On the evening of Monday 20 February, 3 bands would all come together and perform at The Cavern in Exeter for a night of punk rock. The evening’s lineup included UK band Royals, followed by US bands Don’t Panic and The Dollyrots and the event pulled in an energetic and vibrant crowd.

The night was opened by Royals, a pop punk band who were formed in 2019 in the south east of England, who often play a sound similar to My Chemical Romance and The Offspring.

Lighthearted

The second band to grace the stage were Dont Panic. The band put on a very energetic performance, with the frontman Ted Felicetti leaping and bouncing around while playing his guitar. After most of the songs on the set, the band would pause for a break while Fellicetti spoke to the audience. Amongst his periods of crowd interaction, he would speak as an American man, on the different things he found odd about the UK, all said with an element of lighthearted humour and banter, which helped to draw the crowd in and create a fun relationship between the audience and the performers.

During their set they played their more famous hits like Woe I and Fall of 99, as well as a couple of their newer releases like latest single Just A Call Away. They left the stage after taking a selfie with the crowd and, upon leaving, introduced the final band of the night, The Dollyrots, with their drummer, Anthony Paesano, wearing a Dollyrots t-shirt.

Family

The final band of the night appeared on stage after the crowd were given a 20-minute break to go to the bar. After introducing themselves to the audience, The Dollyrots commenced with their set. The US duo made up of members Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas, who are also a married couple, went on to play some of their most famous hits such as Twist Me to the Left, Satellite and I Know How to Party. During their set, the band duo invited their children onto the stage who went on to tell some jokes for the audience before the band continued with the last few songs of the gig.

Kurt Cobain

Lead singer and guitarist Kelly Ogden paid tribute to Kurt Cobain, former frontman and guitarist of American grunge band Nirvana as on the evening of the concert it would’ve been his birthday; she said: “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have started to play guitar.” The Dollyrots also put on a very lively and energetic performance and made for a great end to the evening.