THE second annual TRNSMT festival came to an explosive end last night with help from Las Vegas indie-rockers The Killers.
A fortnight of unrivalled live music and great weather has brought around 140,000 people to Glasgow Green and what is hoped to be millions to the local economy.
Organisers managed to surpass their incredible first year of the TRNSMT event by bringing a whole host of world-renowned artists to the metropolitan setting including Queen + Adam Lambert, Arctic Monkeys, Stereophonics and Liam Gallagher.
The job of opening the fifth and final day of the festival was bestowed upon Bathgate-born singer Lewis Capaldi, who was joined on stage by Nina Nesbit.
The powerhouse vocalist kicked off a day of varied music on the Main Stage with his hugely successful string of singles.
Opening the festival on an admittedly bleak note, Lewis's heart wrenching tracks Fade, Rush and new single Tough, had crowds belting back every word.
Despite selling out Glasgow Barrowland before even releasing an album, Lewis has managed to maintain his self-deprecating attitude that has made him so lovable.
Lewis also covered All These Things That I’ve Done.
Fellow Scot Nina Nesbitt appeared with him on the main stage ahead of her headline appearance on the King Tut’s Stage.
The TRNSMT first-timer and one-time Ed Sheeran muse said: “I love playing gigs in Scotland and I feel like festivals are even better because everybody is a bit drunk and just up for it.
“T in the Park was my favourite,” she added. “They’ve always been really fun crowds so fingers crossed for tonight.”
Pop star Jessie Ware was second on stage to perform songs from her impressive back catalogue.
From Wildest Moments, dedicated to a couple she met in her hotel, who told her they had it as their wedding song, to upbeat Domino and back to heartbreaking ballad Say You Love Me, Ware proved that her voice really can do anything.
Having performed at the more intimate setting of the Old Fruitmarket earlier in the year, Ware effortlessly managed to replicate the exact same atmosphere and emotion on the massive festival stage.
Keeping the good times going, Friendly Fires took to the stage for their first UK festival performance in over five years.
Known for their uptempo tropical-pop and dancing frontman Ed Macfarlane, Friendly Fires are a firm favourite on the festival scene.
Performances of Jump In The Pool, Paris and Skeleton Boy proved that the band haven’t lost any of their enthusiasm.
As the day went on, it was all about the Scots.
First up was Franz Ferdinand who have built up a massive following since their breakthrough second album You Could Have It So Much Better.
Singles Take Me Out and Do You Want To received an expectedly wild reception from the Glasgow crowd with chants echoing around the green.
Songs from their fifth studio album Always Ascending mixed in well with their extensive back catalogue which has taken them from underground Glasgow to one of the biggest indie-rock bands of recent years.
Synth-pop trio Chvrches danced their way through the day’s penultimate set with Lauren Mayberry securing her reputation as one of the best frontwomen ever to come out of Glasgow.
Fresh from the release of their third album, the band put on a stellar display of their genre-mixing hits including The Mother We Share, Recover and new single My Enemy.
Now seasoned professionals when it comes to headlining festivals, The Killers pulled off a near faultless performance.
All round good-guy Brandon Flowers performed with the eagerness of a frontman who is still getting used to arena shows, despite the fact it has become a near monthly occurrence for the band.
Playing a chunk of songs from their spotless debut album Hot Fuss, highlights from Day & Age, Battle Born and Sam’s Town, and peppering in some from their most recent album Wonderful Wonderful, appeared to be just the right combination to get fans on side.
As the show came to a colourful end, The Killers cemented their status as a must-see act for any music fan.
Crowds lapped up the last day of the festival which has been steeped in glorious sunshine from start to
finish.
Changes to the site layout saw a big wheel popping up to give ticket holders a view right across Glasgow Green, which has been decked out with street food stalls and a McFlurry van since June 29.
TRNSMT is in its second year after taking over from T in the Park as Scotland’s major summer music festival.
Spread over two weekends, Queen + Adam Lambert headlined on Friday, following Texas, The Alabama 3 and The Darkness.
The line-up the previous weekend included headline performances by Liam Gallagher and Arctic Monkeys, with Wolf Alice, Interpol and The Courteeners among the other acts appearing.
Mr Ellis said bands had been singing the praises of the event and audience figures are “well up” on the previous year and could near 250,000.
He said: “I’m really pleased with it. The atmosphere every day has been great, the spirit, the mood of the people has been really wonderful.
“They’ve been a really well behaved but up for it crowd. The reactions to performances has been brilliant, all the bands have gone away really happy.
“Queen and Adam Lambert on the Friday night said it was a brilliant gig. They were blown away by the crowd reaction and the crowd were blown away by their performance.
“The Killers got here early so they had a good look round and think the site looks great and are really excited about playing tonight.
“We were sold out for the Arctic Monkeys, sold out for Liam Gallagher and I’m really pleased with the attendances on the other days.
“It’s been a great atmosphere and the weather has been tremendous as well... just a great festival, beyond our best hopes really.”
Police Scotland Superintendent Simon Jeacocke said around 140 people had been reported over the duration of the festival for drug possession, with 18 people stopped at gates on Sunday and one reported for possession of a knife.
He said: “There’s been no real issues with disorder, or antisocial behaviour, people have been really well behaved and I’d personally like to thank them for that and ask them to keep up the good behaviour.”
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