Grade 2

Grade 2, the punk trio from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, remains anchored in punk traditions through an approach and aesthetic that echo Oi!. The group formed in 2013 at age fifteen, with Jack Chatfield on guitar and vocals, Sid Ryan on bass and vocals, and Jacob Hull on drums; their earliest gigs in local pubs featured covers of the Stranglers and the Jam. They later shifted to original songs, secured a deal with Contra Records, and spent considerable time completing their debut album Mainstream View, which surfaced in 2016. The follow-up Break the Routine arrived the next year. Steady touring after those two releases brought them into contact with Lars Fredriksen of Rancid, who became a friend and admirer of their sound. Fredriksen introduced them to his bandmate Tim Armstrong, who signed the trio to Hellcat Records and produced their third album, the acclaimed 2019 release Graveyard Island. The standalone single “Only Ones I Trust” appeared in 2020, followed in 2021 by the acoustic EP Acoustic Session of Graveyard Island. Three forceful tracks—“Brassic,” “Doing Time,” and “Under the Streetlight”—launched their 2022 output and later formed part of the self-titled fourth album issued in 2023.