Black Guy Fawkes- the Folk Punk Hero you need to know
Picture it:Fest 22, October 2025, Gainesville, Florida. It’s Friday night, and Hot Water Music is headlining at the Bo Diddley Stage. They had been given the key to the city the day before and had played a pre-fest kick-off show Thursday night, but this was the big event. I’m (of course) at the rail, screaming my head off to all my favorite tunes. HWM began playing one of the songs off their new album, Vows, and I absolutely lost it. A few lines in, an arm reached around me and pulled me close, and a complete stranger started screaming lyrics right along with me. Introductions after the set made me realize I knew this guy—well, sort of. I had recently started following Black Guy Fawkes on IG after seeing him pop up in a bunch of Lihn Le’s (Bad Cop/Bad Cop bassist and general she-ro badass extraordinaire) posts. Clicking on his IG page had led me to listen to his music, which I found truly rad and innovative. And there we were sharing an incredible moment with one of our mutually favorite bands.
Hot Water Music at Fest 22, aka the night I met Black Guy Fawkes. photo by kim moenich
We ran into each other again a couple months back at Punk Rock Bowling and reunited like lifelong friends. He is both a scholar and a gentleman, in addition to being an amazingly talented singer-songwriter. His new album, “The Misery Suite,” will be out September 19 on Asbestos Records, and I’ve only listened to it about a million times since BGF sent it to me!
“The Misery Suite” will be the fifth album by Black Guy Fawkes, nee Ian Robinson, originally from Baltimore, MD. His pseudonym was gifted to him by a friend in college, and it embodies a great deal about his anarcho-punk lyrical stylings. BGF attributes a lot of his musical career to one of his personal folk-punk heroes, the great Frank Turner, whom he was fortunate enough to meet at Lost Evenings 2023, after being a massive fan of the artist since 2010. Through Turner, BGF found a lot of his musical influences, which can be heard on this new album.This connection provided Robinson the opportunity to create an all-star ensemble of guests on “The Misery Suite,” including the Punk Cellist, Ian Legge (heard on “Water and Wine” and “Disposable”); Lauren Kashan, formerly of Baltimore metal band Sharptooth (screaming on “Glass Houses”); backup vocals from Rebelmatic, Proper, MJ Bones, Drake Talbot, and Eugenius (killing it on “Racial Battle Fatigue”); and the amazing Dave Hause (performing in “On This Radio”).
BGF credits Frank Turner as his biggest musical influence. photo by
When talking about the upcoming album, BGF says it was born out of a celebration of sorts for the end of the therapy that he began back in 2023. It’s a bit of a walkabout, leaning into what it “means to come to terms with your past mistakes and knowing they do not dictate your future.” With titles like “The Beginning of the End” and “Cause for Alarm,” one notices a theme of working through the dark times in an effort to find the silver lining.
This album reads like my favorite playlist of East Coast punk rockers! Dave Hause. photo by kim moenich
Probably my favorite track, Racial Battle Fatigue begins with James Baldwin famously stating, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” Fawkes rages loudly in this song, accompanied by Fishbone frontman (and my personal best friend) Angelo Moore, with lyrics like, “You’ve got me fucked up/America fucking sucks/Take me back to the Motherland/Where I can be myself and not another n...r with his head in the sand/Afraid that Massa will come/If I forget my place/And beat me until he sees some blue in this black face.” These songs, while deeply personal, also reflect the issues facing our country right now. I saw myself in a lot of the internal struggles detailed in this album, and I think a lot of you will as well. I think it’s pretty damned hard to be a somewhat decent human being in this world right now without feeling absolutely heartbroken a lot of the time, and BGF really nails that home with these 10 tracks.It’s also worth mentioning that Robinson was awarded a $2500 grant by the Maryland State Arts Council, which he used to make this album shine! You can really hear the difference in the production value—would that all states were able to support local musicians in such a way.
Black Guy Fawkes in action. photo credit unknown
Besides the clearly relatable lyrics, the songs are insanely catchy, and I could easily see myself throwing my arm around a stranger at the rail and screaming along. Long flights to shows across the country call for “Cause for Alarm” being played on repeat—although I definitely think my seatmate thought I was a bit nuts as I bopped around in my all-too-tight-fitting spot. But I didn’t care as I heard Lihn Le’s voice on “Fear of Faith.” I got a few glares as I accidentally started singing aloud (told you I’d listened to the whole album on repeat more than a few times!). This is absolutely a must-have album for 2025, and I can’t wait to see my new BFF, BGF, at the rail at many more shows to come!
