Punk rock music's anti-establishment ethos and social commentary famously emerged in the rebellious 1970s. But the genre has been making a resurgence in contemporary culture 鈥� spawning new expressions of rage, uncertainty and even joy.
That's particularly true in Florida, where the underground punk and indie rock scene is thriving. Next weekend, 21 bands will be head-bobbing through this alternative wave at BumbleFest, Palm Beach County鈥檚 preeminent indie music festival.
And many of the lyrics are probing turbulent times, said Kennie Mason, lead singer of SIICHAQ, an indie-rock band from Jacksonville. The band鈥檚 name derives from Mason鈥檚 I帽upiat heritage, a Native Alaskan group.
She said their debut album My Dog Ate My Patriotism, addresses the pressures women often go through in American society, such as the rollback of female reproductive rights.
鈥淚t's really just a kind of criticism of the way that things have gone lately,鈥� Mason told WLRN. 鈥淏ut also the acknowledgement that women are resilient, and there will be things done to remedy the regression.鈥�
Her song "Female Rage,鈥� is a dark shoegaze record with moody, reverb-heavy vocals.
Mason, a 22-year-old musician who draws rock and punk influences from noisy, 90鈥檚 era bands like Nirvana and Bikini Kill, said it's through alternative music, like punk, that fans resonate with various grievances or different perspectives about life
鈥淚 have so much respect for the punk community,鈥� Mason said. 鈥淎nd there is a resurgence. People are angry. People are feeling that rebellious fire igniting again like it did in the 90s and even before that.鈥�
READ MORE: Can Florida鈥檚 lagging film industry attract big-budget movies and TV again?
Original punk music took root around the mid-1970s before it declined and morphed into different subgenres beginning in the 1980s.
James Cunningham, a practicing musician, composer and ethnomusicologist who teaches music history at Florida Atlantic University, said he noticed a strong resurgence of punk in Palm Beach County just over a decade ago.
"What's amazing is that it has continued to grow,鈥� said Cunningham, who goes by jamiE as an artist. He credits the increased availability of venues in the tri-county area.
"It's the fact that a lot of the clubs that are played aren't these big fancy clubs, but smaller, more intimate places where the people there can really get up close," he said.
The culture surrounding punk music has a DIY attitude because promotion, songwriting, performing, touring and typically done at a grassroots level.
Many artists have even harkened back to distributing their music through and vinyls, he said.
And there's a broad spectrum of interest from older and younger generations of music aficionados because 鈥渢here's not one music style that actually defines punk.鈥�
"But I think the two main elements of punk are 鈥楧IY鈥�, a do-it-yourself attitude, which I think is very appealing, and very kind of strong social consciousness and commentary," added Cunningham.
West Palm Beach-based lead singer and drummer Andrew Sears of Rude Television told 港澳天下彩his song 鈥淓xactly,鈥� is garage punk music that uplift spirits, producing a positive message 鈥渢hat's not gonna get me down in life.鈥�
鈥淟ife is short,鈥� Sears said. 鈥淭here's no reason to sit around and not do what you love. So that's the message with 鈥楨xactly鈥� for me. It keeps me going and stuff like that kind of is like a message I can sonically tell people through a song.鈥�
Bands at BumbleFest 2024
The 8th annual BumbleFest is a surefire way to discover live local and national acts thrumming with experimental soundscapes, genres ranging from post-punk and darkwave to deathrock, psychedelic-influenced rock and folk rock.
Among the six headliners at the music festival are: World Destroyers鈥� Pleasure Club (Los Angeles), Dion Lunadon (New York), Psychic Death (Atlanta), Starcleaner Reunion (New York), Fiona Moonchild (Seattle), and Dream Phases (Los Angeles).
Also making their mark on the stage are Florida bands: Zippur (Fort Lauderdale), Mr Entertainment & The Pookiesmackers (Hollywood), Kenny Moe (Fort Lauderdale), Severed+said (Jacksonville), Bebe Deluxe (Jacksonville), Night Foundation (Fort Lauderdale), American Dreams Survivors (Gainesville), Justin Depth (Tampa), SYA (St. Augustine), and Akasha System (Tampa).
If you go:
BumbleFest, hosted by PureHoney Magazine
WHEN: September 6 & 7
TIME: 7pm - 12am
WHERE: Respectable Street (indoor/outdoor) in Downtown West Palm Beach
For more information, visit
