Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer rang around The O2 while thousands sang every word back. Fans were already in full voice before Papa Roach appeared, turning the arena into one giant singalong. A backstage camera followed the band through the corridors towards the stage, with Jacoby Shaddix draped in a Union Jack, as the band made their way to the stage and the giant white curtain concealing it. By the time Between Angels And Insects burst into life, the atmosphere inside The O2 was boiling over.
Papa Roach
The O2, London – 8 November 2026
Words: Rhys Tagg
Photography: Harris Tomlinson-Spence
Footage of a cockroach crept across the screen before gradually revealing the silhouettes of the band waiting behind it. White light flooded the arena as the barrier finally dropped, exposing Papa Roach in full and triggering the release of thousands of bodies swirling and crashing together. Very few opportunities to catch a breath after that.
To Be Loved, She Loves Me Not and Getting Away With Murder landed early, greeted by a wall of raised hands, singing voices and bodies bouncing or pogoing across the floor. Looking around the arena, there were moments that felt like people had turned up simply to sing their heart out. Jacoby barely needed to hold the microphone towards the crowd before another chorus came thundering back at him.
The band looked completely locked into their performance, with no sign of anybody going through the motions thirty years after forming. While Jacoby naturally attracted much of the attention, the smiles exchanged across the stage suggested a band enjoying the occasion just as much as the audience.
Rarely staying in one place for long, Jacoby spent much of the evening racing from one side of the stage to the other, constantly pulling reactions from whichever section of The O2 he happened to be standing in front of. During Liar, he had the entire arena crouched down before unleashing the song’s payoff. Thousands obliged, launching to their feet with renewed energy.
By the second half of the set, the floor had become a sea of sweat and smiles. With constant movement, pits opened repeatedly before collapsing back into embraces and shared laughter. Even complete strangers sang arm in arm. Those emerging from the hot chaos looked just as happy as those watching it unfold around them. Far from running out of steam, the crowd seemed to find another gear every time the next chorus arrived.
Help and Falling Apart shifted the mood, and Scars brought one of the evening’s defining moments. Before the song, Jacoby spoke openly about what it had meant to the band and the role it played during a pivotal point in their career.
Around the arena, the reactions followed suit. Some stood quietly with arms around friends and family. Others sang towards the stage with tears in their eyes. Not every song survives twenty years with that sort of connection intact. Scars clearly still does.
References to the band’s history were never far away. Jacoby spoke about forming Papa Roach in 1993 and thanked those gathered inside The O2 for helping turn that dream into reality. Korn received particular acknowledgement after being credited as the first band to take Papa Roach on an arena tour, prompting huge cheers before snippets of Blind and Deftones’ My Own Summer (Shove It) found their way into the set.
Florent Salfati received a hero’s welcome when he returned to the stage, further evidence of the impression LANDMVRKS had made earlier in the evening. Sleep Theory vocalist Cullen Moore also joined the celebrations, with both appearances fitting naturally into proceedings. This was clearly Papa Roach’s night, but there was plenty of appreciation for the wider Nu Metal scene surrounding it too.
Visually, the production rarely needed to overcomplicate things. Large blocks of colour and intense white lighting carried much of the show, creating striking visuals without distracting from the songs themselves. Combined with the heat building inside the arena and the relentless movement on the floor, the scale of the occasion only seemed to grow as the night went on.
The closing stretch ensured nobody was leaving with much energy left in reserve. Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff sent the arena into another frenzy, and somewhere between that and System Of A Down’s Chop Suey! a stray trainer found its way onto the stage.
Jacoby quickly turned the situation into an impromptu Cinderella moment, locating the owner and inviting them onstage. Before Jacoby could see if the shoe fit, the fan removed their remaining shoe and launched it back into the audience. Not about to let the joke end there, Jacoby grabbed the original shoe and hurled that back into the crowd as well.
Last Resort finally arrived, and the response was exactly what you would expect. Voices drowned out the band, the pit burst into life one final time, and sweat-soaked fans bounced alongside one another as if the night had only just started.
When the lights came up, finding anybody without a grin on their face felt almost impossible. Throughout the evening, Jacoby spoke repeatedly about gratitude, whether towards the fans, the bands that helped Papa Roach find their feet or the wider Nu Metal scene itself.
Looking around The O2, with thousands filing out exhausted, drenched and smiling from ear to ear, his words carried plenty of weight. More than three decades on, Papa Roach still look like a band enjoying every minute of the ride.
In London, Papa Roach continued their commitment to raising awareness and funds for Suicide Prevention, donating £40,000 to CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) Suicide Prevention Organization in the UK. This follows the £20,000 donation to CALM they made in 2025. Papa Roach has donated over $750,000 since 2023 in the name of the cause.
“This run of shows in the UK was our biggest yet,” Jacoby Shaddix said, “and the fans really showed up. We are so grateful to fans who showed up across the UK and helped us to give back in support of an important cause.”
“We can’t thank Papa Roach enough for their continued support,” Simon Gunning, CEO of Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), said. “By sharing CALM’s message on a huge scale, and raising funds for our life-saving services, they’re making a real difference and showing the incredible power music has when it comes to suicide prevention.”
