Punk Rock Holiday: A Celebration of Friends You Haven’t Met Yet
Bring the floaties — Photos by Maria Chaos
What the fuck is more punk rock than gathering together while camping under the stars, getting tipsy on Melonballs, meeting new and seeing old friends, floating along a crystal blue lake, and enjoying bands that have traveled from all over the world? If you thought of something else, please email my editor immediately to let them know what I should be writing about instead.
Punk Rock Holiday (now nicknamed Crowd Surf Holiday) cannot even be described as anything but a fairytale holiday for punk kids, adults, and families in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Putting away the hair gel, fun makeup, spiked leathers, boots, and trading them in for water shoes, swim trunks, and the coolest floaties you can find makes for a recipe for the most stripped-down, truly authentic punk festival in the world. For once, it isn’t about what you wore to the show, what music you do or don’t like, because it’s simply about coming together under one mindset of just setting it all aside and having a good time. You know, as they say in punk rock, it’s all about the community! Punk Rock Holiday is the best festival in the world, and again, email my editor to challenge that. I double dog dare you!
Lily Hopkins, singer/guitarist of The Meffs, stated both on stage and off stage that this is the best festival, along with its embodiment of community. “Punk Rock Holiday is the best festival in the world. It is community. We come here, and we meet so many friends, we meet so many people we’ve never met before, people who vibe with all the music. If anyone needs to know what community and love is about, they need to come to Punk Rock Holiday.”
Nuno, lead singer, and Ben, guitarist, of Massachusetts-based A Wilhelm Scream, a staple in the ‘newer’ punk scene, shared their thoughts with exclusive gratitude towards the festival production itself, reminding us that why this festival is curated to perfection is the love and hard work that is put into this event by the production staff.
“I’d like to say thank you to the promoters and all the production that make this festival happen year after year,” shared Nuno. “For me, one of the most important things for this festival is how well everyone is treated, the lineups every year being stacked, [and] getting to play a big stage in front of a ton of people in one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever [had] the chance to play.”
Ben, “[There is] nothing quite like it; very unique, beautiful; you [have] the river, the homies, the community [makes for] good vibes and times.”
I spoke to a few people who were part of the official production staff, PRH FAMILY. Some had worked the festival for a few years and were attendees prior to being hired; green flags all around for that positive work environment. This truly makes this festival much more worth that long or short journey to Tolmin because you witness firsthand the loving touch in every part of this event, from the options of food, the number of drinkable water spigots, staff regularly picking up trash, the kindness of the PRH staff, and how the artists are taken care of; it’s a true experience for everyone.
Western Addiction, fist bumping - Photos by Maria Chaos
I was able to speak to two bands whose first Punk Rock Holiday was this year. Jason Hall, Chad Williams, and Ken Yamazaki of Oakland/San Francisco modern hardcore favorite, Western Addiction, each expressed their observations of the festival as first-timers on the stage. Yamazaki shared that they had been to Slovenia before, but not in this capacity. “Everybody had told us [how] beautiful it was, it’s a great festival, and it was [beautiful]. We are super fortunate that we get to do this.”
Hall’s focus on being the frontman on stage was pulling the beloved Dad move, fist-bumping every kiddo (and reciprocating adult) in the audience to help their experience be more positive. Hall’s finale included his signature move of taking his microphone stand on one of the longest microphone cables I’ve ever seen, placing it in the middle of the dirt with a commanding presence that made you jump and dance around him. The audience understood the assignment and even blasted a bubble gun. Post-show, he reflected, “It was awesome. The people that go here are pretty wonderful too; very respectful, there are families, it’s not like a regular concert.”
“It’s been more than I imagined it to be, better than I imagined it to be,” expressed Williams. “Everything about it has been super professional, really fun, really positive, music-centric, all for the music, all for the people. We're having a great time. Just fun, all the people, the swimming, being able to play music amongst the mountains and trees in this beautiful natural setting with tons of good people. We couldn’t be happier to be here.”
“This is our first time visiting Punk Rock Holiday. "We heard it was one of the best festivals in Europe, and it was,” shared Yeawon Jeong of South Korean band Rumkicks. (Pictured left)
The two liberty brightly colored hair punk rock queens stepped onto the beach and were immediately bombarded by a sea of people asking for photos. They later stepped onto the stage, showing off how spicy and funny they were with constant call-and-response with the audience, “Fuck You!” (one of their beloved song titles), all in good fun.
At one point, Jeong asked the audience to shout their best Oi! Oi! Oi! and demanded they redo their chants three times, with final approval by drummer Joo Wan Seo, with a simple thumbs-up and “Okay.” Note: Always listen to punk girls with Liberty spikes. Their San Joseon Punk sound makes you want to just bop along and jump up and down to their melodies. And they’re just an entertaining band to watch and can handle the jokes that they throw down.
Bad Cop/Bad Cop — Photos by Maria Chaos
“It’s like one big European vacation and a reunion with everybody that we know in our community,” continued Myra Gallarza. “This is where everyone comes out and unites. It’s always a fun, fucking time." Alex Windsor chimed in, “Obviously the location is amazing, but my favorite thing about Punk Rock Holiday is that other festivals don’t fully capture the punk spirit, whereas Punk Rock Holiday has always had this air of authenticity and realness and rawness. It’s not so much about sponsors or having all of these big-name vendors and corporations tied to it. It’s 100% focused on community first and music. I think that is such a rare Punk Rock thing to have in this world: a place to go and have this positivity, this environment. Such an atmosphere here that’s unlike anything in this world, which is why it’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite, festivals." Linh Le ended the interview with, “I love Punk Rock Holiday. It’s rad.”
Dropkick Murphys — Photos by Maria Chaos
Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys shared his thoughts about Punk Rock Holiday: “A lot of the festivals, even the ones that started with community, have all been bought out by bigger festivals, so they’re either bigger conglomerates or they’re run by total [jerks]. But this still has a family, for-the-people kind of vibe. I wish people could see what I’m looking out at as I’m talking. In terms of people floating in the river, then going camping, [then coming here], this is what festivals should be like.”
Less Than Jake blasted their array of horns, dancing around and encouraging one of the biggest ska pits while Casey and I chatted. They put on a performance that did not disappoint and may have converted an anti-ska fan to be a little less anti-ska. Not me, some other anti-ska silly goose.
Smacked — Photos by Maria Chaos
A few of the Beach Stage bands that stood out were Smacked, a local favorite from Slovenia who plays regularly, hit the stage with fire, and the best stunt of three of the members continued their stunt while still playing. But the singer reminded everyone that he couldn’t be dropped because he has two kids. The audience abided by the request as they carried three of the members without dropping them.
Slovenians (pictured right), a Helsinki-based skate punk band, swept you back to our younger days, when we all idolized Tony Hawk in his prime. The singer pranced around the stage, giving a performance like he had been doing this beginning in the womb.
Ballyhoo! Another impressive ska band showed off their ska skills once again with a commanding presence where the audience knew it was time to boogie without having to be told to do so. Everyone circled about in the ska pit routine and flew off stage into the audience without question.
Karen, a regular attendee of the festival, shared her thoughts on the magical punk fairytale: “I’m Colombian. I really love Punk Rock Holiday. I’ve been coming every year for 5 years. [It’s] awesome, friendly, warmest place on Earth. Like heaven. I tell all of my friends and try to convince them that you’re not going to find a better place like this; [it’s] impossible.”
Another observation I made was that band members weren’t hiding backstage, unlike at most festivals. The 4th wall was broken down where you felt like you were simply amongst your people. This festival strips down that ‘holier-than-thou’ concept that is so predominant in American music culture and embodies the feel of family. It spotlights the feeling that we were all there for one thing: to have an amazing vacation together. You can see and hear the headliners doing their sound check right in front of your eyes at the Main Stage, whereas normally it’s a secret event that no one is allowed to witness while the others have line checks. Hours before they would hit the Main Stage, you could hear AND see Gogol Bordello in plain sight sound checking. Normally, headliner sound checks are exclusive to those working the event, or they are at 6:00 am to prevent anyone from witnessing the sound check.
H2O, another excellent American band whose lead singer shared with the audience that the drummer was his son, a fact that I think tugged on everyone’s heartstrings.
Hot Water Music has been a name and regularly rotated band on my listening platforms, but this was my first time finally seeing them play due to them not playing for a hot minute. (Get it?) Watching Chuck Rogan effortlessly strum the guitar while jumping around, was parallel to a trained ballerina dance Swan Lake. Hot Water Music made you feel beautiful, empowered and unstoppable. I traveled on a journey to the moon and back. It was the best way to the end the evening of my 37th trip around the sun.
Stick To Your Guns blew my mind, a Southern California metalcore band that has been in existence for decades, and it only took a trip to Slovenia for me to discover them. They put on one of the most energetic performances of Tuesday evening. Their cult following, a human waterfall toppling over one another to crowd-surf, was a sight to be seen, especially when someone crowd-surfed on stage amongst the audience after they’d climbed onto the stage with the band. What I noticed was that everyone was so respectful of the band. Yes, there was a sea of security guards on the stage making sure to stand guard over the artists, but there wasn’t that “one guy” trying to challenge the guards, moving past them to see what the artists were doing, or not doing.
Winner of the band-that-I-didn’t-know-before-but-blew-my-mind was Dead Fish, a Brazilian hardcore punk band celebrating their 25 years of existence, with a fired-up, incredible performance that felt like it came out of nowhere. The audience chanted along more than the other Beach Stage bands combined. It was like witnessing magic. Singer Marcelo “Suicidal” Christian Changsut commanded the audience to start a circle pit, raise up their fists, or sing along, and the audience simply did as they were asked. Dead Fish truly stole the Beach Stage show, but tied with Rumkicks. Krang from the Czech Republic in honorable mention with their hard-hitting skate punk melodies. I listened blindly and was thoroughly pleased with what my ears were soaking up. Potato Mushroom won best band name because I thought it would be a psychedelic reggae crossover band, but if you closed your eyes, you’d think you were listening to Green Day.
I think it was an easy question to answer that everyone loves Punk Rock Holiday. Now the real question is, will next year be the last year?
I’d like to think that everyone is crossing their fingers, toes, and every limb that we get to keep this special stripped-down week next year, and the next, and the next… And to the woman to whom I gifted Tina, my black sparkly dragon floatie, I know she has a good home. See you in 2027 Punk Rock Holiday!
