Stereophonics show their timeless quality at Glasgow’s Summer Sessions

The Welsh band’s knack for stadium-sized chorus’s and rock ‘n roll is in full flow in Bellahouston Park.

The UK is experiencing something of a second summer of Britpop. An estimated 14 million people tried for Oasis 2025 tour tickets (90% of them being unsuccessful!), bands like Cast, Shed Seven and Supergrass are active again, while More - Pulp’s first album in 24 years - smashed in at number one on the UK albums chart.

And then you have Stereophonics. 2025 has given them their moment in the Britpop sun with a host of headline festival slots and stadium gigs following the release of Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Wait in April.

I suppose calling them a Britpop band would be a tad simplistic as they straddle a couple of music eras. Establishing themselves towards the mid to late ‘90s as Britpop was faltering, Stereophonics became the UK’s biggest band by the turn of the century. They later reinvented themselves again by the mid-00s as key indie sleaze-era players.

All this has only risen their stock over the years. Tonight, they play Glasgow’s Summer Sessions festival at Bellahouston Park and deliver a career spanning set from their 13-album discography.

The Glasgow Central to Dumbreck train reveals a noticeably diverse age group dynamic gathering for today’s show; from teenage boys in Nike running gear, to couples in their 50s reliving their youth. After getting through security in record speed for such a large-scale event (an estimated 35,000 have gathered today), it’s time for a quick pint and burger in the VIP section before checking out the first support act, Finn Forster.

The Middlesborough singer-songwriter’s 40-minute set impresses. Songs from new EP Long Nights bring a lovely mix of country, rock and Americana vibes. The instant impression is that of early Sam Fender - the two share a striking and powerful high tenor vocal style. There could be a little more bite and grit to the music, but there’s a lot here to reveal his potential. One to keep your eye on, for sure.

Next up is the ever-reliable Blossoms. A day earlier, the Stockport outfit were playing 400 miles away at Glastonbury Festival. For that reason, you’d have forgiven them for appearing a little weary. Instead, they offer a highly enjoyable and tight set packed with indie pop bangers and funky grooves.

Joe Donovan’s percussion and Charlie Salt’s bass keep the hips in the front section moving throughout, while frontman Tom Ogden’s charisma is a joy to watch: he prances around the stage with the charm of a young Jarvis Cocker. Singles ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Honey Sweet’ and ‘Real Life’ sound magnificent with the sun blaring down – it almost makes you wish you were lying poolside with cocktail in hand rather than in a large Glaswegian field!

Breakthrough single ‘Charlamagne’ threatens to blow the (erm, metaphorical) roof off, but even better is to come with last year’s singalong single ‘Gary’. There’s much hilarity in Ogden’s description of the song being inspired by the theft of a Scottish garden centre gorilla statue (they even place a replica by the side of the stage). The finale is a heap of fun and, to be honest, I could easily have watched Blossoms do their thing for another hour.

The bar has been set high at this point and Stereophonics have a hard task bettering what we’ve just seen. Are the ‘phonics up to the task? Of course they are! Around 8.45pm, they enter the stage to a hero’s welcome. Kelly Jones arrives last and looks effortlessly cool in his zipped-up leather jacket, skinny grey jeans and red bandana scarf. The aesthetic, fantastic hair and general coolness all point to a man who simply refuses to age. As we’ll soon establish, the same can be said be of his cultured and raspy singing voice.

There’s always a worry with bands this far in their career have grown bored of their established hits and simply wish to push newer material. Not this band. Stereophonics give the people exactly what they want and that is a heavy dose of nostalgia, interspersed with more recent moments. And they get the audience immediately on side with early upbeat banger ‘The Bartender and the Thief’.

“They asked us to play Glastonbury but we said we’d rather play Glasgow” proclaims Kelly to a Glaswegian audience who, in my experience, can never get enough of such flattery. He doesn’t speak too often between songs, but when he does his words carry extra impact. During raucous Just Enough Education to Perform open ‘Vegas Two Times’ he moves from side to side of the stage (with guitar still in tow), waving his left arm in the air to receive the acclaim his band deserves.

‘Have a Nice Day’ causes a mass singalong for one of the evening’s many highlights. The same can be said of ‘Just Looking’, ‘Pick a Part That’s New’ and ‘Hurry Up and Wait’ -these Performance and Cocktails singles laying claim to the most celebrated of the night. There’s a lot of love also for 2015’s Keep the Village Alive with ‘I Wanna Get Lost With You’ and ‘C’est La Vie’ (almost) greeted as boisterously as the older material.

It's not completely a nostalgia fest. Stereophonics introduce two new songs into the mix. A polished version of ‘Seems Like You Don’t Know Me’ offers tenderness, while the jangly ‘There’s Always Gonna Be Something’ maintains the crowd’s feel-good vibe.

Later, the encore has a solo Kelly encouraging an acoustic singalong of two Just Enough Education to Perform (2001) singles, ‘Handbags and Gladrags’ and ‘Step On My Old Size Nines’. Both are sung back with accompanying gusto from the crowd in front of him.

As the band return, we have one song left which, of course, is 2005 calling card anthem ‘Dakota’. And what a priceless moment it provides! Bellahouston Park collectively loses its sh*t and the euphoria is palpable during a collective closing refrain cry of “So take a look at me now!”.

And that is that. As the thousands amble out the park, a feeling of satisfaction grips the air and on we move into the ensuing traffic chaos around Bellahouston Park. This evening, Stereophonics prove their knack for performing stadium-sized choruses and raucous rock ‘n roll hasn’t deserved them.

An expertly performed two-hours to help those attending forget that Glastonbury is happening down the road.