By Olivia Burns
The day had finally come around again for “A Day On The Green” , an event held at wineries around Australia. This event sees multiple artists perform from early afternoon until late. The lineup was a huge one with Lotte Gallagher, X Ambassadors, Montaigne, Calum Scott and the main event, Irish rock band The Script for their Satellites World Tour . This is the first time the band has made their way back to Aussie shores in three years and will be playing exclusively at events on this run. Since the last visit they have released another two albums, and they had also dealt with the sad passing of their lead guitarist, Mark Sheehan in 2023. They have now reformed with another member as a group of four instead as they didn’t feel it was right to continue as a trio without him. Sadly, it was announced that original member and drummer Glen Power could not make it out on this tour due to personal circumstances, however, they had someone else stepping in for him, nevertheless we were excited for the afternoon and evening ahead.
It was a scorcher of a day as people filed through the gates into the large open field, some braving the heat, while others hid under shade. Food trucks lined the back of the field, bars at each corner along with merch tents. The first few performances of the day drew in large crowds, keeping them entertained as people sat out on the grass with Mt Duneed Estate Wine, good food and chatting to each other, it was a perfect day for it.
We were all waiting for the main event in anticipation, as the drummer finally made his way to the middle of the stage where a set of standalone drums were set and he started playing a beat. Both guitarists then walked out and headed to each side of the large stage, the crowd cheering, and then you heard the crowd scream even louder as leading man Danny O’Donoghue made his appearance, waving out to the sea of people. Kicking off their set with You Won’t Feel a Thing, an oldie but classic, it already had people standing up and singing along. A continuing tradition of The Script concert experience is when Danny asks for someone in the crowd to call their ex and gets them to hand the phone over to him. One lady successfully got her ex on the phone, to which Danny changed it over to facetime. This is the part of the night where he sings Nothing to the unlucky (we would say lucky to be serenaded) guy on the phone. He got down from the stage and went along the crowd, allowing fans to get up close and personal with him.
The whole venue was filled with people with wide brimming smiles, most dancing along to songs. When they announced that they will be throwing it back to a song off their first album and the first song they ever wrote as a band, the crowd was louder than ever, that song was Before The Worst. Danny shared his story of how he and his partner got engaged, sharing a humorous moment that ‘I was waiting on the corner for 17 years before she finally came back’ referencing The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, before introducing a song he wrote for his partner, Inside Out. In between the laughter and heartfelt moments, we were thanked for giving them a reason to get back on stage again after everything that’s happened over the past few years and there was a moment of sadness and tribute towards Mark as they played If You Could See Me Now, as the crowd sang along in solidarity loud enough in hopes that Mark could hear us himself. Throughout the whole show the band did an excellent job, providing the energy. You cannot deny that Danny’s charm took over the stage with his funny banter, his Irish jig as they played Paint The Town Green and green confetti shot up into the air, along with showcasing their Bodhrán skills. For the First Time was our last song before the band whisked themselves off stage, but kept the crowd chanting ‘Oh, these times are hard, yeah they’re making us crazy, don’t give up on me, baby’ over and over…they then came back out, Danny made a quick outfit change and swapped out his black jacket for a red one and they headed into Home Is Where the Hurt Is, then of course, a song that everyone and included myself was waiting for Breakeven, the bands most recognised song. Ending the night on an epic high with Hall of Fame, accompanied with confetti shooting into the sky in the Irish flag colours and fire.
What an event this was, I do have to make a special mention to the organisers, I haven’t been to an event of this size that has been so well run and seamlessly put together and it made for such a great day out. The band sounded amazing, Glen and Mark’s absence was very much felt but the live performance did them justice and would have made Mark proud of them continuing on the legacy they created together. No matter what, you can count on having a great time at The Script’s shows, listening to old and new tracks. As the setlist played on, it became even more apparent of how much these guys have contributed to our music throughout the years and gave us an incredible performance. We look forward to their next tour here, where hopefully they will play big arena city shows and more music from them in the future!
