Update on 2/20/26: 8 Kalacas has announced they are no longer playing the festival after facing pressure from fans to withdraw. Their statement is here.
Update on 2/24/26: Dead Kennedys founding frontman Jello Biafra responded to L.A. TACO's request for comment about his former band deciding to still play the festival despite Cameron Collins' past donations to Trump:
"They’re taking the money $$$, and THEN pulling out??
'The real Dead Kennedys would never have let this happen in the first place! One more sordid reason I don’t ever want to play with them again.”
L.A.-based, woman-fronted punk band Naked Aggression was the first act to drop out of the California date of the upcoming Punk in the Park Road Show, a traveling music festival promising sets from some of the punk world’s biggest legends with dates in Vallejo, California, Orlando, Florida, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Naked Aggression’s Instagram announcement drew strong support from the music scene—racking up over 3,600 likes and 334+ comments—following criticism of Collins, who was publicly called out last year after donating to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign through his production company, Brew Ha Ha Productions.
“#FuckTrump and #FuckICE,” reads Naked Aggression’s post on Instagram, with no other reason given for their exit. N8NOFACE has not yet published a post or statement announcing his own withdrawal.
This morning, synth-punk artist N8NOFACE confirmed to L.A. TACO that he is also dropping out of the festival, following steady pressure from his fans in now-deleted Instagram posts. The move comes amid mounting backlash over organizer Cameron Collins' past financial donations to Donald Trump.
Collins last addressed the controversy in a statement last year, defending his vote for Trump on issues such as “ending wars and curbing government overreach,” while expressing disappointment with some of Trump's subsequent policies.
Notably absent in Collins’ statement was an apology or regret for his vote for Trump, whose administration has led attacks on U.S. communities while targeting immigrants and anyone who looks like one, among other objectionable actions.
Brew Ha Ha Productions recently announced a national tour with Sublime named “Me Gusta Festival,” featuring multiple ska and punk bands like The Interrupters and Codefendents on the bill. Last year, Sublime also headlined a music festival at Miami’s Trump National Doral, a Trump-owned resort and golf course.
This year's Punk In the Park California event overlaps with the usual Punk Rock Bowling dates in Las Vegas. PRB, though, is taking 2026 off—the first break in 25 years (not counting 2020)—after founder Shawn Stern opted to cancel.
Dr. Strange Records is hosting its own “Summer Bash” in May, taking place on the same weekend in Pomona. Another mini-punk festival with a bowling-tournament element is going down at Corbin Bowl in the San Fernando Valley on the same weekend.
“It was a no-brainer to cancel our festival this year,” Stern L.A. TACO. “A lot of our festival-goers come from other countries, like Canada, and we don’t want to ask people to take chances to come into this country right now and possibly be put in detention because of something they wrote on Instagram.”
Stern says Punk Rock Bowling's loyal supporters, who have attended every year since the festival began 25 years ago, have mostly supported the decision.
“The punk rock community, for me, has always been the ones on the forefront pushing for change and resisting fascism, and I’d like to see that continue,” Stern says of the politics of punk rock in 2026.
“I think anyone who supports this administration and tries to claim that they’re punk rock is absurd, ridiculous, and should not be supported,” he continues. “This isn’t just a genre of music, it really is a way of life for the bands I’ve worked with for over 40 years.”
“How about these bands just listen to the lyrics they write?” - Nacho Rodriguera of Nothing Less Booking
Long Beach-based N8NOFACE found himself in the crosshairs of many of his fans for deciding to play the festival when BrewHaHa first posted the flyer, since then deleting multiple posts where the comment sections had been turned off, and defending his decision. He has given no further statement.
However, not all bands are opting out. Pioneering ska-punk band 8 Kalacas is doubling down. Many of their songs are in Spanish, and the band consistently writes lyrics about the struggles of immigrants crossing borders and feeling alienated in the U.S.
When L.A. TACO asked about their decision to continue playing, they responded:
“Our band has a very noted history of screaming ‘fuck Trump,’ ‘fuck ICE,’ and ‘fuck racism’ on any platform we can get. Even if that means doing it through Facebook/Instagram, which donated $1M to Trump, or through Live Nation, which donated $500k, or through Punk in the Park, which donated $250, it will not change what we say or where we say it. Our people are here to stay, and we should use every outlet we can to stand against division and hate.”
The Adicts, who are headlining the festival's Vallejo date, have also not posted about the festival on Instagram or in the ticket section of their website. L.A. TACO reached out to the personal Instagram account of lead singer “Monkey” to ask about the band’s participation in the festival, which was left on “seen” in an Instagram DM but never responded to.
Nacho “Corrupted” Rodriguera is the founder of Nothing Less Booking with roots in Sinaloa, Mexico. He is booking Naked Aggression to play at his upcoming Punk Invasion Festival on September 12th, 2026, at the Belasco Theater.
“How about these bands just listen to the lyrics they write?” Rodriguera asks.
“Qué chingue su madre el Trump y la puta migra,” he tells L.A. TACO. “That’s my quote.”
L.A. TACO reached out to Cameron Collins for comment via his Punk in the Park website and has not heard back from him.
