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.
