Why are there never female headliners at TRNSMT festival?

The organisers of Scotland's biggest music festival have been criticised for failing to book any female headliners for its ninth year in a row.

TRNSMT this week unveiled Richard Ashcroft, Kasabian and Lewis Capaldi as the main acts for the three-day event in June 2026.

DF Concerts refused to comment on the all-male headliners, which female artists and music journalists have branded "deeply disappointing".

The promoter has faced regular criticism for the diversity of past line-ups and "token gestures" to promote smaller female acts at the Glasgow festival.

TRNSMT has been running since 2017 but only one woman has been part of a headline act - Pulp's keyboard player Candida Doyle in 2023.

Female acts including Amy Macdonald, Wolf Alice and CMAT have been announced for 2026, however none make the top billing.

Kasabian headlined at the very first TRNSMT in 2017 while Capaldi previously topped the bill in 2022.

Ashcroft joins the line-up at Glasgow Green after supporting Oasis on their reunion tour.

Scottish singer Tamara Schlesinger, chief executive of the Hen Hoose music collective, said she was "deeply disappointed, though not surprised" to see no women or non-binary artists.

"I am pleased to see incredible artists like CMAT and Wolf Alice performing, but the persistent dominance of men in the top slots is stark," she added.

"While DF Concerts continue to promote initiatives such as Girls Girls Girls - an unpaid opportunity to perform at King Tut's - these efforts risk feeling tokenistic when they are not backed by systemic, measurable commitment to equity at the highest levels."

Schlesinger, who performs under the name MALKA urged the festival organisers to engage with the "huge number of successful, tour-ready women and non-binary artists who are fully capable of headlining major festival stages".

She also called on DF Concerts to sign up to the Keychange 50:50 pledge.

This is an initiative to promote gender equality in the music industry by encouraging festivals and organisations to achieve a gender balance in their line-ups.

In a previous effort to address the uneven gender split, in 2019 TRNSMT unveiled the Queen Tut's stage - a secondary stage devoted to emerging female talent - however it was criticised as a "box-ticking exercise".

It did not return to following editions of the festival.

Music journalist Lisa-Marie Ferla said the TRNSMT line-up had led to yearly questions around diversity, especially when some of the top tours in the world are led by women like Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.

She said: "The musicians dominating the cultural conversation, and dominating with live events and 'mega tours', are all women, and other festivals manage to make it work.

"The TRNSMT line-up announcement has become an annual trigger for conversations about diversity in music, so I almost want to applaud their commitment to the bit.

"This year's choices seem particularly uninspired - Lewis Capaldi will always get a pass for the local feelgood factor, but I dare anyone to tell me Kasabian are the pinnacle of what is fresh, exciting and headline-worthy in 2026 with a straight face."

She added: "We've been told that it's a pipeline problem, and there has been an noticeable attempt by the promoters to diversify the acts that get the second biggest font in the poster over the years.

Grassroots organisation Girls Rock Glasgow helps girls develop musical skills through its annual summer club.

A spokesperson said it was disappointing to see a lack of female and non-binary representation on festival line-ups.

They added: "Real change won't come from token gestures - it comes from building a strong pipeline: supporting young artists, giving them stages, airtime, and the belief that they belong there.

"When young girls and non-binary kids see themselves on those stages they'll know those stages are for them, and that's when true equality in music will start to take root."

TRNSMT organisers DF Concerts declined to respond to the criticism.