I should be buzzing by now in a random parking lot in San Pedro, chasing the same cheap thrill I have had for the last 25 years of being a street punk: pre-gaming to see my favorite punk band over and over, and preparing myself for the cathartic release and therapy of singing along to lyrics from bands that have historically stood against fascism, sexism, and racism. It’s the ethos that shaped me into the punk-rooted, independent journalist who is not afraid to document injustices and uphold ethics by not accepting money from those who have supported the living embodiment of all that punk has stood against: Trump.
But instead, I’m home and having an existential crisis about what it means to be punk rock in 2025, because I cannot believe that more than 40 punk bands are okay with doing business with Cameron Collins, the founder of Brew Ha Ha Productions, who produces Punk in the Park and also contributed $225 to Trump’s run for President in 2024.
The sheer irony of his festival taking place in San Pedro this weekend where ICE terrorized the workers of a car wash on the same day just two miles away, and abducted one, thanks to Trump’s Gestapo-like enforcement of deporting undocumented immigrants. Trump, supported in 2024 by Brew Ha Ha Productions, is throwing a punk festival in 2025.
What alternate universe is this?
I refuse to normalize this, and I’m willing to bet that the younger selves of all or most of the bands playing the festival would agree with me. The irony continues as one of the U.S.’s only punk bands fronted by a Native American person, Dead Pioneers, who just released an entire album amplifying critiques of systemic oppression…played the Punk in the Park pre-party. A friend of mine gently asked if they were playing anywhere else that didn’t involve a Trump supporter and they ignored the question. I did the same with a hardcore band from Hermosillo, Sonora, and asked if they were playing anywhere else that didn’t involve supporting a Trump supporter. They liked the comment, but ignored the question.
The Casualties even performed! The street-punk band of an entire generation. This inspired a humorous Reddit post that said, “Whose going to tell them?” alluding to the irony of them waving “Fuck Trump” signs, yet agreeing to play and take money from a Trump supporter.
The only punk band that I follow that has spoken up against this is Dillinger Four, which was highly refreshing and prevented me from losing all hope in the same punk bands that taught me almost everything I know about being anti-establishment and anti-todo. Dropkick Murphys also dropped out of playing the Colorado date of the festival. “Punk Rock and Donald Trump just don’t belong together,” the band wrote in an Instagram post addressing the cancellation. “So, upon finding out that Brew Ha Ha promotions donated to the Trump campaign, we will not be playing any more Punk in the Park shows.” Even Colorado's punk community had more backbone than L.A.'s, calling for a boycott with a petition.
I could go on and on, repeating the lyrics that many of these bands wrote and showing how playing at the festival of a known Trump supporter goes against what their former selves sang about. I understand that people change as they age. As Ben Weasel, the frontman of my former favorite punk band (they were my favorite until I saw Ben Weasel’s Instagram post addressing it, in which he minimized the donation to an allegation and heresay, despite the donation being public information), famously sang: “We become what we hate.”
The good thing is that I’m not alone in feeling this way. The punks that I chose to surround myself with and would have otherwise loved to attend and buy hundreds of dollars worth of beer and merchandise at this festival are also outraged and did not attend. Noe Adame, the drummer of my own punk band and creator of the Teenage Bonehead Podcast, created this flyer that fooled many, thinking it was real.
The most amusing aspect of this is that, despite the backlash, Punk in the Park seemingly doubled down on their allegiance to Trump by posting a nothinburger word salad performative statement that neither apologized for nor expressed regret. What a waste of an opportunity to do good and donate to a cause to offset their donation. Nope. Just meaningless words.
In times like these, I feel lucky to have a punk mentor who's been singing against fascists since 1978 and still helps me navigate being a professional punk, showing that you can do it with ethics and while staying independent. If you know me personally, you can probably guess who it is. I asked him, “How do you think all those so-called ‘punk'headliners can put his Trump donations aside? And just turn a blind eye?”
His response?
“It presents a real moral dilemma as an ethical punk. If you believe in the ideals of 95% of punk bands, there’s no dilemma at all. Trump, MAGA, his acolytes, the billionaires, Christian White Nationalists & all the other fascists are what punk rock has been speaking out against for over 50 years. There’s no room for compromise when masked thugs are disappearing immigrants from our streets. The owner of Trump In The Park supports Trump. End of story.”
I guess the old anarchism that goes "no gods, no masters." Should be updated to also include "No favorite bands," too.
As for me, catch me at a backyard punk show or The Sardine up the street instead. Or at a certified MAGA-free-founded punk festival, like Punk Rock Bowling.
