1, 2, 3, bowl! Another punk-rock music festival at Surrey lanes this spring
Published 12:00 pm Sunday, March 1, 2026
Punk rock and hockey have a long, loud relationship, but punk rock and bowling? Yeah, that’s a great music-sports marriage too, judging by the popularity of an annual festival in South Surrey.
Sandcastle Bowl Bar & Grill will host a third Punks and Pins Music Festival on Saturday, May 16, 2026, a night when five bands play on a custom Castle Stage that covers a few lanes in the middle of all those strikes, spares and gutter balls.
The 2024 and 2025 festivals sold-out in advance with 200 people each, said Sandcastle manager Breanne Harris, who expects another full house this May long weekend.
The all-ages fest wasn’t organized as an annual event, but it quickly became that, Harris said.
“The first year we put it on, honestly we didn’t really know exactly what to expect, because I don’t think any other bowling alley had done an event like this before. But the reaction was outstanding from the punk community and everybody who attended. It has become an event that bands and concert-goers look forward to each year.”
The first two festivals attracted truly all-age crowds, she noted — probably because there aren’t a lot of all-age rock concerts in the Surrey/White Rock area.
“To my surprise there’s been 10- and 12-year-olds all the way up to some middle-aged people and even a couple of elderly bowlers who decided they wanted to give it a try, which was something else to see, and they were just so welcomed in,” recalled Harris, daughter of Sandcastle owner Brad Lowe.
“We’ve definitely tried to up our game with themed weekends and events, some smaller, not all quite to this scale,” she added. “We’re definitely trying to give people something else to do, not just the same old, same old with the bowling alley.”
Previous Punks and Pins events welcomed Aanthems, Die Job, You Big Idiot, Cop Shuvit and other bands. The 2026 lineup includes Hairy Cherries, Dead Streets, Slowicide and Kids on Fire.
“We switched it up this year with four new bands that we haven’t haven’t had before, so that’s fresh new music, including bands up from Seattle,” said Harris.
Festival tickets start at $23 and rise to $78 for a V.I.Punk Pass, plus add-on bowling time slots for $51, on sandcastlelanes.ca. Twelve lanes are open for 10-pin bowling that night.