Tremonti / Florence Black - SWG3 Glasgow 6th February 2025

Last weekend, I attended my first concert of 2025, watching Toto and their legendary guitarist Steve Lukather perform at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena. A few days later, I found myself back in the city, slightly down the River Clyde at the SWG3 Galvanizers venue, to see a more modern-day guitar legend; Creed and Alter Bridge’s shredding, six-stringer Mark Tremonti.

The affable and uber-talented guitarist arrived in Glasgow as part of a UK and European tour with his solo band, simply called Tremonti, to promote their recently released 6th album ‘The End Will Show Us How’, with Welsh three-piece rockers Florence Black as support. With his main day job band (Alter Bridge) usually playing the well-designed but ultimately soulless ‘big shed’ arena nearby, his outings with Tremonti are always a great opportunity to see his unquestionable musical talent in smaller, sweatier venues with a bit of attitude and personality. SWG3 Galvanizers fits that bill perfectly and judging by the crowd queuing to enter the venue, many other Scottish rock and metal fans felt the same way!

Accompanying Tremonti (the man!) was longtime guitarist and collaborator Eric Friedman, drummer Ryan Bennett and bassist Tanner Keegan, who had already spent over 3 weeks on the road touring through Europe before arriving for a 7-date run in the UK and Ireland. With ‘The End Will Show Us How’ performing well in the charts (including number 6 in the Scottish Albums Chart and number 2 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart), as well as 5 previous albums of recorded material to pull from, there was a sense that the Glaswegian audience was in for a great night.

Tremonti (the band!) have always given up-and-coming bands an opportunity to showcase their skills with a support slot and on this tour, Florence Black grabbed the musical bull by the (devil) horns, taking the opportunity to show just why they were voted Planet Rock’s Best New Band of 2022. The setlist consisted of songs drawn from their two albums, 2021’s ‘Weight of the World’ and 2024’s ‘Bed of Nails’, including ‘Start Again’, ‘Bed of Nails’, ‘The Deep End’, ‘Look Up’, ‘Rockin’ Ring’, the frantic ‘Zulu’ and fan favourite ‘Sun & Moon’… although it was difficult to see what the band actually looked like due to the incredibly dark lighting setup! With a heavy sound tempered by true melodic sensibilities and exceptional musicianship, Florence Black was the perfect support for a Tremonti audience and I have no doubt that during their half hour set, they found some new fans in Scotland’s largest city. The band play a headline show at Chepstow Castle on 21st August, with special guests South of Salem, Black Lakes and Trucker Diablo. On this live form, get your tickets now… as it’s not one to be missed!

Shortly before Tremonti arrived onstage, security personnel were trying to usher the crowd forward to make more room for those who hadn’t entered yet, highlighting just how full the venue was. As the lights went down and the foursome of Tremonti, Friedman, Bennett and Keegan took to the Glasgow stage, the ever so slight surge forward and loud applause with hands raised was clear corroboration of their popularity. But the crowd noise was quickly drowned out by the intro to the blistering title track of second album ‘Cauterize’, with applause replaced by pumping firsts and headbanging. The bombastic sound of ‘You Waste Your Time’ from their 2012 debut album made way for the set to come right up to a date with new songs ‘Tomorrow We Will Fail’ and ‘Just Too Much’ from their latest release. 13 years of Tremonti music showcased in the first four songs alone with the guitarist, bedecked in his signature look of black clothing, explaining that Glasgow is one of his favourite cities to play… but I’m sure he says that in every city (or does he?)!

It was back to the debut album, with Friedman playing the intro to the brooding mid-tempo rocker ‘The Things I’ve Seen’, with the Glasgow choir singing the chorus back to the band before the tempo was raised again with menacing ‘Throw Them to the Lions’, the first track of the night from 2018s ‘A Dying Machine’ album. ‘Another Heart’, which goes from heavy riffing to brilliant melody, brought the set back to a double shot of the new album with ‘One More Time’ and ‘It’s Not Over’, where despite battling “one of those stupid European colds”, his voice still managed to impress, ably proving that his talent extends so much further than just being a great guitarist. Tremonti is clearly proud of the band’s latest effort, making no apology for many new songs being part of the set and the crowd reaction suggested that wasn’t an issue at all.

‘So You’re Afraid’, and the heavy, menacing sounding ‘Flying Monkeys’ led to one of the highlights of the night, the soaring almost-ballad ‘Dust’. Tremonti can rock harder than most but when the band takes the tempo down a bit and cuts back on the fast riffing, they can tug on the heartstrings better than most! The Glasgow audience responded by singing the chorus loudly, with phone lights creating an almost romantic ambience (and the brightest lighting there had been all night!). It’s the type of song that forms a band-audience connection and I always find that special at any concert.

After the breather of ‘Dust’, the tempo and energy ramped up again with ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘My Last Mistake’ before the main set was brought to a close with ‘Marching in Time’, a song that Tremonti said was written when he found out he was going to be a father for the third time. Indeed, time does march on when you’re enjoying yourself, as the band left the stage before returning for an encore of the tempo-shifting ‘A Dying Machine’ and the short, snappy ‘I Wish You Well’. A fitting farewell to the Glasgow audience! Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ played over the PA as the band threw picks and drumsticks to the crowd before disappearing backstage in a nod to Mark Tremonti’s other musical passion of singing Sinatra songs with yet another successful musical project. As we cheerily say in Scotland when complimenting somebody… “he’s a talented wee bugger”… and that was clear when Tremonti rocked Glasgow.

Mark Tremonti’s name will always be synonymous with the arena-filling sounds of Creed and Alter Bridge. The music he has created (and continues to create) with both bands will always ensure that he is a massive draw in any live setting. But to simply base his talent on Creed and Alter Bridge is musically short sighted. His solo work with Tremonti is just as vital and energising as anything he has done with his other bands and that is no more apparent than in a live setting when he takes to the stage with Friedman, Bennett and Keegan. Tremonti is a powerhouse of a live band, playing rock and metal just as it should be; heavy yet melodic music with monster riffs, shredding solos and a driving rhythm section, all played with high energy and an exquisite show of musicianship. Next time you hear Mark Tremonti’s name mentioned in conversation, make sure that you associate it with Creed, Alter Bridge… and Tremonti! Tremonti isn’t just a sideshow. It’s a headline act, as was clearly obvious on a cold February night in Glasgow.

Tremonti’s tour of the UK and Ireland continues in Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, Manchester and London before finishing in Europe with shows in Paris, Antwerp and Amsterdam. Their latest album ‘The End Will Show Us How’ is available now through Napalm Records.