LIVE FROM THE PIT: Dead Pony, Overgrown and Airport Dad

DEAD PONY didn’t arrive so much as evolve into the scene. What began as a scrappy Glasgow project, found its shape in cramped rehearsal rooms and late‑night arguments about riffs, identity, and how heavy was “too heavy.” By the time they re‑emerged under their new name, the edges had sharpened: Anna Shields’ vocals carried more bite, the guitars more swagger, the rhythms more intent. Their sound became a kind of forward motion, restless, adrenalised, impossible to pin down. 

On a humid Tuesday night in Nottingham, the heat hung in the room like an extra body before DEAD PONY even plugged in. On the hottest day of the year, the crowd packed in shoulder‑to‑shoulder, sweat already gathering on the forehead, everyone resigned to the fact that this show will feel less like a gig and more like an endurance sport. 

AIRPORT DAD opened the night with the kind of unforced charm that makes a small room feel instantly on their side. The Nottingham outfit lean into an alt‑shoegaze haze, but there’s a clear DIY heartbeat running through everything they do — cosy, self‑made, quietly magnetic. Jessie Hodges’ vocals carry that slightly awkward, wholly endearing charisma that anchors the set, while the other band members move around her with an ease that feels instinctive. In a space as intimate as Rock City Beta, their songs land like quiet revelations, with Sunflowers, Acatalepsy, new track Evergreen and the politically charged How to Swim standing out as the moments that drew the room in closest. 

Scottish four piece OVERGROWN followed, with a heavier vibe than matched what the crowd would come to expect from the evening. Their set moved like a slow‑building summer storm, anchored by a run of songs with With Me, Give Up, and Breathe being standout tracks. The lead vocalist’s clean delivery carried most of the emotional weight, while the bassist’s quiet screams threaded a raw undercurrent through the set. Give Up hit as easily the heaviest moment of the night but even when they urged the room to headbang, the crowd stayed oddly still, as if caught in the charged air before the downpour. Still, their dynamic push‑and‑pull made the performance feel intimate, even when the crowd seemed unsure how to meet them. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Q5ZrYkRcc

When DEAD PONY stepped out onto the stage, there was no theatrics, no slow build, just a sharp, collective jolt as the first riff slices through the humidity. It’s a reminder of why they’re here: to turn a stifling room into something volatile, kinetic, alive. DEAD PONY don’t fight the heat; they weaponise it, pushing the atmosphere from oppressive to electric in a matter of seconds. Heading straight into getting the crowd in a circle pit, vocalist Anna Shields launched into Eat My Dust! from their new EP of the same name. With a steady thread of new songs; Boom!, Freak Like Me, Lost Inside of Me and old favourites; COBRA, IGNORE THIS, MANA and RAINBOWS, the band wasted absolutely no time in front of the eclectic crowd. 

With Glaswegian Shields proclaiming that Nottingham is always one of her favourite crowds, it seems poetic that they chose here to open up their tour, especially after only just performing at Slam Dunk Festival over the weekend. Mid set, we were treated to an incredible rendition of ALANIS MORISETTE’s You Oughta Know, which had even more energy and rage than the original. The band also debuted new track Fury, which was met with more circle pits and even more clapping along, alongside a story of almost catastrophe where Anna had spent the week before the show hitting a keg with a metal baseball bat to get the ‘cling’ sound of the track, only to find out it was depressurised and therefore was super dangerous! 

Following a slightly awkward mix up between whether Nottingham is in the North or the Midlands, which was met with much laughter from the crowd, the time came for DEAD PONY to play their final song. Asking what the audience wanted to hear, they launched into a second performance of Eat My Dust! which was met with just as much vigour and enthusiasm as the first time round. 

DEAD PONY feel like a band mid‑transformation, constantly levelling up, chasing the version of themselves that’s just out of reach and their live show is just a taste of what they have to offer the scene. If this is how they’re starting the tour, the rest of the UK should brace itself.

Words: Lou Viner-Flood

Photos: Emily Champion