The Fray // SWG3

The Fray aren’t just revisiting their past—they’re rewriting their future.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

The Fray @ SWG3

Photocredit: Chloe McCelland

Let’s flash back for a moment to a time when life was basically Wi-Fi roulette and emotional MySpace layouts. We survived T9 texting like digital warriors, judged our friends almost exclusively by their Top 8, and somehow made it through the Twilight era intact. And through all of that glorious chaos, one band carved their name into the soundtrack of the 2000s: The Fray.

Formed in Denver in 2002 when childhood acquaintances Isaac Slade and Joe King reconnected, The Fray built their foundation the old-school way—writing in basements, practicing in church rooms, and earning a loyal local following. Their early demos began sneaking onto Denver radio, and after some lineup changes and increasing buzz, Epic Records came calling. The result was their 2005 debut How to Save a Life, a record that launched them into international success and, for many of us, permanently tattooed itself onto our coming-of-age years.

Now performing without longtime frontman Slade, The Fray are entering a new chapter—one filled with nostalgia, reinvention, and the kind of grateful confidence only a twenty-year legacy brings. Their sold-out stop at Glasgow’s SWG3 proved that the band’s heartbeat is very much alive, even if the venue felt, as always, like an extremely sweaty sardine can.

This tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of their iconic debut album, and the Glasgow crowd showed up more than ready to relive it. The set began with a run of early favourites that immediately locked the crowd into nostalgia mode. “She Is” opened the night before moving into “All at Once,” complete with its era-defining line, “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.” “Look After You” wrapped the room in collective memory—young love, heartbreak, and everything in between—before the band moved through “Fall Away,” “Little House,” and a lively “Dead Wrong,” where Joe King twirled a stage light and danced with carefree joy. “Trust Me,” “Heaven Forbid,” and “Vienna” kept the emotional momentum building, but the real eruption came when the opening notes of “Over My Head (Cable Car)” hit. Hands shot up, voices merged, and tears were wiped away as the crowd relived the moment that first introduced The Fray to the world. “How to Save a Life” followed with equal weight, landing like a collective exhale.

The latter half of the show wove together their career moving forward, and new beginnings still. “My Heart’s a Crowded Room,” “Hurricane,” “Heartbeat,” and a tender, beautifully unexpected cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams” showcased the band’s emotional range. “You Found Me” drew a surge of recognition before the band debuted “Songs I’d Rather Not Sing,” an unreleased track blending their signature sound with a gentle country flair. “Never Say Never” closed the encore of the set, but the night wasn’t over—those who stayed were rewarded with a final burst of energy as the band returned to perform “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” in a heartfelt nod to their Scottish audience. The surprise encore turned the venue into a full-throttle celebration, ending the night on a high that only The Fray could deliver.

The Fray’s Glasgow show was a time capsule and a rebirth all at once—a reminder of how deeply their music is interlaced with the emotional fabric of the 2000s, and evidence that they’re not done evolving. Between nostalgia, powerful performances, and hints dropped about a potential tour next October, one thing is clear:

The Fray aren’t just revisiting their past—they’re rewriting their future.

Words: Katrin Lamont. Photo Credit: Chloe McCelland