One of the genre’s biggest bands right now, ska heroes The Interrupters made their headline return to U.K. shores this summer after a couple of teaser festival appearances earlier in the year. And to say that return was triumphant would be a huge understatement.

The two bands opening for The Interrupters on this run, The Bar Stool Preachers and The Skints, both originating from this side of the pond, collectively define what warm-up bands should be and do. 

The Bar Stool Preachers—back post-apocalypse with a refreshed energy (not that their on-stage presence has ever been lacking) thanks to their recently announced new label home and single, “Call Me On the Way Home”—opened up the night’s festivities with their ska-tinged punk. The danceable tunes and catchy choruses about everything from heartbreak to politics are enough to make this band a fine live act, but it’s the pure passion and heart for what they preach, both instrumentally and in lyrical content that makes this band such a joy to watch. 

Plus, closing their set with their self-titled track and the undeniable request demand that the crowd partakes in a Wednesday evening knees-up is the literal definition of a warm-up for a night of skanking.

Next up, London Town’s massively popular reggae troop The Skints, adding their chilled out but no-less captivating show to the night’s syncopated shenanigans. Their set list might’ve only been made up of a single digit number of songs, but each one spanning the history of the genre and the future of it, brought to life by dueling male and female vocals and frontwoman Marcia’s impressive array of instrumental talent. Chucking in a riotous cover of Capdown’s “Cousin Cleotis” before closing their set, The Skints left the crowd prepped and ready for tonight’s headliners.

The Interrupters are one of ska-punk’s brightest for a reason: They’re an encapsulation of the unifying fun the genre is all about. The diversity seen in an Interrupters crowd is unparalleled, spanning those who’ve been keeping the faith since the 70s and 80s to those who have yet to have their first skank and everyone in between. 

Tonight’s show was the usual high-octane set the band has come to be known for, opening with the instantly bouncy “Take Back The Power” leading into the anthemic “Title Holder.” Even though their new album came out earlier this month, they didn’t overdo it with the new stuff, getting five songs in before playing their latest single “Raised By Wolves.” 

The band, Aimee in particular, has been open about how personal the writing on In The Wild is, and this was proven tonight, as fan requests for new songs led to guttural honesty and emotion from the frontwoman, making the performance even more special.

An Interrupters staple medley of punk classics—this time made up of “Come Out and Play,” “Linoleum,” and “Ruby Soho”—led into a new cover for their repertoire, Bad Religion’s “Sorrow.”

Winding down their set (why fuck around with an encore when you can keep the party going?!) with “Family” and “Got Each Other” really brought home the unity of an Interrupters show, and closing with their explosive hit “She’s Kerosene” just made you want to do it all again.

Listening to The Interrupters and their ever-evolving ska-punk anthemic sound on the record is one thing, but seeing those songs come to life on the stage, through this incredibly genuine four-piece family unit, is truly a must-see experience.

The Interrupters

The Skints

The Bar Stool Preachers