Punk Rock, Power Chords and Pure Joy Frank Turner & Bowling For Soup Bring Cardiff Castle to Life

Dave Broome
23 minutes ago
4 min read

Cardiff Castle, Cardiff - 4th July 2026

WORDS MATT BARNES / IMAGES DAVE BROOME

The co-headline tour between Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls and Bowling for Soup was created in friendship, admiration and a magic syncing of schedules. Their musical styles don’t necessarily align but their shared defiance and punk rock ethos definitely do.

As I stepped off the train, it felt like walking straight into a festival. Cardiff’s streets were full to capacity and bustling with bald caps as people smashed pints and headed to Pitbull. Thankfully, I joined the Frank Turner army and went to Cardiff Castle to be part of a very different tribe.

By a stroke of logistical luck, American Hard-fi were free to open the bill too! If ever a band fitted this bill, it is them. “Fuck yeah Cardiff!!” singer Stacy Jones shouts as they enter the stage to a sparse but appreciative crowd. “We are fucking back” is the name of the tour and the band were clearly relishing being back. They were opening for Bowling for Soup - a band they share a lot of musical DNA with, so much so that BFS drummer Gary Wiseman took to the stage to smash out a solo as the band played a set field full of old and brand new songs. They pricked my ears with their pixies-enthused punk rock. Not every band gets to have a hit as big as “Flavour of the Month” and this band have stood the test of time, delivering a passionate display to an ever-growing crowd.

The castle appears like a purple beacon to our left and the place is now aptly equally filled with Frank Turner and BFS t-shirts from all eras. I’m feeling a little nervous. I always do before a big gig. Will the crowd be lively? Will they look confused at me when I inevitably jump around and lose my shit? Well, no need to worry, Frank Turner is a master in getting the crowd moving - creating a safe punk rock space for all to enjoy. This was set to be one hour of full-on Frank Turner power. Starting the set with “I Still Believe” is quite a mission statement. Flag nailed firmly to the mast, Frank demands a circle pit and it instantly assembles. Swinging everyone around like Dr Martens in a washing machine and spitting them out into a ball of Frank fandom.

Around me people know every word to every song and aren’t shy about sharing it.

Frank slows things down with a solo set where he takes me back to my initial discovery of his music with the belting anthem that is “Ballad of me and my friends” - the crowd singing the song pretty much for him. His energy is something else. He’s soon to be found jumping into the crowd, being dropped close to his head to emerge back on stage, intact, just. I can barely breath as “Get Better” rings out. By the end of set-closer “Four Simple Words”, I’ve slow danced with a stranger, surfed the crowd, lost my hat and my voice. Not a bad start.

Set List

1. I Still Believe

2. Try This at Home

3. Never Mind the Back Problems

4. Photosynthesis

5. 1933

6. Girl From the Record Shop

7. No Thank You for the Music

8. Wessex Boy (Solo, acoustic)

9. The Way I Tend to Be (Solo, Acoustic)

10. The Ballad of Me and My Friends

11. I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous (with Jaret Reddick)

12. The Next Storm

13. Recovery

14. Haven't Been Doing So Well

15. Do One

16. Polaroid Picture

17. Get Better

18. Four Simple Words

All of which leaves us all with Bowling for Soup onstage with a massive dragon. Mild drizzle fills the air but who cares we’ve got Pop Punk Pyro as BFS open with rifftastic tale of losing out “Almost”. A BFS show contains 60% music, 40% crowd participation and stand up. There’s competition winners – who get a very pop-punk-purple shiny signed guitar. “Stacy’s Mom” is an early set singalong befit with the aforementioned 8ft dragon prowling the stage to an enormous Welsh welcome. Ridiculously fun – Fun too for BFS charismatic front man Jaret Reddick’s son who was launched from the barrier to his first ever crowd surf. This feels like an all-age show, with kids on shoulders of parents swaying along desperately hoping for their kids to grow up punks. The stage backing is bright pink as it spells out the song titles bold as they hit us with two big time bangers. “Star Song” is then followed by the song it seems everyone’s been waiting for – “1985”. A euphoric end to an evening filled with a healthy mix of irreverent humour, power chords and anthems.