Simon Rushworth
This autumn’s Bowling For Soup UK headline shows will be the band’s ‘goodbye’ to the country that, for well over a decade, has been their adopted home.
The Bowling For Soup Bids Farewell Tour will be their final shows on British soil but the pop punk heroes will continue to write new material.
BFS frontman Jaret Reddick was quick to assure fans that this is not the end. “We’re all excited about the future and what’s next,” he said. “Honestly, it opens up the whole world for us!
“If you’re a fan of Bowling For Soup, this really is better news than it seems. You may not be seeing us in person as much but you’re definitely gonna have more new songs.”
Clocking up two decades as a band, the past 15 constantly on tour, life on the road has begun to hit the Texan crew hard.
“The UK has given this band everything, so I’m being honest about our reasons,” added Reddick. “We still love being Bowling For Soup but touring really does begin to take its toll on both you and your family after a while.
“We want to go out on top! We have seen too many bands on our level run it all into the ground. I can’t do that to BFS, to my friends, or to the fans.
“We want this final tour to be a celebration of what we’ve achieved in the UK for the past 13 years.
“There’s no way I would have believed we’d have been able to do this for so long. This band, and everything we’ve accomplished, is so important to us, that we never wanna look back on it and think we took it too far.”
With a brand new, fan-funded album set for release in September this will just be the start of a whole host of Bowling For Soup productivity.
Next year the band aim to release a re-recorded Greatest Hits along with an album of covers to celebrate their landmark 20th Anniversary in June 2014.
Unlike previous BFS tours there will only be one opening band, to be announced in late April, so fans can expect the biggest Bowling For Soup live set ever.
Reddick added: “People ask me what I’ve gained from touring the UK all these years. It’s the easiest answer and the most truthful thing.
“I know for a fact that every single person who comes to our show leaves with a smile on their face that lasts two or three weeks.
“Knowing we’ve created that many memories, for both the fans and for ourselves, is just the best feeling in the world.”
BOWLING FOR SOUP BIDS FAREWELL – TOUR 2013
10 OCT – GUILDHALL – SOUTHAMPTON
11 OCT – UEA – NORWICH
12 OCT – ROCK CITY – NOTTINGHAM
13 OCT – MANCHESTER ACADEMY – MANCHESTER
14 OCT – O2 ACADEMY – LEEDS
15 OCT – O2 ABC – GLASGOW
16 OCT – O2 ACADEMY – NEWCASTLE
Tickets for the tour go on sale at 9am on Friday 12 April 12 priced £20 regionally and £21.50 in London (subject to booking fee) from www.livenation.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Bowling For Soup will once again be offering VIP tickets for fans to gain early entry to the show, an exclusive acoustic performance, signed merchandise and a photo opportunity with the band.