I saw Big Special at TRNSMT 2026 they should be on your must see list

Birmingham’s Big Special brought their brand of idiosyncratic punk to the King Tuts stage on TRNSMT 2026’s Saturday afternoon. In what can only be described as a rip-roaring set from the Brummies.

“We are contractually obliged to entertain you for half an hour,” is the call from drummer Callum Moloney. It is safe to assume that they will not be dragged through the courts for breach of contract.

Opener I Once Had a Kestrel, does more than hint at the humour that lies in their songs. But Big Special is not a band that relies on comedic effect to get by.

Black Dog/White Horse is the undoubted highlight, but the set is a relentless 30 minutes of punk and funk – they even throw the odd bit of blue-eyed soul in there to keep us on our toes.

This is a band that seems to wear its influences on its sleeves, a bit of John Cooper Clarke, a taste of the Fall. But this is also a band that sits comfortably amongst contemporaries like Yard Act and Soft Play. And there is something of their own in there as well. Joe Hicklin’s at times manic spoken word delves into incredible vocals all backed by Moloney’s ground thumping drumming.

The band spent their last album exploring what it meant to lose their “normal” lives receded “further and further in the past" and how they dealt with it. This could be a band that has a completely different life ahead of themselves.