Militarie Gun - The Caves - Edinburgh 12th July 2026

LA punk/alt-rock group

Story by Emily Strout

17/07/2026

In a side alley of Edinburgh, accessed through an inconspicuous door guarded by a cross-armed bouncer, one gains entry to the Caves—an 18th century vault once used to store whisky. This past Sunday evening, however, the old stone walls were host to the American punk/alt-rock group Militarie Gun, playing their first ever show in Edinburg (as the city was misspelled on their tour poster, something frontman Ian Shelton profusely apologized for during the set).

Up first on the stage was the opening act Morn (stylized MORN), a post-punk band from Wales. Vocals were spread amongst the three standing members, giving the whole set a nice variety. Spunky both in fashion and music, I can only imagine that their crowds are usually riotous, but to no fault of the band’s own the crowd was rather sparse at first. Yet Morn took it in stride, gesturing their watchers to come forward and picking up the beat. With time, I’m certain they’ll develop their own dedicated crowds to fill out the Caves, but until then, give their recent singles “The Standard Motel” and “I Watched You as Your Mind Slipped Far (Away from Me)” a listen. In the half hour after Morn, the crowd finally filled out, the already-warm air of the stone vault thick with anticipation. I watched fans in Militarie Gun shirts mingle together in excitement, legs clearly itching for movement. When the Los Angeles five-piece did finally come on stage, it was to loud cheers. The Californians were comforting to me, as a fellow Californian currently on the other side of the pond, but the band also delivers quite a British-styled-flair with their jackets and haircuts, which is perhaps why they’ve been so well-received here in the UK. Either way, in the community atmosphere of the gig, origins didn’t seem important: everyone was together at once, living in the moment. Momentum did need to be built up at first—the show wasn’t quite sold out, and Shelton had to ask the crowd hiding in the shadows at the back to come forward. But once it got going, it truly got going. A couple songs later and the crowd was flying, and though I tucked myself safely against the rocky wall next to the gig photographers, I watched the audience bounce around like rubber balls. Stage dives, moshes, flying elbows and legs all are par for the course with Militarie Gun and were here in excess. Though rowdy, the crowd was still very respectful, making sure to catch every limb that seemed on the verge of falling from mob. From my vantage point, it was obvious to me that every face in the pit was garnished with a giant grin. The stone walls of the room only aided the warm, sweaty environment, and though it wasn’t packed, Militarie Gun’s sound was loud and large enough for a venue twice the size. Shelton is a great frontman, and as the crowd clustered around him like moths to a flame, his strong vocals rang around the vault. Onstage behind him, the rest of the band was just as much of a powerhouse, with David Stalsworth on the drums killing it and Waylon Trim’s bass skills and backup vocals nearly as powerful as Shelton’s own. The band plays tight, and the crowd responds. Highlights for me in the set included “Pressure Cooker”, a more laid-back track for the group (but of course still inspiring crowd members to jump around like they were in a pressure cooker themselves), as well as intense closer “B A D I D E A”, which they played twice to a chaotic ending. They also played unreleased song “World’s Always Burning”, and though the crowd couldn’t shout back the lyrics just yet, they still received the tune with open arms. “Kick” off of their 2025 album God Save the Gun was another fun one (“if I kicked you in the face / I’m sorry, but I would do it again” go the lyrics). Militarie Gun’s high-octane, cathartic performance secured me as a fan, and Scotland eagerly awaits their next return. If you can catch them anytime soon, they’re absolutely worth the watch.