On the third week of 2025’s King Tuts Summer Nights festival, Irish/English Glasgow-based band PVC headlined the stage, on what could very well be the best lineup of the whole showcase. PVC were joined by Edinburgh-based Puppy Teeth and National Playboys (who share two members) and Glasgow-based Apologies. A carefully curated blend of four bands that each share clear shoegaze and dreampop influences. The venue was full of excited people, ready for the next instalment of Summer Nights. If you are looking for upcoming Scottish talent, there is no better place for it.
Puppy Teeth took to the stage first, and the venue already felt packed. Puppy Teeth are an Edinburgh-based five-piece – as luck had it, three of the four bands were five pieces. Having recently played Kelburn Garden Party, Hidden Door Festival, and opened for Mary in the Junkyard, Puppy Teeth are having an excellent 2025 thus far. Their 30-minute set highlighted their talent excellently, individually and as a band. With their most recent release, ‘Blood’, their ability to experiment with structures and sections shone through the haunting vocals and solid instrumentation. Puppy Teeth opened the night to perfection, building excitement for what was still to come.
Fellow Edinburgh-based five-piece National Playboys were up next, and the most impressive feat was the two members who had just previously played a set with Puppy Teeth. National Playboys are loud and confident and never get old. With each performance, their sound strengthens, and the massive wall of sound they create feels ten times louder. They are modern post-punk to their core, and despite not being local to Glasgow, they are well known in the Glasgow music scene. Having recently played Truck Festival and released their sixth single, ‘Fragments’, National Playboys are also having a great year, and are headlining Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on August 25.
Glasgow/Falkirk-based quartet, Apologies, were the final support of the night. With strong instrumentals and haunting vocals, they were the perfect way to round out the support before PVC. Formed in 2024, the band are on a steady wave and doing great in the Glasgow music scene. Their debut release, ‘Solitude’, is a dreamy, haunting ballad of echoes and drones that should soundtrack a great horror film. Everything they played was so synchronised and tightly rehearsed, an imposing set. It will be really exciting to hear the next Apologies release. As they rounded their set up, the crowd prepared for PVC.
Though technically a Glasgow band, PVC are made up of Irish and English members. Despite that, they’ve made a name for themselves in Glasgow and are managed by SMC (Scottish Music Collective), a well-known collective of young independent promoters in Glasgow. Through this, PVC are at the forefront of the current Glasgow scene and are starting to make themselves known elsewhere, such as Belfast, London, to make waves e and Liverpool. A seamless blend of English Teacher, The Sundays, and their own personal charm, PVC are only just beginning to thrive. Having just released their latest single ‘Lucky Kennels’, the energy was warm and electric, with the crowd buzzing in anticipation to hear the fan favourite live for the first time since its release. Paired with other usual hits from their sets and an atmospheric, hazy cover of Grimes’ Oblivion, PVC put on a set to remember. The chemistry between the five-piece on and off stage is immense, and pairs well with their ability to put on a show. Alongside being talented, the band are extremely charismatic, which certainly helps, with singer Cara making the crowd laugh on numerous occasions. This night and its lineup are certainly not going to be forgotten soon.