Punk In The Park takes their show on the road!
On Saturday, September 14, 2024, I’m headed to Orlando, Florida, for Punk In The Park: American Road Trip. This is the second stop on the road trip and maybe their best line-up yet. Brew-Ha-Ha Productions, known for combining craft beer and punk rock going back decades, means beer sampling and a well-run event. There will be two stages with no overlapping sets, and if you are willing to spring for VIP, there will be a dedicated area with exclusive food trucks, tables, and space near the stage (I highly recommend this option, from experience). But this won’t be my first Punk In The Park road trip….
It’s November of 2021 and Punk In The Park is one of the top punk rock festivals in the U.S. I’m from Michigan, and it’s a long way to Oak Canyon Park in California, but we packed our bags and caught a flight. Punk In The Park was a two-day festival, with Pennywise, The Vandals, Lagwagon, Fear, Guttermouth, Chaser, The Last Gang, and T.S.O.L. being the highlights on Friday night. They then topped that with NOFX, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, Authority Zero, Strung Out, and Teenage Bottlerocket on Saturday night.
That year was magical, with NOFX still in full swing. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes was the classic line-up that included Fat Mike (NOFX) on bass and Joey Cape (Lagwagon) on guitar. And California in November was incredible. I’ve wanted to go back ever since, but the shows have been just out of reach. Fast forward to 2024, and they announce Punk In The Park: American Road Trip. The first show outside of Oak Canyon was in San Francisco, and although it was tempting, I decided to hold out for a stop closer to Michigan. Next up is Orlando, Florida. I grabbed VIP tickets and booked my flights for the second time in 3 years.
The first band on the 2024 Orlando, Florida, bill that caught my eye was The Dead Kennedys. I’ve been a fan since I first started listening to music, and I consider them the greatest band of all time. I saw them live for the first time in 1985 at Harpos in Detroit, Michigan, with Jello Biafra on vocals. I saw them again in Detroit 20 years later, at I-Rock, with Jeff Penalty on vocals. And most recently, I caught them at Smalls Bar in Hamtramck, Michigan, in 2018 with Ron “Skip” Greer on vocals. All three shows were amazing, but I was particularly impressed with their newest line-up (which included D.H. Peligro, who died in 2022). This year, Steve Wilson replaces D.H. Peligro on drums, but otherwise, it’s the same band that has been touring and playing the DK classics since 2008. This will most certainly be the highlight of the festival.
Black Flag is another band that I have been listening to nearly my entire life, and the current line-up featuring original member Greg Ginn on guitar along with Mike Vallely on lead vocals has been tearing it up on their recent tours. I caught them last year in Flint, Michigan at the Machine Shop where they played the entire “My War” album along with a full second set of the classics. This is a bucket list band for most of us, and I’m excited for the opportunity to see them again.
I go to a lot of shows, and The Dwarves are the touring band that I’ve seen the most times in the most different cities. I never miss a chance to see The Dwarves, but right now there’s a better reason than ever. That reason is that they have just released back-to-back bangers, including 2023’s “Concept Album” (“Terrorist of Love," “Stabbed My Dad," and “Voodoo”) and 2024’s “Keep It Real" (“One Musketeer," "Parasite," and “Kinda Konsensual”). I recently saw The Dwarves at the Punk Rock Museum during Punk Rock Bowling, and I can confirm that the new songs are as good live as they are on vinyl.
The Dwarves at The Punk Rock Museum during Punk Rock Bowling 2024 - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
A chance to see The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and The Dwarves is reason enough to fly out for this festival. But it gets even better as the line-up also includes the Alkaline Trio, True Sounds of Liberty (T.S.O.L.), The Swingin’ Utters, Down By Law (who just recently released a new album “(Crazy Days’), The Vandals, and more to be announced. Grab your tickets at PunkInThePark.com and I’ll see you in the pit!
