Pure Joy The 23rd FEST in Gainesville, Florida recently wrapped up. Scene Point Blank has been to the majority of them over the past two decades, beginning at FEST 5. I've personally attended roughly half of them. And at FEST 23, I saw 44 bands in 3 days (an even 50 if you count the pre-shows I attended). I took close to 3,000 photos, met several online friends in person and managed to sleep a few hours in between. Then I slept for about another week after I got home at 1am on Monday evening, which means this wrap-up has been a little slow in delivery. Fest is a monumental feat. While I saw 50 bands, I missed many (many) more. Heck, there are some bands I didn't even realize played until I was reviewing details after the fact. It's a weekend where you have to balance your love of music, socializing, and your own personal limits. It's about adjusting on the fly when a venue is at capacity or you just need to take a little breather. What struck me the most about FEST 23 was how the event is evolving, still, after 22 previous versions. It's always been referred to as something of a punk rock family reunion, but that element is now literal. The Fest has become a multi-generational event with many of the larger venues allowing toddlers-to-teens. I even met some parents of band members this year in the crowd. While it's changing, the vibes aren't. … Read more
As The Skids sang, The Saints are coming!.......Storming North America! The Saints ’73-’78 land on North American soil in early … Read more
FEST 23 takes place later this month, from Oct. 24-26 in Gainesville, FL. Something like a billion bands are driving, … Read more
Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, … Read more
There are some musicians that come along and can literally play every instrument and do it well. Such is the case for the grindcore brainchild behind Chairmaker, Neil Erskine. He drops his self-released, debut album titled “Leviathan Carcass” on November 14th. Fueled by the perils of the late capitalist society we inhabit, Neil has been able to craft a fierce … Read more
Twenty years into the grind and The Devil Wears Prada haven’t lost their edge. However, in recent years, it’s a bit more refined and less jagged than their earlier release. The band’s latest release, Flowers, feels like their sharpest, most well-oiled bloom yet. From the opening track “That Same Place” to the closing “My Paradise”, this record is a reckoning. … Read more
DFMK have been playing since 2009, but Playa Nuclear is just their second full-length. It kicks off with exactly what I expect of the band in "Mi Rutina" -- a driving punk song with lots of high energy, guitar-driven bridges; Mr. Cap on vocals and doing near-splits between songs; and a general melodic flow that balances nervous energy with a … Read more
Chicago’s Action/Adventure have been grinding the pop-punk trenches since 2014. They have always played pop-punk like it still has something to prove because for them, it does. They went viral in 2020 on TikTok with their song “Barricades” by calling out the exact thing no one in the scene wanted to say out loud. The genre is full of white … Read more
Contrary to what I said on Vh1’s Behind the Music, Tim from Hovercraft is one of my favourite human beings. I suppose in some ways that’s not saying much but … Read more
If the name Ace Enders sounds familiar, it should. He’s been the voice behind The Early November, one of Drive-Thru Records’ cornerstone emo bands in the early 2000s. While that … Read more
You may not be familiar with the band Summer Blue, but that’s your issue. If you do know the San Jose, CA based band, then you know how enjoyable they … Read more
At a time when experimental artists are constantly churning out new music, it is curious to find some that take their time. Rachel and Roxann Spikula might not be the … Read more
Whenever I see the cover art of an album for a metal band and there’s impaled skulls, blood, and a logo I can’t read, I know I’m getting ready to … Read more
Dmytro Fedorenko and Kateryna Zavoloka are two legendary artists who have defined much of contemporary experimental electronic music through both their various projects and through the now-defunct Kvitnu record label. … Read more
Earlier this year Austin, TX based Gus Baldwin & The Sketch released a peppy new wave meets punk rock album simply called The Sketch. Now, lead vocalist and namesake Gus Baldwin is back with a solo, self-titled album too, out as of Oct. 24 on Permanent Teeth label. While The … Read more
German darkwave project EFF will self-release a new album, Zero, next month on Dec. 8. Since beginning in 2023, EFF has utilized synth-driven sounds for distant, yet personal, effect. "Negative" … Read more
February 13, 2026 is the release date for Love Is Not Enough, the eleventh album from Converge, which will release on Deathwish / Epitaph, coming during the band's thirty-fifth year … Read more
Norway melodic hardcore band Ondt Blod struck back today, sharing the first new song from the band in seven years, "AUX." "AUX," the band says, is “A song about throwing … Read more
Beta Voids, of Astoria, OR, hwill soon release their debut EP, Scrape It Off. The band features dual vocals and a high-energy blend of '80s California punk and no-wave, loosely … Read more
Canadian punk band TeethOut just announced another EP on the way, the third EP in their short career thus far. It will release via High End Denim Records. The band … Read more
After a one year hiatus, anti-facist independent label Syrup Moose Records returns in January 2026 with several released lined up for the coming year. The release schedule kicks off with … Read more
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