BASTILLE // OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW

Bastille shake up the Hydro with surprises, deep cuts and a massive final chorus

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

BASTILLE PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S OVO HYDRO
PHOTOCREDIT: PAUL STORR PHOTOGRAPHY

Glasgow’s OVO Hydro has always suited bands who thrive on volume and emotion, and Bastille walked into that environment with a set built to make the most of it. Fifteen years into their career, they’re still leaning into the uneasy themes that first pushed them into the mainstream, but the 2025 version of Bastille is looser, sharper and far more confident in how they present it.

Bradley Simpson opened the night with a performance that showed just how far he’s stepped from his old identity. His solo material cuts closer to indie pop and alternative rock, with guitar-led arrangements and a clearer vocal presence. He controlled the space well, pacing the stage without overplaying it, and the crowd responded almost immediately. Songs from his upcoming record landed strongly, and by the time he finished his set he’d won over huge sections of the Hydro who weren’t necessarily expecting much beyond familiarity. It was a solid, self-assured opener.

Bastille’s entrance was met with a wave of noise that never really dipped across the night. They opened with a run of crowd-pleasers before dropping into a more reflective section. A stripped-back Flaws shifted the room into a quieter gear, the arrangement pared down to the essentials with Dan Smith’s vocals carrying all the focus. It set up Oblivion, which arrived with subtle nods to Bad Blood and Poet woven into the build. Fans recognised the borrowed melodies instantly, and the reaction was loud enough to make the moment feel intentional rather than nostalgic.

A genuine surprise came soon after: Hangin, played for the first time since 2019. Its jagged, restless energy provided one of the night’s biggest jolts, cutting through the slower material with a welcome change of pace. The band looked energised by it, and the audience matched them.

Mid-set, Doom Days hit with full visual force. The black-and-white lyric projections behind the band—styled like stark headlines—gave the track a heavier presence than usual. The Hydro locked into the moment immediately, not with silence but with focused intensity; the song has always hit hard live, but in 2025 the context around it makes it land differently.

From there the tone lifted again with the Other People’s Heartaches section. Bastille circled a DJ setup at centre-stage and crashed through their familiar run of covers and mashups, including What Would You Do? and No Angels. The Hydro turned it into the rowdiest part of the night, with the upper areas moving almost as much as the front floor.

In the encore, the final blowout came with Pompeii. This time, Bradley Simpson and Master Peace joined Bastille on stage, turning the last song into a multi-vocal celebration rather than a straightforward closer. The extra voices didn’t clutter the track—they gave it a rawer, more frenetic energy, and the crowd pushed back just as fiercely. If the night needed a single moment that summed up Bastille’s current live identity, it was that final chorus: loud, messy, collaborative and entirely unforced.

Across the full set, Bastille moved confidently through introspective moments, big-scale pop production and unexpected deep cuts without losing momentum. Glasgow rewarded them with volume, precision and enthusiasm from the first track to the last. No theatrics needed—just a band who know exactly what they’re doing and a crowd ready to meet them at every step.

Words: John Hayhurst

Photos:Paul Storr