The following is an incomplete list of punk rock music festivals. This list may have some overlap with list of rock festivals and list of heavy metal festivals. Punk is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. By 1976 the first festivals were being organized.[1]
| List of punk rock festivals | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Related genres | Punk rock, hardcore punk, rock |
| Location | Worldwide |
| Related events | Music festival, concert tour, rock festival, heavy metal festival, gothic festival |
| Other | Punk subculture |
Festivals
edit| Name | Year | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Punk Rock Festival | 1976 | Mont de Marsan, France | This self-described "First European Punk Rock Festival" was held in Mont de Marsan in the southwest of France on 21 August 1976. The festival was organised by Marc Zermati and featured French bands: Bijou, Il Biaritz, Shakin’ Street, The Damned.[2] and was headlined by Eddie and the Hot Rods, a London pub rock group. The Sex Pistols were also scheduled to play but were dropped by the promoter claiming the band held excessive demands regarding top billing and certain amenities that were deemed “too much”. The Clash were also billed but backed out in solidarity. The only band from the new punk movement to appear was The Damned.[3] |
| 100 Club Punk Festival | 1976 | London,
United Kingdom |
A two-days event held at the 100 Club —a typically jazz-oriented venue in Oxford Street, London, England- on 20 and 21 September 1976.[4] The gig showcased eight punk bands, most of which were unsigned. Each performing bands were associated with the evolving punk rock music scene and movement of the UK. The festival is viewed as a watershed event for the movement, as punk began to move from the underground and emerge into the mainstream music scene. |
| Deeply Vale Festivals | 1976–1979 | England, United Kingdom | The Deeply Vale Festivals were unique series of free festivals held near Bury in northwest England in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. They are regarded as significant events that united punk music into a festival scene. |
| Rock Against Racism | 1976–1982 | United Kingdom | |
| Rock Against Sexism | 1978– | United Kingdom | |
| Futurama Festival | 1979-1989 2022- | Netherlands, United Kingdom | |
| Heatwave | 1980 | Canada | Promoted as the Punk Woodstock |
| International Pop Underground Convention | 1991 | Olympia, WA
United States |
Punk and indie festival associated with the start of the riot grrrl movement. |
| Groezrock | 1992–2017 | Meerhout, Belgium |
Groezrock was an annual music festival that took place in Meerhout, Belgium. It started out as a small rock and pop festival with one stage with a few hundred people attending, but evolved into a large punk rock/hardcore punk festival gathering attendances exceeding 30,000. |
| Ieperfest | 1993–present | Ypres, Belgium | Hardcore punk festival |
| Yoyo A Go Go | 1994–2001 | Olympia, WA
United States |
Held in 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2001 |
| Vans Warped Tour | 1995–2019 | United States | A touring summer festival was held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which stages and other structures were assembled for the duration of the event and then moved to the next location. It began as a showcase of extreme sports with alternative and punk rock music, and later progressed into more diverse music genres over the years. It was the longest running touring music festival in North America. The tour featured some stops in Canada and for a time, Australia and Europe. |
| Antifest | 1995–present | Svojšice, Czech Republic | |
| Rebellion Festival | 1996–present | Blackpool, United Kingdom | Main hub of the UK punk scene in the 21st century.[5] 300 bands over four days in August at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. Formerly ‘Holidays in the Sun’ and the ‘Wasted Festival’, it was held in nearby Morecambe for part of its first decade. The festival took a permanent place in Blackpool where it is held each Autumn. Some overseas spinoff festivals have also been held. |
| Deconstruction Tour | 1999–present | Europe | Touring festival featuring punk rock bands and skating |
| New England Metal and Hardcore Festival | 1999–2018, 2023–present | Worcester, MA
United States |
|
| Fluff Fest | 2000–present | Rokycany, Czech Republic | Independent vegan hardcore punk festival, significant for European DIY punk |
| Furnace Fest | 2000–present | Birmingham, AL
United States |
|
| The Fest | 2002–present | Gainesville, FL
United States |
A three-day punk music festival taking over a large amount of the Gainesville, Florida downtown bar and outdoor event spaces that are almost completely operated by volunteer contribution. |
| PunkFest @ 'The Cockpit', Leeds[6] | 2002, 2004 and 2005 | Leeds, United Kingdom | Three of a set of similar gigs and large one-day shows that took place between 2000 and 2006. The lengthy article - 'The Final Chapter' featured on the linked website is a summary of the experience of the promoter of these shows and contains a number of previously unavailable archive materials |
| Drop Dead Festival | 2003–2012 | United States and Europe | An electro, post-punk, synthpunk, and experimental multi-day festival and the largest DIY festival for "art-damaged" music |
| Common Ground Festival | 2004–present | Forest of Dean, England, United Kingdom | Originally known as Dirty Weekend Festival, Common Ground is a not-for-profit punk rock fundraiser featuring mostly independent anarcho-punk and hardcore punk bands and supporting political activism. |
| Nice 'N Sleazy[7][8] | 2004–present | Morecambe, United Kingdom | Began as offshoot for Rebellion (then Wasted) - campsite with own unofficial stage. Became separate festival in its own right when Wasted reverted to Blackpool in 2006[9] |
| Mighty Sounds | 2005–present | Tábor, Czech Republic | Focused on punk rock and hardcore punk but also ska and reggae |
| Riot Fest | 2005–present | Chicago, IL
United States |
|
| Persistence Tour | 2005–present | Europe | Hardcore punk tour |
| Insubordination Fest | 2006–2013 | Maryland,
United States |
|
| Sound and Fury Festival[10] | 2006–present | Los Angeles, CA
United States |
|
| Estonian Punk Song Festival | 2008–present | Estonia | |
| Another Winter Of Discontent (AWOD)[11] | 2010–2017 | Tufnell Park/Derby, UK | Main event held at Boston Arms, secondary room of Tuffnell Park Dome - Northern offshoot AWOD North held in Derby. |
| PouzzaFest | 2011—present | Montreal, Canada | Three-day festival in mid-May, taking place in several venues in downtown Montreal. |
| Outbreak Festival | 2011—present | Manchester, United Kingdom | |
| Undercover Festival[12][13][14] | 2012–present | Bilston/Brighton/Guildford/Margate/Tufnell Park/Woking, United Kingdom | |
| Break the Ice | 2012–2014 | Melbourne, Australia | This event emerged from a 2012 show by Trapped Under Ice into a 2-day hardcore punk festival held in 2013 and 2014 |
| Foreign Dissent | 2014—present | Orlando, FL
United States |
Annual festival featuring exclusively foreign bands (non-US) in Orlando, Florida.[15] |
| Off Limits | 2017–present | Mexico City, Mexico | Annual independent hardcore punk festival organised by Puercords Records, which features Mexican and international bands. Past editions included bands such as Sick Of It All, Ignite, 88 Fingers Louie, Powertrip, Suicidal Tendencies, Wolfbrigade and more. |
| Pop Punk Pile-Up | 2018 | Selby, United Kingdom | New alternative punk rock festival launching in the UK in 2018 featuring acts such as Mallory Knox, The Bottom Line, Room 94 and The King Blues as well as many upcoming acts.[16] |
| Sad Summer Fest | 2019 - Present | United States | Widely considered to be the successor of the Vans Warped Tour. |
| fForest Fest | 2022 | Morris, IL
United States |
Punk Rock Music Festival with 200 vendors |
| Punk Rock Bowling Music Festival | 1999-present | Las Vegas, NV
United States |
3-Days outdoor music festival held in downtown Las Vegas with additional late-night clubs performances held in multiple venues, live music pool-parties, bowling tournament, and other side events |
Gallery
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See also
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Punk rock festivals.
Further reading
edit- Christgau, Robert, "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain" (review), New York Times Book Review, 1996.
References
edit- ^ Christgau, Robert, "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain" (review) Archived 2019-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times Book Review, 1996. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
- ^ "Vive Le Punk". rockfort.info. Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
- ^ Strongman (2008), pp. 131–132; Savage (1992), p. 216. Strongman describes one of the Sex Pistols' objectionable requests as "some entourage accommodation". Savage says they were dropped from the festival following a violent altercation between Sid Vicious, then part of the Sex Pistols' "entourage", and journalist Nick Kent at a Pistols gig. It is possible that the promoters were specifically afraid of Vicious's attendance.
- ^ "History". the 100 Club. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
- ^ "Rebellion festival: 'If the mohicans are wilting by Sunday, then it's a good year' The Guardian. Accessed 14 June 2017". TheGuardian.com. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "|| NHSFT.co.uk || Landing page ||". Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ "The Nice N Sleazy punk music festival - in pictures | Art and design". The Guardian. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Ten fantastic years of Morecambe punk - the visitor". Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
- ^ BCB 106.6fm Radio Interview with Nice N Sleazy promoter Ivan Harrison by Johna Johnson transmitted live 29 June 2018 from Bradford Community Broadcasting Studios. Event occurs at 0:20 - 1:14 Archived 31 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sound and Fury Festival". soundandfury.la. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "REZILLOS FOR A.W.O.D.! | Vive Le Rock Magazine". Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Margate: Undercover Festival for fans of punk and ska, at Dreamland". 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "All you need to know about the Undercover Festival at Dreamland – The Isle Of Thanet News". 2 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Undercover Festival moves to Margate | Music | Entertainment | Express.co.uk". April 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Foreign Dissent". Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ "Pop Punk Pile up Festival 2018 line-up and rumours - eFestivals.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-02-27.