Mary in the Junkyard / Sarah Meth – Role Model Hermit tour live gallery and review from The Grand Social, Dublin 22.09.2026

A white boat hung above the Grand Social stage all night, pulsing gently with light. It belonged to mary in the junkyard, hoisted into the rig with help from the band’s sound engineer, who they call their captain. By the time the London trio walked out beneath it, the sold-out room was packed tight and waiting.

Sarah Meth had already set the nautical tone, taking the stage in a captain’s hat, “serendipitous” as she called it. Five weeks out from her debut album Something Shameful, she leaned heavily on the new record, performing with just her guitar and a backing track she set running before each song. The early arrivals were hooked from the moment they came up the stairs, listening closely as she moved through “Sister You Said,” “Bromance Is Dead,” and “Don’t Touch Me You’re My Hero,” before giving Dublin an early listen to unreleased album tracks “I Gave You A Shell (Because I Felt Like One)” and “Lonely World Girl.” She closed on “Horses,” the final track on the record.

For their first Dublin headline show, mary in the junkyard opened with “Mantra III” and closed with “Mouse,” bookending the set exactly as Role Model Hermit, the album they are touring, is bookended. In between came a 14-song set that moved between the album, older favourites, and four songs yet to see a release. “Tuesday” arrived early, followed by “ghost.” “New Muscles” got the whole room singing along, right after someone in the crowd shouted a request for it. Around it sat “Bear Hunt,” “Mary,” “Shall We Dance,” and “Jane,” unreleased songs the band have been carrying in their live sets for months, alongside album cuts “Thou Shalt Sprout” and “Crash Landing” and fan favourite “This Is My California.”

A boat in the rafters, a captain on the desk, and a sold-out room that went wherever they steered it.

Sarah Meth photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Something Shameful
Sister You Said
Bromance Is Dead
Don’t Touch Me You’re My Hero
Computer Love   
Captain
I Gave You A Shell (Because I Felt Like One)
Lonely World Girl
Horses

Mary in the Junkyard photos & setlist:

Setlist:
Mantra III
Blood
Seek and Destroy Tuesday ghost Bear Hunt
Mary
New Muscles
Thou Shalt Sprout
Shall We Dance
Crash Landing

Photos & words – Cian O’Donnell @cianod6