FESTIVALS

FESTIVALS

SOUND AND FURY

June 29-30 \ Los Angeles

We know this is a tall order, but first things first: Try to scrub the infamous stage dive by 285-pound pro wrestler Brody King that was all over TikTok completely out of your mind. If you can do that, then it’s clear that Sound and Fury is the go-to festival when it comes to hardcore punk in the summertime, taking place in sunny L.A. and always featuring the spiciest of the spicy. You’ll laugh (at the ape-man moshers), you’ll cry (at the amount of merch you’ve purchased), and you’ll definitely have the best time in L.A. that doesn’t involve a cache of drugs and a hillside villa, FRED

MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN

July 1-2 Oakland

I honestly can’t think of a festival that sounds more summery than Mosswood Meltdown. Hosted by the high king of camp John Waters, this lineup (ESG, Bratmobile, Snooper) feels like it’s all about FUN! If we pretended that festivals were actually movies, in 2023 a lot of them would still barely pass the Bechdel test. That’s far from the case here, yay. Bring your most outgoing sunglasses, GRACE

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

June 22-25 \ Philadelphia

There are pros and cons to a multiday punk test occurring in the summer. Pros: hanging in parks between and after sets, potential swim day, basically just not freezing your ass during what is essentially several 12-hour hangs. Cons: guaranteed dehydration, fainting in front of friends and strangers alike at an after-hours “venue” (I did this), and the general stinkiness of everyone. The lineup for Something to Talk About has a diverse array of what’s good in punk today (Warthog, the Mall, Electric Chair, a bunch more)—and it’s not overwhelming in that you’ll actually get to see every band you want to watch. Pace yourself and you might even hold on to your scrapple, GRACE

HELLFEST

June 15-18 Clisson, France

Every year the monolithic festival Hellfest releases its lineup, and every year it always seems to be a dozen or so bands short of a straight-up data dump from the Encyclopedia Metallum—basically a list of some of the sickest heavy music currently on the planet. The insanity continues this year with KISS, Iron Maiden, Botch, Amenra, Melvins, Testament, Suffocation, Meshuggah, Candlemass, Fields of the Nephilim, Venom Inc., and basically every other active band out there. Now the real question: With all these sick bands and the mathematical certainty that comes with them, who are you going to SKIP? FRED

THE ATLANTIS

Summer, D.C.

We’ll call this one festival-ish. My first music biz gig was at Food Food, the little concession stand inside Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. There I’d microwave nachos for Gen-X/boomer concertgoers who’d tell me how much I missed out because I never got to go to the REAL 9:30 Club on F Street (it relocated to V Street when I was just 4 years old). Well, now I can, kind of! This summer, they’re opening the Atlantis, a detailed reconstruction of the original space, attached to the current V Street location. Foo Fighters kick off a summer of programming in the 450-cap room on May 30, followed by the Walkmen, Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, and other big names. I’m curious to find out whether this place is actually cool, or merely an experiential ghost of what was once very cool. Stay tuned! MANDY