Pop Mutations Festival, Glasgow, 18-21 Jul

With live music across five venues in four days, the 2024 edition of Pop Mutations showcases some of the most exciting new acts in Scotland

Live Review by Tara Hepburn | 24 Jul 2024

Pop Mutations is a non-profit music festival which started life in the dark days of 2020. Back then, it took the shape of a weekend-long digital festival, featuring online performances from close to 100 acts, a mix of established names (that year’s SAY award winner Nova performed) and new faces in the Scottish music scene. Since transferring over to real life gigs in 2022 the festival has gone from strength to strength, providing rare paid performance opportunities for droves of local acts.

This year’s festival takes place over a July weekend in venues across Glasgow – Mono, The Flying Duck, Stereo, The Old Hairdresser's, finishing with a more folk-forward line-up on the Sunday night at The Glad Cafe.

Kicking things off on the Thursday night at Mono is Pictish Trail, a long-time supporter of new music in Scotland who performs tracks from his latest album, Island Family. Leaning into the more electro side of his catalogue, his energetic and trippy set is punctuated by funny stories about all manner of things: his life on the Isle of Eigg, James Acaster, and the noise that a family of rabbits make when you accidentally set fire to them. His own genre-blending sets things up nicely for a festival that does exactly the same. The rest of Thursday's lineup is short but assured, with sets from punky Edinburgh outfit Bikini Body and a closing performance from Apostille, Michael Kasparis’s weird and wonderful musical project.

Championing new talent is key to the Pop Mutations ethos. The result of this is a bit of a mixed bag, with a lineup that hops both genres and abilities. Sometimes the newness of an act shines through in the kind of crowd they draw in – often an excitable and proud room packed with family and friends. This felt true for Alliyah Enyo, performing early on Friday night at The Flying Duck to a warm reception. Her arty one-woman wall-of-sound is entrancing – a captivating jumping off point for Friday's electronic extravaganza, which also includes sets from EDM crowd-pleaser Conrad Pack and the more poppy stylings of Free Love's Lugas Europ.

Saturday is something of a flagship day for the festival with entertainment from 3pm until 3am across both Stereo and The Old Hairdresser's. Scheduling is generous with clashes minimised, allowing keen music fans to run across the road between the two neighbouring venues and catch as much of the lineup as possible. Highlights include 80s power pop from the stylish and confident young band Lawsuit, an introspective and immersive set early in the day from skilled multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Chizu Nnamdi, and a seriously exciting performance by Zimbabwean songwriter EYVE who combines rap, pop and hip-hop influences to create something which truly shines. Glasgow band LYLO, now on their third record, pull in a large crowd despite their late afternoon slot. They perform a punchy and energetic set which has the entire Stereo basement dancing. 

Pop Mutations is a seriously affordable way to see a bunch of music, with day tickets from £12 and a whole weekend pass available at just £40 for four days of live music programming. The festival is a truly inspriring project and a great way to catch new artists at an early stage in their career. 


Keep up to speed with everything Pop Mutations via Instagram @popmutations