Bowling For Soup, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Talk Heavy @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 9/5/2026

‘We’re called for Bowling For Soup and you are called fucking awesome.’

Bowling For Soup main vocalist, guitarist, comedian Jarret Reddick has been in fine form tonight as his band weave songs into what is fast becoming a comedy show.

They were not the only entertainers on the bill tonight as Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls also showed that punk music can be fun too.

Opening were Talk Heavy from Brisbane who have the unenviable task of warming up a Saturday night crowd who initially seem uninterested. However, by combining classic pop punk harmonies with an engaging band personality, the group finish with a pleasing sensation of humorous friendliness and warmth to supplement the music.

Frank Turner takes me back to my teenage years in the UK, where I would watch folk bands at the Irish club causing scenes with foot stamping music and punchy choruses while the drinks freely flowed.

Starting with the acoustic romp of I Still Believe and Try This At Home, the classic shuffle sound is matched with an audience that resembles a football crowd; chanting and bouncing.

Turner is an affable leader, a storyteller, not just in song, also in chit chat with the crowd. Claims Melbourne’s circle pit was bigger than ours are greeted with boos, but pantomime villain Turner gets the reaction he wants.

Hands wave, clap and punch the air during Girl From The Record Store and No, Thank You For The Music and when Turner directs the audience into doing a walking circle pit and hug of death (not to be confused with a wall of death), my colleague claims it’s like watching the Wiggles for adults.

Musically, Turners band mix between folk punk and straight out 50’s rock n roll, with each number eliciting crowd reactions I did not expect. Surfers, pogo’s and cheers to drown out guitar solos make this set compelling and worthy of headlining status.

The headliners though are Bowling For Soup and that electric energy still buzzes through the air as kids sit on parents’ shoulders to chant the bands walk on track, which un-ironically calls for people to chant the bands name.

Opening with Almost, it’s wacky and jacked up on red cordial time as the band pause mid song to make fun of themselves before continuing. The smiles and laughter continue into the intro to High School Never Ends with a back-and-forth copycat game of singing.

Guitar pics are thrown around, basses played between the guitarist legs, and jokes continually dropped to the ever-increasing realisation this is not an ordinary rock show.

The entertainment continues with stories of Black Veil Brides being locked in the jail at Soundwave twelve years ago, Mark Wahlberg’s third nipple and getting Frank Turner back up just to do selfies on stage mid set, and a cheeky wee kiss.

Comedy antics aside, and there are plentiful of side-splitting moments, the band are switched on musicians who have anthems, big choruses and instantly memorable songs.

Ohio has Talk Heavy come back on stage and replace the band to finish the song, Two Seater and Stacy’s Mom have the audience sizzle with joy.

A solemn moment for an acoustic ‘Turbulence’ precedes the epic Girl All The Bad Guys Want and a closing 1985. It has been a night of humour, crowd participation and more importantly, epic songs played by epic people. The song may say ‘’We’re all just passengers tonight’ however we all experienced tonight’s journey together.

Live Review By Iain McCallum