On hearing King Prawn were playing in Shrewsbury I had to get on this show as I loved this band back in the day! Plus Nick was in town and it was a good time to catch up!
I think I missed the first couple of bands due to being shattered from the night before as I’d been photographing in Birmingham the night before!
On arrival at the venue I headed off downstairs to do an interview with Al and Roger which was great and due to go on line on the 7th October 2026!
After the interview I took Roger on a little sightseeing around Shrewsbury and think I took him to see some cool places!
The first band I saw was main support were The Skalinskis!
First time I saw them was a long time ago and to be fair I didn’t get them! Probably down to me being a bit of a ska / reggae snob! Never bothered again!
However it’s fair to say I wasn’t looking forward to seeing them but as I was photographing them my opinion changed!
The Skalinkis played a tidy set fused with ska, dub and festival reggae with socially aware lyrics!
I loved the 2026 version of The Skalinskis and so did the audience who by now were dancing their asses off!
A band you need to check out for sure!
Next up were the headline act King Prawn!
I hadn’t seen this wicked Ska-Punk band since the late 90’s!
I don’t know why – Probably too many shows at the times and with a full time job and touring with bands myself there wasn’t enough time for every gig!
Anyway as soon as King Prawn hit the stage there was no let up with them delivering a tight Ska-Punk set with elements from other genres thrown in for good measure!
We’ve all got older but King Prawn still deliver the goods with no compromise on anything!
Check out this fab set list!
Taking the photos was mad as by now it seemed the entire room were skankin’ to one of the best live ska-punk sets I’d seen in years!
A warm feeling was felt as I watched how Al and co were enjoying themselves as much as the audience were enjoying what they were witnessing!
By now I had to sit down – Old age and health catching up with me but even from the seat I just want to jump in with the audience!
The Loop Venue was a new one to me. Opened up in May 2026 as part of the Loop Festival which is an annual 2-3 day event all around Shrewsbury!
A tidy set up for sure – I was impressed!
The sound was great. King Prawn were great and the audience were part of the amazing atmosphere!
Sadly I had to catch the last train home so missed the last 15 minutes but what I witnessed on Saturday night was amazing!
Thanks to Roger for the Press / Photo Pass.
Photos / Words: Kathleen Riot
Leave a comment