Bowling For Soups’ “Hey! Let’s Be Friends The Tour” at the ValAir Ballroom ft Ballyhoo! & rosecoloredworld | Photos + Review

If you don’t know who Bowling For Soup is, I guarantee you do. You listened to one of their songs every day after school for years, maybe in the car, and definitely on the first day of summer break. Because if you ever had 104 days of summer vacation and didn’t know what to do, Bowling For Soup spoke to you through Phineas and Ferb. At this point, you’re probably thinking “ohhh you know what I do know them”. I told you so.

Yep, this Texan rock band recorded the iconic theme song for Phineas and Ferb, and it was one of the last songs they played at their show in Des Moines on September 22. But they kept the energy high throughout the show starting with the openers and made sure the audience stayed through the last
song. rosecoloredworld and Ballyhoo! warmed up the crowd that Tuesday night.

rosecoloredworld is from Los Angeles, founded by Addison Scott who is on bass and Rae who is the lead vocalist. They also have Luke David on the drums and Hutton Smith on guitar. They describe their music to be a safe place for people from all walks of life.

I can only describe their stage presence to be powerful and electric. The stage lights complemented their energy very well. Strong red lighting and well-timed fog brought forth their almost goth-like presence. Their musicality dives well into emotion, highlighting that what they hope for their music to do for people is to let everyone be themselves and have a good time.

They played one of their more popular songs, ‘hanging on (by a thread)’, which they released in 2024. They also got to play tracks from their newest album titled the gift of desperation which they released this year. They performed ‘rock bottom has a basement’ in addition to a few others. Their other recent releases include two EPs, the art of losing control in 2026, and beauty in the breakdown, in 2025.

On the flip side, Ballyhoo! brought a totally different energy to the stage which I would almost dare to call paradoxical. This Maryland-originated band from the late 90s, and their music is American reggae and punk. This beach-loving band brought back the vibes of the summer with their music to this midwestern metropolitan. They showed off tracks from their newest album Bad Summer which was released on August 28.

Finally, out comes Bowling For Soup. The stars of the show. Jaret Reddick, Rob Felicetti and Gary Wiseman are known for their relatable and vibrant on-stage personalities and they didn’t disappoint in Des Moines.

They started the show with ‘Almost’ from their most popular album, A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, which they released almost two decades ago in 2004. They quickly followed up with ‘Punk Rock 101’ and ‘Ohio (Come Back To Texas)’. The three guys in the band worked together for a long time and their familiarity and friendship showed through in between songs as they cracked jokes, interacted with audience members and just had a great time. Halfway through their set, Bowling For Soup displayed their emotional side too, when they sang ‘Turbulence’, from their 2011 album Fishin’ for Woos. A song that talks about going through the ups and downs in lives, with their powerful lyrics– “We’re all just passengers tonight, and we’re all just travelling through our lives.”

That night, the band dedicated this song to Chad Gilbert, founding member of another punk rock band called New Found Glory, who died on September 20, 2026, one week before this Des Moines’ show. Gilbert was an icon in the rock industry and his music became part of the foundation that built the genre and continues to inspire younger bands. Gilbert died at age 45 after multiple years of battling cancer. That night, Bowling For Soup lead vocalist Jaret dedicated it to Gilbert and said this song is for “anybody who has to start the process of grieving in advance,” and sang ‘Turbulence’ on acoustic guitar.

During the later part of the show, the band also gave their Iowan audience a taste of their new upcoming cover song release– Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. And by this time, the show was drawing to a close and they finally end with the two songs people have been waiting to hear all night- the Phineas and Ferb theme song, and ‘1985’, also from their 2004 album A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. 1985 is just the kind of song you can’t help but sing along to and has a tune that gets caught in your mind. It was the perfect end to the show that kept their audience thinking about it on the ride home.

Review & Photography by Rash Vinakota