That Time I Took My 4 Year Old to a Punk Rock Show

There is only one way I can take my Disney songs on repeat and that is with tons of shredding guitar solos and a healthy dose of double kicks. Thanks to our friends in Punk Rock Factory (PRF), I found it.

To say our family is big fans is an understatement. According to Spotify last year, we listened to them so much we were in their top .5 percent of listeners and six of their songs were in my top 10 songs of 2023. They mix covers of Disney hits from Frozen, Moana and others, along with TV show theme songs like The Office, Parks & Recreation and Ted Lasso.

They're from the UK, and when I saw they were coming to Columbus, I jumped on the opportunity to take our son who is four. Dressed in high top Spiderman kicks similar to high top Chucks and with a perfectly placed mohawk by Dad, the two of us set off for his first concert.

He talked about the show for days leading up and sang at the top of his lungs all the hits on our drive to A&R Music Bar. He was stoked as we entered and quickly overwhelmed as the reality of a concert venue hit him. Fast forward 20 minutes, we hit the merch stand, had our drinks and ordered a Mikey's Late Night Slice (classic pepperoni) and were out on the porch for the opener. He had a blast though, as we heard the music from inside, because "it's way to loud!" Although he had hearing protection, he said he'd only listen to the loud music if it was PRF.

It was cool though, because everyone else on the patio were parents of youngsters, too. I met so many dads, who like me, attempted every trick in the playbook to let out energy and avoid crashing as bedtime quickly came and passed. While we did, we got to take in an outdoor performance of Say Anything playing the main stage at KEMBA Live. Between games of tag and hide and seek, the little guy and I would poke our heads in to see if PRF was hitting the stage.

As the time came for them to start their set, the little punk rocker wanted to get close to the stage and get up on my shoulders. With each song he knew, I'd hear him yelling and see his hands tapping his knees. In the first 20 minutes of their set, I got five hugs, 20 punk rock hands and saw the joys of being at a first concert.

The show and venue were all very kid friendly. It was a night that I will always remember (I'm actually tearing up while writing this), and I know he will, too. Because of how excited he was on the way home and throughout the night, this automatically became my favorite concert of all time. 

I hope every dad, whatever genre you're a fan of, gets to experience a first concert with their kids.

-Matt Lofy, The Dadass