Hailing from the Isle of Wight, Grade 2 have been garnering bigger and better shows as they continue to provide support for major acts as well as taking their brand of old school inspired punk across both sides of the Atlantic. The band are currently in the middle of their headlining tour of the west coast of the United States and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon as their tour prospects are set to keep them busy in front of ever growing crowds this summer.

Once the trio return from the United States, they are set to hit Europe with American ska band The Interrupters for a show in Amsterdam, before heading back to the UK in what could possibly be there biggest show of their careers thus far, as they join American punk legends Rancid at the Ovo Arena, Wembley on the 20th of June. Grade 2 will also be joining Rancid for select dates in Europe. If that doesn’t do for hitting unprecedented heights for the young punk rockers, they will also be joining NOFX on one date during their farewell tour in Austria in June.

Grade 2 have made major waves on the music scene in recent years with their brand of punk rock appealing to fans who have been supporters of the genre for decades as well as new fans alike. Last summer, the band toured throughout the UK with punk stalwarts Social Distortion, which gave them exposure to a wider audience that embraced their bold and energetic live shows. Other famous acts soon took notice as the likes of Rancid and NOFX will give the band even further exposure to crowds hungry for new and raw punk to get behind.

Releasing their third studio album in February on Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Brett Gurewitz’ record label Hellcat, the band from the small isle celebrated their first ever chart success, placing on the official indie charts in March. With most young bands embracing the poppier elements of the genre, Grade 2 have proven that the grittier, punchier old school sound still has plenty of mileage left and the band have been gathering plenty of praise with each new song and each new show.

Grade 2 have been busy but the hard work looks set to pay off, as the band begin a summer tour cycle that has the potential to see them become household names- as one generation of punk hands off to the next.

Grade 2 will headline their own European dates in Scandinavia and Germany this June.

Grade 2 EU Headline Shows:

07/06/2023 – Sveta Baar – Talinn, Estonia
08/06/2023 – On the Rocks – Helsinki, Finland
11/06/2023 – Underwerket – Copenhagen, Denmark
14/06/2023 – Glockenbachwerkstatt – Munich, Germany
16/06/2023 – Conne Island – Leipzig, Germany

Find tickets here.

Grade 2 with The Interrupters:

15/06/2023 – Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Find tickets here.

Grade 2 with NOFX:

02/06/2023 – Pichlinger See – Linz, Austria

Find tickets here.

Grade 2 with Rancid:

20/06/2023 – Ovo Arena Wembley – London, UK
21/06/2023 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

Find tickets here.

Using a warm acoustic guitar and rich vocals, Frank Turner transforms this song into a folk tune, until the focus is brought to the lyrics. Bittersweetly, he sings, “Kiss me one last time/We’re gonna die/But not our love.” In his Instagram bio, the artist confirms that the song will be featured on upcoming album ‘West Coast vs. Wessex’.

View this post on Instagram

Here it is folks – my cover of @nofx’s ‘Falling In Love’ from our forthcoming album ‘West Coast vs. Wessex’. Listen in full on link in bio

A post shared by Frank Turner (@frankturner) on Jun 30, 2020 at 2:17am PDT

The album will be a split work between both the artist and band, in which they will share numerous covers of each other’s songs. America’s NOFX shared one of their pieces, ‘Thatcher Fucked the Kids’, at the beginning of June. The lead single has gained 250,000 streams, putting a new spin on Tuner’s song. ‘West Coast vs. Wessex’ will be released on 31st July 2020.

‘Falling in Love’ has 10,000 views already, and fans are excited for more. Speaking about the collaboration in a press release, Mike Burkett of NOFX said, “I listened to all his records, and I picked the ones that I thought I could make more interesting. What I did is change a lot of chords. Frank, he beats me in the singing department. So I can’t sing better than he can, but I can maybe throw in a melody here or there or chord that he hadn’t thought of.” Turner had a similar idea, and said that he was very excited to collaborate with the band.

NOFX took to social media to express their gratitude, announcing Turner’s release with the words: “Damn! This might be the best cover of a NOFX song ever!” If this is the theme of the whole album, it will certainly be a success amongst fans, who can pre-order here.

Check out the full ‘West Coast vs. Wessex’ track-list below:

1. Substitute
2. Worse Things Happen at Sea
3. Thatcher Fucked the Kids
4. Ballad of Me and My Friends
5. Glory Hallelujah
6. Scavenger Type
7. Bob
8. Eat the Meek
9. Perfect Government
10. Falling in Love

Speaking to Kerrang about the announcement, Sum 41 frontman, Deryck Whibley, said: “Slam Dunk is a festival we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and until now we’ve never been able to pull it off.

Scheduling and all that stuff has meant we’ve not been able to play in previous years, which has been frustrating. To finally be appearing at Slam Dunk is a great feeling – it’s been a long time coming. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and it’s a festival I’ve continually heard great things about. Sum 41 playing Slam Dunk just makes sense to me.”

ANNOUNCEMENT INCOMING!
Our 2nd headliner is @Sum41!
Also adding @BillyTalentBand, @theused, @thestorysofarca, @basementuk, @GrayscalePA & @DreamStateUK, reunion shows in the shape of @WeAreTheInCrowd & @YourDemise

+ Punk In Drublic is returning with @NOFXband, @Pennywise & MORE! pic.twitter.com/xWFavxzoR7

— Slam Dunk Festival (@SlamDunkMusic) October 23, 2019

The Canadian pop-punk rockers will be joined on the bill by the likes of The Used, Billy Talent, The Story So Far, Basement, Your Demise, We Are In The Crowd, NOFX, Pennywise, Dream State, and Grayscale.

NOFX’s Fat Mike, said: “I don’t actually remember playing last year… so we decided to do it again this year! I probably still won’t remember, but this time we’re gonna video tape it!”

Slam Dunk Festival North take place, at Leeds Temple, in Newsam, on Saturday the 23rd of May 2020. While, Slam Dunk South will take place, at Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire, on Sunday the 24th of May 2020.

Sum 41 will join be joined as headliners by the previously announced Don Broco, alongside the likes of The Wonder Years, State Champs, Mayday Parade, Knuckle Puck, Four Year Strong, Bayside, Ice Nine Kills, Issues, Hands Like Houses and Motion City Soundtrack. The festival’s latest line-up announcement also includes a world exclusive reunion from We Are The In Crowd and the return of Your Demise.

Posting on Instagram, Slam Dunk wrote: “THE SECOND #SDF20 ANNOUNCEMENT HAS ARRIVED! Yes, it’s happening, the rumours are true… We are bringing the mighty Sum 41 to the party as our second headliner, alongside Billy Talent and The Used!

“SDF favourites The Story So Far are back for 2020 and Basement make their 2nd ever SDF appearance. We have 2 massive reunions for Slam Dunk 2020. The first is the UK’s very own hardcore heroes, Your Demise. We are also super excited to have We Are The In Crowd back on UK soil as a world exclusive!”

Concluding they said: “We are pleased to announce the return of Punk In Drublic Stage to SDF. The full line up will be announced soon, but for now we can tell you NOFX will be returning with the legendary Pennywise. Last but not least we have UK up-and-comers Dream State, and American pop-punks Grayscale, plus plenty more to come over the following months, including our 2 heavy stages!”