TRNSMT ticket controversy as prices and lineup anger concertgoers
The lineup and ticket prices for music festival TRNSMT‘s 2024 edition has sparked controversy.
Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon and Calvin Harris are set to headline the Glasgow Green event.
The DF Concerts-organised festival, Scotland’s biggest musical event, will run from 12-14 July 2024.
Only six of the 21 confirmed acts so far are female.
Additionally, there has never been a solo female headliner since TRNSMT’s debut in 2017, whereas former Oasis frontman Gallagher has had main billing three times.
The only woman involved in a headline act has been Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle in the 2023 edition.
A TRNSMT spokesperson said of the backlash: “Our announcement this week is just 21 of around 80 acts across the full bill.
“We’re still in the process of curating the whole line-up and will have many more updates to share in the coming months.”
Former TRNSMT employee Abbie McDonald understands the criticism of the lineup, saying: “It’s understandable wanting to get the biggest acts that you know people will pay to see, but things should change over time.
“There are only so many years where you can keep booking the same acts, and on top of that it doesn’t really represent everyone that’s going to just have men headlining.”
Another aspect of the 2024 launch which has caused controversy is the ticket prices.
Single-day tickets have increased to £105 each, with a full weekend pass now £275 – almost double what it was in 2019.
Despite this, Saturday’s general admission has sold out less than a day after being released, and organisers have said they are expecting a sellout crowd of over 150,000 people across the three days.
McDonald, who worked as a bartender at the 2023 festival, said of the price rises: “People aren’t willing to just pay any price these days, and that’s with everything; drinks, food, tickets.”
