Twenty One Pilots make a fiery return to Glasgow after six years
On 5 May 2025 at the OVO Hydro, Ohio duo Twenty One Pilots delivered an energetic, 26-song set that proved their six-year absence from the city had only built the hype
The Glasgow crowd showed up in full force — many dressed like the band, queueing early for merch and buzzing with anticipation.
The energy began to build before the first note was played. A voice came over the speakers — frontman Tyler Joseph asking, “What’s your ETA?” — met by 14,000 Scots roaring back “Two minutes!” in unison, a nod to the lyric from Midwest Indigo. The moment felt like a signal: this was more than a gig; it was a reunion.
The curtain dropped, and with the crowd already buzzing, the American duo kept them going after bursting onto the stage with ‘Overcompensate’, the first song from their newest album Clancy.
When the curtain dropped, the duo burst onto the stage with Overcompensate, the opening track from their latest album Clancy, setting the tone for a night of genre-bending and high energy theatrics. Twenty One Pilots are renowned for their crowd interaction — and Glasgow was no exception. During their 2015 hit Ride, Tyler invited a young fan up onto the B-stage to help deliver the last chorus. Twenty One Pilots know how to create core memories for their fans.
When it comes to the music itself, Twenty One Pilots are close to mastering the art of perfecting a setlist. They effortlessly span across their past five albums whilst weaving smooth transitions between fan favourites like Nico and the Niners and Heavydirtysoul or pairing the moody Heathens with the newer and punchy Next Semester. Highlights included a rare vocal moment from drummer Josh Dun during Paladin Strait, which flowed emotionally from Bandito and marked one of the night’s most powerful sequences.,
Photo captured by Alannah Sitrling.
The finale of the night - as with every Twenty One Pilots gig - was the iconic Trees. On this tour, Tyler and Josh went deep into the pit with a keyboard and drums with their loyal fans surrounding them. Water splashed from the drums being held up by the crowd as red confetti rained and the final beats echoed throughout the arena.
Tyler Joseph’s final words of the night were, “We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you.” It felt less like a farewell and more like a reaffirmation of the deep bond between the band and their fans. After six long years away from Glasgow, the Clancy World Tour proved the wait was more than worth it.