Declan Welsh & The Decadent West

Declan Welsh & the Decadent West 'DWDW' are a band from Glasgow with a focus on intelligent, provocative lyrics, catchy hooks and an electric live show. A prolific writer, Welsh and his band (Duncan McBride, Guitar, Ben Corlett, Bass and Jamie Holmes, Drums) have already released 4 EPs and 2 Albums to critical acclaim, working with grammy and gold award winning producers, being nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year award, selling out uk and eu tours (including Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom, Amsterdam Paradiso and London's Omeara) and appearing on the TRSNMT Main Stage, where Welsh used his platform to call for an end to the treatment of the Palestinian people. Over the last year, Welsh has tirelessly campaigned for a land and a people he visited in 2016 as part of a cultural exchange and over this time has become convinced of the importance art plays in social change. He released single Walk a Mile In Gaza, and played a charity show last year, working with trade union Unite Hospitality to raise over 15k to send surgeons over to Palestine. Welsh also attended the first ever Global Activism Conference in South Africa, working with artists around the world to create a plan for how art can bring about social, environmental and political change.

Being championed by the likes of Jack Saunders, Clara Amfo, The Reytons, Billy Bragg and Arielle Free saw them tour relentlessly since inception, with the band already racking up appearances at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and TRNSMT Festival (UK), Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), Bet Lahem Live (Palestine), Oberkampf Festival (France) and many more. This, combined with sold out headline shows and support shows with the likes of The Reytons, Twin Atlantic, Echo and The Bunnymen, Squeeze and The Proclaimers have seen DWDW garner a reputation as “The Future of Scottish Rock Music” (Courier), with Jack Saunders of Radio 1 commenting that “No one knows how to whip up a mosh pit like DWDW. I know - I’ve been in the centre of one!”

With over 4m plays on 1st album anthem “Absurd” alone, and radio play from Radio 1, Radio Scotland, Radio X and more, DWDW continue to expand their sound and refuse to rest on their laurels. In the absence of touring, this has allowed them to retain their connection with fans, while expanding their catalogue of sing along, festival ready anthems. Songs from these EPs and the first album have been featured in other media extensively, from Times use in Tennent’s Dedicated to You campaign, to Do What You Want’s use in Teatum Jones’ opening of London Fashion Week, DWDW are excited to collaborate with creatives in all fields.

Insightful, introspective, intelligent songwriting has defined the post CBES chapter of DWDW’s output, and it is this ability as a songwriter that attracted the attention of mercury award winning producer Gianluca Buccaletti (Arlo Parks, Big Piig, Easy Life) who has said “I’ve been waiting a long time to work with a band like DWDW”. Clash said of 2, "Declan Welsh & The Decadent West fully justify the hype that has surrounded them until now".

With two albums, MainStage festival appearances and sold out tours under their belt, DWDW are ready to take the next step. New singles "Inaction" and Carefree combine the frenetic energy of their first record, with the layers and lyricism of the subsequent output to produce the most direct and acerbic single the band have ever produced. At 188bpm, Inaction a song written for the live crowds. It is a response to the continued inaction of our politicians, media and general citizens in the face of a genocide in Palestine. "Hours and days and months/poured into discussing all there is to discuss" and yet no meaningful change. It is an emotional, angry, rapid punk song designed to shake those who listen out of talk and into action. “Carefree” meanwhile, is a danceable anthem with equally cutting lyrics lamenting the “perfect little passive actors” who “stand for nothing [and] fall for anything”.

DWDW headlined Glasgow's Tenement Trail Festival last year, returning to Glasgow's iconic Barrowland Ballroom for what was the busiest Tenement Trail in its history, showing the band have truly arrived in their home country.

With a full new album recorded, mixed and mastered, DWDW are confident that Explicit Agitation (the band’s upcoming third LP) is their best yet. Fast, loud, angry and anthemic - it provides the perfect springboard for Scotland's socially conscious four piece to make 2025 theirs.

Age restriction: 14+ / 14 - 16s accompanied by an adult