Scotland’s capital city in August is not for the faint-hearted. Already bursting at the seams with tourists, the world-renowned Fringe Festival adds thousands more to the cobblestone streets, making navigation through the hundreds of hipster artists a challenge in the city. Thankfully, The Dead Daisies are on hand to cleanse the palate from an encounter with Caspian (or Atticus), trying to get you into a darkened broom cupboard masquerading as a theatre to catch his one-man show about his toaster. You dig?

Showing a classy touch from The Daisies, two young British acts are getting their chances to perform on larger stages than usual, kind of like the Homegrown Player Rule that UEFA has in place to develop local talent. First up is a young chap with a big voice who has been making waves for the last few years: Liverpool’s Dan Byrne.

Flanked by a killer band of musicians that includes Colin Parkinson on bass, Max Rhead on drums, and the always-watchable Glenn Quinn on guitar, Byrne doesn’t waste any time and is not hanging around. With 30 minutes to impress, Byrne tears through a set mostly made up of material from his stellar debut EP ‘Beginnings’ and ‘Hard To Breathe’, ‘Like Animals’, and set-closer ‘Death of Me’ have all grown substantially in the 2 years since the EP was released. A harder edge to them; grittier. In the way that only comes with performing them live night after night. ‘Like Animals’ in particular seems to have grown an extra pair of balls. Great guitar work from Quinn on this little gem, and Byrne’s vocals are as impressive as ever.

Casually dropping a new banger (in the guise of the heavier-than-usual ‘Saviour’) into the set, Byrne is having a blast. Supremely talented, confident without being arrogant, he is a joy to watch. With his long-awaited debut full-length album on the way, things are looking rosy for the softly spoken Byrne.

Next up are South Wales quartet Scarlet Rebels. Back onstage these last few weeks after a bit of a breather in the Spring, The Rebels understand the assignment, and deliver in spades. Always a pleasure to encounter, these guys are built for the stage. There is something about their songs that makes them come to life in a live setting, and tonight is no different.

Led by the likeable Wayne Doyle…“We are Celtic cousins…so get your fucking hands in the air”…the 30-minute set flies past in a blur (almost as much of a blur as lead guitarist Chris Jones, who is a constant ball of energy as well as a talented guitarist). Although very much in sync with the Springsteen/Adams/Jovi school of character-driven blue-collar rock (especially on the delicious ‘Grace’), Scarlet Rebels also display a Foo Fighters-like vibe on the towering ‘It Was Beautiful’. Wayne Doyle’s gentle build during the intro, a beauty of a singing guitar melody from Chris Jones, while the drums from the impressive Gary Doyle start ramping up to an uplifting conclusion full of hope. Magic stuff.

It’s not even been a year since The Dead Daisies were last on tour in the UK, and the veterans are savvy enough to mix things up concerning the setlist. They know that the vast majority of the crowd here tonight would have been at the Glasgow show last year, so there are multiple changes to the 19-song set. As always, though, once the houselights drop, the band pays homage to both The Stones (‘Bitch’) and Led Zeppelin (‘Rock and Roll’) through the massive PA.

Once Robert Plant has finished informing everyone that it’s been a long time since he rock and rolled, the band, minus vocalist John Corabi, takes to the stage, and guitarist and founding member David Lowy picks out the opening licks to ‘Long Way to Go’ (an encore the last time around, here, a fantastic set-opener) while lead guitarist Doug Aldrich stands poised, legs akimbo. Once bassist Michael Devin and powerhouse drummer Tommy Clufetos join in and settle into a groove, the impressive lasers burst through the darkness, and John Corabi makes his grand entrance in true rock n’roll style. Last onto the stage, like every vocalist should.

Corabi is back where he belongs, fronting a kick-ass Rock band. He brings the grit that was lacking when he was replaced in the band a few years back by Glen Hughes, and although later on during the band introductions, he describes Aldrich as “A good-looking bastard!” JC has his own share of admirers in the crowd, and they are making themselves heard everytime Corabi makes eye contact. As always, Corabi is an excellent frontman, joking with fans in the front row, “Is that water, or shots?” as security hands out much-needed lubrication.

A great storyteller with a glint in his eye that has never diminished through the years: non-paid-for endorsement, but do check out his autobiography ‘Horseshoes and Hand Grenades’ as it is a riot. The often-quoted line from American vaudeville performer Will Rogers springs to mind: “Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren’t paved.” The Dead Daisies are a better band with JC leading the way, and it’s no surprise that one of the standout moments of the 2025 setlist is Corabi with an acoustic guitar performing ‘Love That’ll Never Be’.

Regarding Aldrich, though, Corabi is correct. He is a good-looking bastard. The blonde bombshell. Guitar hero of the highest order. And he can play. His playing on ‘Dead and Gone’ sparks recollections of his time with Dio, and his solo midsong is perfect. The bootstomping feel to this one is perhaps The Daisies at their heaviest. Lowy adds some weight with his Flying V, and the pair form a stunning guitar tag-team. ‘Last Time I Saw The Sun’ is another new addition to the setlist, and the bluesy, swampy feel from Aldrich helps bring an Aerosmith groove to proceedings. It’s great to see Aldrich looking (and playing) great while dealing with his throat cancer diagnosis.

Tommy Clufetos is on his raised drum platform, making himself heard. Admittedly, at times it is hard to make him out through the smoke and blazing wall of red lights, but when you do catch sight of him, he is magnetic. Very visual in a similar way to Tommy Lee, he hits those skins damn hard. He raises his arms up so high that at times, he is launching hits from 2 postcodes over. It’s no wonder that he performed with both Black Sabbath and Ozzy. It’s a sign of a decent drummer when they start their drum solo, and very few people use it as an excuse to hit the bar.

David Lowy also gets his moment in the spotlight when, after JC jokes, “We are going to let the quiet one come up and sing.” Lowy launches into a fun romp through George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ classic ‘Get a Haircut’. With ex-Whitesnake man Devin providing tasteful low-end throughout the night (especially on a killer version of ‘I’m Gonna Ride’), The Dead Daisies are on an almighty roll…as proven by the spellbinding version of ‘Black Betty’ which just about steals the show from ‘Mexico’, ‘Midnight Moses’ and ‘Resurrected’. Only performed by The Daisies once before tonight, it’s a great version that can be found on the recently released Blues covers album ‘Lookin’ For Trouble’.