Indie-Rock Band ‘Swim School’ takes Queen’s Park by Storm

The rising three-piece indie rock band from Edinburgh gave a phenomenal set to Glasgow concertgoers in support of The Charlatans’ headline show at Queen’s Park.

A compelling and exciting atmosphere was created from start to finish during Swim School’s performance, which gathered the attention of multiple attendees during their supporting set in Glasgow. The show took place on Sunday 30th June 2024. With a running set lasting approximately 45 minutes, the Scottish three-piece did not disappoint. The setlist included smash hits like Seeing It Now – the title track from their recently released EP, as well as songs from their 2023 EP ‘Duality’ including See Red and Delirious – the latter recently celebrated one million streams on Spotify.

Swim School has a captivating alternative rock music style, taking influence from iconic 90’s hypnagogic pop to shoegaze rock, blended with inspirations from avant-garde indie and alternative styles. Band members consist of frontwoman Alice Johnson on lead vocals and guitar, Billy McMahon on drums, and Lewis Bunting on guitar. Swim School would best suit fans from the likes of Wolf Alice, Pale Waves, and Slowdive.

Prior to playing their hit single Delirious, Alice Johnson warmed up the crowd with a captivating speech, advocating against sexism. The lyricism in Delirious strives to prevent men from taking advantage of young women by abusing their positions of power.

This was followed by exciting interactions between the lead vocalist and the crowd, where Johnson got up close to the audience and encouraged super fans at the front to get involved in singing the song’s bridge, in which powerful lyrics mock male misogynistic insecurities such as jealousy. This created a buzzing atmosphere and encouraged engagement from the rest of the audience.

Additional songs such as Let Me Inside Your Head and Over Now involved entrancing guitar solos from Lewis Bunting, providing a unique, electric feel to their indie-rock set.

One dedicated fan brought a sign stating, “Only Here 4 Swim”, saying he was only attending the show to see Swim School. Other acts that supported The Charlatans were indie-rock bands The Big Day and Callum Beattie.

Other show attendees who had never previously heard of Swim School, provided positive feedback about the band following the end of their set. Swim School are no doubt successful in attracting new fans and getting their name known.

Swim School’s set at Queen’s Park marked their first Scottish gig since their debut headline UK tour in April, where they concluded their tour at St Luke’s, Glasgow on 1st May 2024.

In recent years they have previously supported The Amazons, Inhaler, and Declan Mckenna.

What’s next for Swim School? - The band have a jam-packed schedule for this year’s festival season, with shows including Mad Cool Festival in Spain, Hit The City in the Netherlands, and Radar Festival in Zurich this summer. Talks about an additional tour to bring 2024 to a close are currently unconfirmed but are certainly in anticipation and high hopes from fans across the UK and Europe.

Swim School is definitely a band to watch in 2024 and 2025.

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Words and images by Olivia Macrae