For his 2,899th show, Frank Turner brought his “Undefeated” tour to The Van Buren in Phoenix, Az. Decked out in a crisp black dress shirt (a marked departure from a literal near-decade run of wearing pristine white), Turner took the stage by storm with his traveling band, The Sleeping Souls. Touring his recently dropped album, Undefeated, Turner’s manic energy fronting The Sleeping Souls is near unrivaled. Opening with back to back new songs, “No Thank You For The Music” and “Girl From The Record Shop”, Turner and The Sleeping Souls careened with nonstop energy through a solid 2 hour long set, expertly crafting the setlist to include long-time favorites (“The Way I Tend to Be”, “If I Ever Stray”, “The Ballad of Me And My Friends”) and new tracks off of Undefeated (“Pandemic PTSD”, “Ceasefire”, “Letters”). Between songs, Turner would banter and tell stories, giving some insight into the lyric creation as well as his life. Probably the best story he told that evening was the one of him being introduced to punk rock as a young teen by a girl he met on vacation, with whom he maintained a pen-pal relationship. This was the impetus for the song Letters, but to hear how the story came full circle early in the summer of 2024, you need to hear him tell the rest of it on tour. Frank Turner is currently finishing up this first leg of the Undefeated tour, and has recently announced the next leg for late summer/early fall with support from Bridge City Sinners. Photos by Jonny Stalnaker and Joe Abbruscato.
Full Set List:
No Thank You For The Music
Girl From The Record Shop
Get Better
If I Ever Stray
Try This At Home
The Next Storm
Letters
Haven’t Been Doing So Well
Polaroid Picture
Ceasefire
Wessex Boy
The Way I Tend To Be
Be More Kind
The Ballad of Me And My Friends
Pandemic PTSD
Punches
1933
Non Serviam
Do One
Never Mind The Back Problems
Photosynthesis
Undefeated
Recovery
I Still Believe
Four Simple Words
