"Punk is still very much alive and well... and more needed than ever." In LA, punks of all generations gathered at The Wiltern to witness pioneers and legends converge on stage for a rallying call to action and celebration and fun. Bikini Kill are a few days into their 2026 tour. For their pair of California dates, they were joined by Alice Bag and her band. With the lead up to these shows, Alice announced that these would be her last hurrah.
Alice Bag had commented on the reason being due to getting old and the difficulties of performing these songs with the intensity they require, but her performance showed that she still has that spark inside. She tromped across the stage with the same wild-at-heart spirit she's had her entire career. Taking moments to approach the crowd and encourage the masses to speak with those around them slipping into fascist thinking and try to get them to understand the consequences of falling down such rabbit holes and to get them to change their views.
Midway through the set, Alice invited Bratmobile's Allison Wolfe and Trap Girl's Drew Arriola Sands on stage for guest vocals on "77" and "Even." During "No Means No," she asked for the audience to join in to let anyone in the room that was victim of assault know they weren't alone. She rounded out the set with a series of Bags songs, closing with "Violence Girl."
It was time for Bikini Kill and the crowd couldn't be more anxious to let themselves go. Before jumping right into the music, Kathleen Hanna took a moment to acknowledge the fundraiser they were running throughout the night with the help of CHIRLA (The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights). Before taking the stage, they had already amassed $5k and was hoping to reach 10k by the end of the night. Hanna held up a QR and promoted everyone to take out their phones and share the QR code. They have since hit $20k with Bikini Kill matching. With that, the band jumped right into "New Radio" and the floor erupted! However, as they made their way through their career spanning set, they took any spare moment to hold up the QR code.
They bounced from their first couple of EPs like with tracks "This is Not a Test" and "Don't Need You" to their final release, Reject All American, with "Capri Pants" and "For Only." Hanna showed off her range from dancing freely across the stage yelling with her signature vocal style to crouching down and doing a deep guttural delivery. Throughout the night, Bikini Kill would switch up duties. With Hanna heading to bass, Kathi Wilcox moving to drums, so Tobi Vail could take over on vocals for tracks like "Hamster Baby" and "Tell Me So." They ended the night with of course, "Rebel Girl" and dedicated it to Alice Bag for her last show.
I wasn't there to see Bikini Kill in the 90's, but I can honestly say that it doesn't seem like time has got the best of them. This is every bit their "prime" as their first run and we're lucky to be alive at a time when Bikini Kill exists and are still performing. Its been one of the best shows I've seen this year. Go see them if they come through your city.
Early Friday afternoon, I packed my car cooler with Mountain Dew, water, and peanut butter sammies, (because I’m a classy lady like that) and made my way to Cumberland. When I rolled into town, I met up with some friends and we did an outdoor day activity. When we were finished, we headed back to town and cleaned up for the evening’s activities. I arrived early to the Mezzos where I started to interview some of the bands playing. I spent the better part of an hour in the cigar lounge with Paperback Tragedy; laughing and chatting amidst the cigar smoke around us. 
Friday kicked off with Little Devil Bvstvrds and they set the energy high for the evening. Following them were Paperback Tragedy, Mud City Manglers, The Take, The Downstrokes, Tick, and Titus Andronicus. As the night progressed - more and more people filled the space. Some familiar faces, some not. But to quote Paperback Tragedy’s song “We All Die”, “There’s no strangers here, just friends you haven’t met.” That was really the feeling of the entire evening. Laughter and joy radiated from everyone. I sat down with Little Devil Bvstvards after their set and they said, “You walk into Savage Mountain and it's like a family reunion.”
I rolled into Maryland earlier on Saturday than the day before, because I got an invitation to the legendary Savage Mountain 
Finally, it was time for the last night of the festival. Steelboy opened the evening of music wide open. My path has crossed with this band a few times, but I had never seen them live before now. Their set was everything that I was told it would be and the vibe was on point. I asked the band a bit later and asked them what Savage Mountain means to them. They responded, “You know when it’s cold and grey out, actively snowing, just finished clearing off the car? Then you settle in at home, fresh log on the fire, warm blanket over your shoulders, hot cup of cocoa in hand, that feeling of contentment? That’s SMPF.” We also enjoyed sets by Thunder Vest, The Power, Incendiary Device, Rebelmatic, The Effigies, and Agent Orange. 
For many - this has become our annual get together. It’s a place where we all can relax, enjoy the music, and fellowship with folks that we only get to see once a year. The space is nothing fancy and money isn’t wasted to provide an “experience.” But here is the thing - we aren’t fancy and the experience comes from the foundation that the Savage Mountain team has laid and what we have built together on top of it. the weekend delivered exactly what it promised. “Three days, no filler. Just good music. No frills.”
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