Punch The Air is a three-piece pub cover band based in Lichfield, and if you’re running a pub, bar or tavern that needs a live act your regulars will actually get up and dance to, we’re built for exactly that job. Punch The Air have been gigging in pubs across the Midlands for well over a decade, so we’ve long since learned the difference between a covers act that gets a polite ripple of applause and one that has the whole room bellowing the chorus by the second song. Our sets are built entirely from tracks your customers already know, we bring and run our own sound so a dodgy PA never spoils anyone’s evening, and we turn up organised, not scrambling. Contact band leader Andy to check on fee and availability.
Why Punch The Air Works So Well As A Pub Cover Band
We’re a lean three-piece and we bring the whole rig with us: a full PA, our own lighting and every bit of backline gear we need. All we ask a venue for is a corner and a power socket, two if you’ve got them going spare. You’ll never catch us turning up at the last minute expecting bar staff to help wire in a mixing desk. We arrive with time to spare, set up with as little fuss as possible, and get a proper sound check done well before the first punter walks through the door.
A typical night is two forty five minute sets with a short break between them, though we’re just as happy running one continuous ninety minute set if that fits your evening better. We’re flexible on timings and always happy to talk it through. Volume gets set to match the room rather than the other way round, so whether you’ve got a snug little bar or a larger function space, the mix works either way. We’ve played tiny local taverns and huge marquees alike, so shifting to whatever space you’ve got is nothing new for us.
Watch Us Play Live As A Pub Cover Band – All The Small Things by Blink 182
This footage was filmed at a live show and gives a fair sense of the energy we bring to a packed pub floor. It’s the sort of song that pulls in nearly every generation in the room, which is precisely the reaction we’re chasing with a pub set.
What We Play: A Setlist Built For A Live Room
Our pub set leans heavily on indie rock anthems alongside classic pop and rock spanning several decades. Regular crowd pleasers include The Killers, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon, Coldplay, Stereophonics, Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, James, and Wheatus. These are tracks your customers already know inside out, so they’re up off their stools and singing within the first few bars rather than nodding along politely from their seats.
We deliberately avoid deep cuts and anything that only really works as a studio recording. Every song in our pub set has earned its spot because it’s been proven, hundreds of times over, in front of a genuine live crowd, and we know exactly which ones land. Our full repertoire page lists the wider setlist if you’d like to see everything we cover, and our reviews page gives you an idea of what past venues and hosts have made of us.
Fees, Travel Distance and Booking A Date
What you pay for a pub or bar booking depends on the date, the venue’s location and how many sets you’d like us to play. As an indie rock party band based in Lichfield, Staffordshire, venues within easy reach of the Midlands tend to come with a smaller travel cost baked into the quote. There’s no agency taking a cut either, so you’re dealing with band leader Andy Starkey directly from the first message right through to the night itself.
Weddings and corporate functions take up the bulk of our diary, which means we only have a handful of pub dates open each year. If there’s a date you’ve got your eye on, it’s worth getting in touch early so we can hold it before it goes to someone else.
New Year’s Eve At Oakridge Golf Club, Nuneaton
This was filmed live at Oakridge Golf Club in Nuneaton and shows how we handle a full room on one of the busiest nights of the year. It’s genuine footage from a real gig rather than anything recorded in a studio, so what you’re hearing is exactly what you’d get behind your own bar.
Where We Play
We regularly play pubs and bars across Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Birmingham, Leicestershire, the West Midlands, Shropshire and Warwickshire. Being based right on our own doorstep in Lichfield means local pubs are usually the simplest and most affordable to book, but we’re always open to a conversation about travelling further for the right night.
Come And Watch Us Before You Book
Not fully sold yet? We put on a small number of public shows each year at local venues, giving you a free or low cost way to see us play to a real pub crowd before committing to anything. Our public performances page lists what’s coming up.
If none of our public dates line up with your diary, our live video collection is full of clips filmed at real events, giving you an honest picture of how we sound and how we perform on the night.
Questions Pub And Bar Owners Often Ask A Pub Cover Band
How much floor space do you need?
We can work in a fairly tight footprint. Roughly 4 metres wide by 3 metres deep is comfortable for us, though we’ve squeezed into smaller corners and made it work.
How loud will you be?
We control our own sound and set levels to suit whatever room we’re in. We’re not the band that cranks everything up regardless of the space; we read the room and the crowd instead.
Do you need a stage?
No. A flat patch of floor is all we ask for.
How long does setup take?
Around an hour from arrival to a finished sound check.
Are you insured and PAT tested?
Yes to both. Paperwork is available on request, which most venues want to see before confirming a booking.
Can we see you play before we book?
Yes. Take a look at our upcoming public performances or browse the live video collection.