Kingfishr took Glasgow by storm last Monday, performing their second sold out show at the O2 in Glasgow. Frontman, Eddie Keough couldn’t retain his disbelief as the audience screamed their hearts out to the Irish folk-rock trio’s foot-stomping tunes.
Following the release of their debut album, previous students Eddie Keogh, Eoghan “McGoo” Mcgrath, and Eoin “Fitz” Fitzgibbon, are seeing the start to blossoming career. With their single, ‘Killeagh’, going viral on TikTok and becoming the most listened to song in Ireland last year, it was little surprise that they’ve sold out multiple dates on their tour, including the two nights in Glasgow.
As the lights turned to an orange glow and the drums thundered, the band came out to an audience screaming in anticipation. Starting out with the rolling ‘Shadow’, the resonating banjo, played by McGoo (Eoghan), set the tone.
As he neared the microphone, Eddie’s deep, raspy voice filled hall. The Irish accent as he sang the words only added to the already magical atmosphere, which only folk music can conjure.
As they played the next few songs, it was evident from the start that the crowd comprised of dedicated fans, yelling the lyrics back with certainty and passion.
As they started playing the song ‘Flower-five’ from their debut album, Halcyon, the eager audience seemed ready to contribute. Like an angelic chorus, ‘hallelujah’ reverberated across the O2 Academy, and suddenly it felt like the church of Irish folk was in session.
For the next song Eddie showcased his talent on the harmonica to their deeply honest and melancholy song, ‘The Blade’. The song puts words to the human struggle of desolation and aimlessness, without knowing where to turn.
As the crowd chanted the outro, Kingfishr prepared for their next move. To everyone’s surprise the three bandmembers came into the audience to perform ‘Shot in the Dark’. The song, as Eddie explained, is the trio’s expression of daring to follow their dreams.
The three Irishmen chose to pause their studies in pursuit of music, unaware that they would one day be performing to entire crowds passionately reciting their lyrics to them.
Standing amongst said crowd they humbly expressed their gratitude with their performance, the fans swaying their phone torches around them.
The three musicians are passionate in expressing their love for folk music and their appreciation towards their devoted fans. They also played some songs at the Irish Pub in Glasgow, Kitty O’Shea’s, after the first performance out of two. It is clear they will go above and beyond to show they do not take their rise for granted.
Returning to stage for ‘I cried, I wept’ Eddies palpable emotion was keenly felt. The crowd chanted with him as he exuded the energy of a performer connected to his audience.
Between playing a couple new songs, Eddie mentioned how it seems the more Irish and themselves they are, the more the audience seems to like it. Playing ‘The Sun Will Never Settle’ did in fact bring out this enthusiasm in the crowd, as they stomped their feet to the stripped-back ballad. As the song came to an end, on Eddie’s face all you could see was pure joy and appreciation, as the crowd held their applause hanging in the air for longer than usual.
But the concert was far from over yet. Prefacing the song ‘Killeagh’, Eddie told us about how though the song is named after a place in Ireland, its theme of community appears to connect people of all nationalities.
And the Scottish crowd proved as much. Kingfishr gave us their all and as the music paused, it was evident how the crowd did so too. By the end of the song Eddi was shaking his head in disbelief, to the incessant the cheering.
Joking that this was the last song and that “they definitely won’t be coming back out again”, the concert reached a close.
As the crowd chanted for more, Eddie, McGoo, and Fitz closed with ‘Diamonds & Roses, and the stripped-back ‘Caroline’. Thanking the crew and staff, and again expressing their gratitude, they left the Glasgow stage of their second sold-out show.
Featured Image Credit: Isabel Mosley
2nd year History & Journalism Student at the University of Stirling. Moved over from Sweden in 2024 to study in Scotland.
