Judah & The Lion, SWG3, Glasgow. Friday 29th Nov, 2019

Judah & The Lion hail from Tennessee and first came to my attention when they supported Kaleo at the Barrowlands. That night they blew away the main act with their energetic, fun performance. When I realised they were coming back, I knew I had to see them again (I didn't realise they'd already been back in July, playing King Tut's at the very start of this tour).

The gig was supposed to be at The Art School but was transferred to SWG3 in Glasgow's west end. I had never been to this particular venue before and wasn't sure how easy it would be to park nearby so snagged a brightly-lit space outside a local gym, opting to walk the rest of the way. We were running late so I didn't want to risk having to drive around to find a closer space. Then, as we approached the venue, we saw loads of empty parking bays. I began to wonder if the gig had been cancelled. 

The street was deserted. I would normally expect a stream of latecomers flowing towards the venue but the only people in sight were a gaggle of girls smoking outside plus a lone security person checking the tickets. We could hear that an indistinct din from inside telling us the support act had already started. 

Climbing a couple of staircases we entered a warehouse-like space with a low ceiling, visible beams supporting the floor above. The room was divided by a curtain, in front of which was the control desk, with the bar area behind it. The audience was sparse but that is not unusual for a support act. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the music. 

Sara 'N' Junbug are a young Scottish four-piece pop band with catchy songs and a fun attitude. I liked the twenty minutes that I caught and would go see them again. Maybe. They come across better live than they do in their youtube videos.

I wasn't overly alarmed by the small audience. However, at 8.20 pm, when the intro to 'Pep Talk' blasted out and there still weren't many more people, I was dismayed. It was a small crowd with lots of empty space.  

Judah & the Lion didn't disappoint though. They put in a varied and energetic performance, full of charisma and charm. Frontman Judah did his best to bring the crowd closer and engage them in singalongs and hand waving, even getting them dancing. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. It was just a shame there were so few people. They deserve a bigger audience.

As well as tracks from their latest album, 'Pep Talks', they played covers such as Blink-182's 'All the Small Things' and Tom Petty's I won't Back Down', plus their rendition of 'Loch Lomond' and an original Tennessee hillbilly tune that I don't recall the name of.


The lighting was a little in-your-face because of the low ceiling, with the spotlights regularly blinding me. They made good use of the massive glitter ball though.    

They finished their hour with the anthem, 'Take It All Back'. I recorded it on my phone but stopped the video early not expecting the lead singer to jump into the crowd to continue the song. That video file was too large to load here so the file below is the very end of the concert. It captures some of energy and warmth of their performance.