By Shaun Payne.
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On 14th Feb 2026 I attended the Punk Rock Factory show in the NX Newcastle, formly known as the Carling Academy and after that the O2 Academy. With a capacity of around 2,000 people the venue shows promise tonight to bring the energy of a packed room, sold out or not. I mean, why would it not? Have you seen the line up for tonight - tonight features London's four piece pop punk wonders The Bottom Line and headlining the evening south wales pop punk powerhouses Punk Rock Factory. This show was part of their 'We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat' 2026 UK tour which is set to stop off at various towns throughout the UK such as Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.
Interestingly the night was carried by DJ Sean Smith (The Blackout) who effortlessly hyped the crowd ready warming everyone's vocals for the upcoming bands. He did a cracking job selecting classic rock hits and feel good tunes which were eagerly sung along too by the entering crowd. Unsure if it was intentional to keep the representation of welsh known musicians throughout the evening but if unintentional it was noted.
There's nothing more satisfying than hearing a crowd chant and sing along to music that is polar opposite of what you're there to witness for the evening. Nothing will take away that magic from live music, nothing.
Now the crowd had been nicely warmed up and from observing the audience around the stage the drinks had been nicely flowing amongst excited onlookers, The Bottom line had come out full of energy jumping around the stage proving they deserved the spot on the line up. Hailing from London, this four‑piece prove that pop‑punk isn’t just an American export and that the UK has pop punk bands and may I dare even say it 'scene' that are thriving.
By the time they came out in full swing, the room was slowly filling up with more people who seemed to appear out of thin air. The set was filled with intimate crowd interactions, amazingly at one point, singer and guitarist Callum Amies and guitarist Tom Newton hopped into the crowd with a 360 camera creating a circle pit where everyone in that area seemed excited to throw their bodies in to the chaos.
Upon them concluding their set and the lights started to dim, everyone (presuming from the merch line after seeing a long line showing eager anticipation to grab the latest merch available on this tour) has made their way to the floor ready for DJ Sean Smith to keep the crowd pumped up and the energy high for the band that the audience were unmistakably waiting in excitement for.
The atmosphere was already hyped and anticipating the main event.
Lights went down, the Venga boys’ “We Like To Party!” was playing at full volume followed by an uncanny appearance from the classic viral meme “Nothing Beats a Jet2 holiday”, by this point the crowd knew we were in for a wild ride as Punk Rock Factory took to the stage.
Punk Rock Factory hit the stage and the crowd exploded into cheers, an energetic perfomance ensued. With the majority of their set compromising of Disney songs with their own twist, massive crowd interactions and covers of “Livin’ la vida loca” and “Mama Mia” went down a treat with an audience showing the energy at current of an excited puppy with less saliva (hopefully). A unique segment was the "Connect 4 championship”, members of the audience would participate in a quick game of connect 4 while the band played the Chucklevision jingle as (singer and guitarist) Peej donned a sparkly pink jacket and played the role of a game show host. Though the crowd had grown quite attached to the jacket and a resounding “boo” would hit the rafters every time Peej would remove the jacket, causing him to put it back on. I thought it was fantastic for them to include something unique and quirky to their performance which broke up the energy slightly and gave the crowd just that brief period to take a breather and engage with the band on a personal level.
Overall the night was filled with a nostalgic feel good atmosphere, it was an incredible experience that I know for sure has made the start of 2026 an absolute blast. All artists put on an incredible show and I look forward to hopefully catching them again at another show somewhere down the line. What an evening. Here's to hoping all shows for the year bring as much excitement as this evening, one can only give praise tonight to Punk Rock Factory for just 'letting it go'. If you know, you know.
I’d highly recommend anyone to check their tour dates and treat yourself to an amazing show.
Further dates you can catch Punk Rock Factory at are listed below:
20 Feb 2026 – Norwich, UEA (Nick Rayns LCR)
21 Feb 2026 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
27 Feb 2026 – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
28 Feb 2026 – Bristol, O2 Academy
06 Mar 2026 – Manchester, Manchester Academy
03 May 2026 – Carlisle, The Brickyard
23 May 2026 – Hatfield, Slam Dunk Festival South
24 May 2026 – Leeds, Slam Dunk Festival North
31 Oct 2026 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
04 Apr 2026 – Hengelo, NL – Muziekcafé at Metropool
05 Apr 2026 – Cologne, DE – Artheater
Tickets available HERE.
Sadly, we weren’t able to have a photographer on site for this one due to availability, so this article comes without our usual featured images unfortunately.
For anything on the bands featured this evening, click the links below:
The Bottom Line
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