Stag and Dagger Festival, Glasgow, 1 May

Stag and Dagger has consistently presented an exciting, thoughtfully curated lineup of emerging must-sees and cult following need-to-knows. This year's offering – some 50 or so acts spread across some of Glasgow's best music venues – proves no different, and by early evening Sauchiehall Street is crammed with revellers in various states of bank holiday weekend merriment.

The Dirty Nil are one of the first acts to land hard punches with their punk laced rock n' roll. The Ontario three-piece have Nice 'n' Sleazy's basement at capacity, and their confrontationally loud-and-fast style, married with an occasional melody reminiscent of alt-rockers Weezer, is a fitting entree for the festival's punk and rock-skewed smörgåsbord.

It's Demob Happy, however, who are one of the first acts to really impress. A cautious ring of spectators gathers around the Brighton-based group, like moths to the flame of some seriously rowdy grunge rock. The genre is a penny a pound these days, but frontman and bassist Matthew Marcantonio is a loping, charasmatic leader, and there's a joyful sense of release and rebellion from the four piece, whose mantra reads 'shirts optional, long hair mandatory'.

Like a tye-died, condensed version of The Polyphonic Spree, Flamingods' jubilant, eclectic soundscapes mark a point of departure from everything we've seen before. Over on the CCA stage, the quintet combine sounds of Africa and the Middle East with instruments collected from around the world by frontman Kamal Rasool, who began the group as a bedroom project in Bahrain. The result is suitably global in scope; a brilliant cacaphony of oriental and jungle beats that despite their seemingly freeform delivery, maintain an addictive, invigorating rhythm. 

Dundee native Charlotte Brimner, aka Be Charlotte, fittingly follows Flamingods' percussive performance with her own fresh, creative set of hip hop beats, keyboard loops and Brimner's wonderfully elastic vocals. The pastel-haired teenager possesses an enchanting stage presence that belies her years, and her voice, lilting along on her fresh pop melodies, is one of those rare kinds that can send shivers up spines. Little wonder that Be Charlotte is scheduled to appear at a slew of emerging talent festivals this year; originality of this kind certainly deserves to be celebrated.

Stripping things back a notch, Barns Courtney's irresistable combination of sultry delivery and rolling blues rhythm has Broadcast's tiny bandroom heaving; no small feat for the Suffolk-based musician who has only recently emerged on the scene, yet already boasts support duties for Ed Sheeran and the Libertines. His new EP is out on May 27 and based on this slick performance, it's one to keep eyes peeled for.

With so many venues to visit, so many bands to see and, inevitably, so much beer to consume, flagging energy levels would be forgiven at this point in the evening, but spirits are high as the The Duke Spirit light up the O2 ABC 2 stage with a bracing set that has you scratching your head and wondering where they have been hiding for the past five years. Conspicuously quiet since 2011's Bruiser, the London-based five piece are back from the wildnerness with new record Kin, and their hazy, alt rock meets Motown vibe, electrifed by Leila Moss's howling vocals, hints that the group are back with a new lease on life.

It's Band Of Skulls who take pole position on this year's lineup, and the Southampton garage rockers don't disappoint. Their murky, riff-charged melodies marry their Queens Of The Stone Age influences with a glam-rock twist, and the set is heavily comprised of 2014's impressive third record for the group, Himalayan. Gritty, otherwordly and ferociously intense, it's a fitting end to a long but rewarding day of class acts who together prove that rock n' roll is very much still alive and kicking.

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