite!”. Despite being a little nervous to begin with, the Aussies made a great first impression on the crowd, letting everyone know at the end of their set that they’ll definitely be returning to Glasgow at a later date as well. After a quick 30-minute interval, the next act, Fright Years, came on stage to an almost euphoric reaction from some in the crowd, making it immediately apparent to me just from the reaction alone, that despite not headlining the gig, they’re still a good reason why a lot of people bought tickets for the gig in the first place. The reaction put my expectations high, and the four-piece rock band killed it, starting off with their dreamy 2024 single, ‘Aftersun’. The song’s ethereal vocals by Jules Kelly, alongside its captivating introspective lyrics, Fright Years’s opener managed to capture everyone’s hearts immediately. The band continued their momentum, playing songs like their newly released single, ‘Never Been Wrong', as well as ‘Let Me Down’, with the latter featuring some particularly notable, electrifying shoe-gaze guitar riffs from Harrison MacLeod-Bonnar. To end the set, they played ‘Stars,’ and my personal favourite of the set, ‘Wait.’ An incredibly cinematic track that makes you feel like you are floating away. The song is a perfect encapsulation of what the band’s goal in the exciting scene that is indie rock right now is and was a perfect way to end the set.

As the next interval went by, an electric excitement slowly filled the air as the headliners prepared to take centre stage, setting up the drum kit and more. The lights slowly went out as the iconic radio static that starts ‘1:22’ began, leading to a thunderous applause from the crowd, knowing that it’s finally time for the band that they’ve been waiting all night for...The Rooks. They walked on stage, all holding a bottle of Buckfast, the average Glaswegian's favourite wine, looking cocky and justifiably so, starting with the title track of their EP from last year, ‘Noise and Confusion,’ next. Afterwards, the lads played their brand-new single, ‘Nothing to Lose,’ for the first time in front of a live audience. A track that is a statement from the band to everybody listening that there is nothing that’ll get in the way of becoming the UK’s next great rock band, and after hearing the song live with the energy it brung, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up happening sooner rather than later. The final two songs of the night delivered a perfect one-two punch: ‘Where We Were Before,’ seamlessly segueing into the Glasgow band’s biggest hit to date, ‘Lay Me Down.’ It was easily my favourite moment of the entire gig. The two songs coming one after another made for an explosive finale to the night, especially since the former is my favourite out of their discography so far. I have a feeling I might not be the only one who is under that belief either, as I don’t think there wasn’t one person in King Tut's that night who didn’t join vocalist Ross Gardiner in singing along to the former’s iconic chorus.