Sleater-Kinney’s return to SWG3 in Glasgow felt less like a rock concert and more like a time machine that transported us back to an era when music was about rebellion, identity, and the glorious mess of girlhood.

Watching Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker—who’ve been the heroines of riot grrrl since before the Spice Girls made “girl power” a household phrase—was like seeing the North Star on a stormy night. They’ve always been there, guiding those lost in the wilderness of the music industry, refusing to follow trends, instead setting their own.

The night opened with “Hell” from their latest sonic manifesto, Path of Wellness, a track that snarls and smirks in equal measure. It was quickly followed by “Needlessly Wild,” which showcased the band’s well-honed talent for blending chaos with melody, aggression with harmony. Sleater-Kinney is the ultimate girl group, not just because of the way they embody the power of female friendship, but because of how they command the stage with an effortless cool that’s the antithesis of today’s overproduced pop spectacles.

What’s striking about Sleater-Kinney—this current incarnation of the band—is how tight their set is, how flawlessly they play off each other, a kind of telepathic communication honed over decades. Brownstein’s guitar is a weapon, her stage presence a mixture of punk bravado and art-school intellect. Tucker’s voice, as always, is a force of nature, soaring and scowling, leading the charge. The band was backed by an ensemble of equally cool women, a sort of riot grrrl militia, ensuring that the sound was as dense and urgent as ever.

The set was a gargantuan trawl through their sizeable back catalogue, from the punchy immediacy of “Hurry on Home” to the defiant melancholy of “Good Thing” and the seismic rumble of “No Cities to Love.” There was a collective laugh from the audience when the band joked about “thanking you all for coming out to see us on the eve of the Oasis reunion tour,” a nod to both their sly sense of humor and the fact that, no, Sleater-Kinney never needed to be anyone but themselves to pack a venue.

As the night went on, the intensity ramped up with iconic fan favorites like “Jumpers,” “Say It Like You Mean It,” and the gut-punching “Quarter to Three.” These are songs that have become anthems not just of a movement, but of the lives of the women who’ve found themselves through the music, who’ve screamed these lyrics at a world that never quite knew what to do with them. Here, in Glasgow, that ethos of girlhood, that underpinning riot grrrl spirit, was alive and crackling in the air.

The band debuted “Turn It On,” a new track that had to be restarted after a slight timing hiccup, a moment that only endeared them further to the crowd. It was a reminder that even legends are human, and that’s what makes them so important. Perfection isn’t the goal; it’s the raw, unfiltered emotion that counts.

They closed the set with “Modern Girl” and “Untidy Creature,” both delivered with a fervor that suggested they might just burn the place down and dance in the ashes. But the crowd, electrified and unwilling to let go, demanded more. The encore was a triumphant trifecta: “The Centre Won’t Hold,” “Dig Me Out,” and “Entertain”—songs that encapsulate everything Sleater-Kinney has always stood for: resistance, solidarity, and the pure, unadulterated joy of making noise.

Sleater-Kinney doesn’t just perform; they remind us of what it means to be alive in a patriarchal world that often feels intent on pushing us down. And in a city like Glasgow, with its history of grit and resilience, that message couldn’t have felt more relevant—or more welcome.

Words: Angela Canavan

Pictures: Angela Canavan