Swim School are an exciting Scottish band from Edinburgh that are making a name for themselves on the evergrowing indie music scene. They have performed at major festivals, released four EPs, and even joined bands such as The Amazons and Inhaler on tour.

There is a growing buzz surrounding this Scottish trio, led by Alice Johnson and supported by Lewis Bunting on guitar and Billy McMahon on drums.  This year, 2024, is set to be their biggest yet. Swim School will release their Seeing It Now EP and embark on their first headline tour, making it a year to remember.

Despite not having released an album yet, Swim School managed to sell out Oporto, which is no small feat. The venue was buzzing with excitement, and the band did not disappoint. From the off, Swim School had the place bouncing.

Swim School opened their set by performing their song ‘BORED,’ which was well-received by the crowd. Alice, with her thick Scottish accent, expressed her excitement that Leeds was one of the first venues on their tour to sell out, despite being located hundreds of miles away from their hometown of Edinburgh. 

The song ‘delirious’ by Swim School sheds light on the misogyny that Alice faced while working in the music industry. With over 900,000 streams on Spotify alone, the song has become a popular track on various streaming platforms. During the performance of ‘delirious’, Alice joined the crowd, leading to an exhilarating moment of connection between her and the audience.

Alice became quite emotional as she introduced the next song in the set, ‘To Grow’ She emphasised how significant it was to both the band and the audience and requested that everyone remain silent (unless they were singing along) during the song. As she began singing, the entire room fell silent, creating an enchanting ambience that resonated throughout the audience, captivating and enthralling all present with the ethereal vocals and exceptional guitar skills of vocalist Alice.

As Swim School approached the end of their set, the crowd went wild for the tracks ‘Give Me A Reason Why’ and ‘see red’. The band ended their show with ‘anyway,’ and Alice broke the news that there would be no encores that night. With the electric atmosphere and excitement in the air, it was clear that Swim School had delivered an unforgettable performance.

Leaving the concert, I realised that it’s unlikely I’ll get to see them in a venue of that size again, as I’m confident that their popularity is only going to grow. Those lucky enough to attend their performance at the Radio 1 Stage at Leeds Festival in a few months are undoubtedly in for a treat.

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