Feature / Music / Year End 2022
Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2022

Each of the last few years now, we've written an introduction to our annual Pass The Mic feature which summarises the chaos of the preceding twelve months and expresses hope that through music, at least, we'll find a semblance of sanity and order amid the uncertainty and discomfort of the seemingly-endless malaise of the current year. We're not falling for that again.

Next year will probably be even worse than this one if 2022 is anything to go by, so instead of trying to look back objectively, we're going to focus on asking our musical contributors to give us their honest, dare-we-say-it positive spin on what's coming in 2023 and why we shouldn't assume it'll be as much of a shitshow as the last couple of years. They might even be right!

Here are a few highlights:

There is a renewed sense of appreciation for live music. It seems as though folks have also found a deeper connection to the meaning of punk rock and are more apt to speak up about what it means to be a responsible showgoer. Not just on the health and safety side of things but in general awareness. Without sounding like an old fart, it's giving me some old-time show-going feels.

– John Brandow & April SollB (Black Dots)

While I've seen streaming of shows sporadically carried over, most have gone back to in-person only. And that means that, unless the venues have all ensured that their spaces are fully accessible, they just removed a number of fans/showgoers who cannot access their space. I'd love for our little sect of the world to step back and begin to think about others around them and what others' needs may be so everyone can share a similar experience. 

– Kendra Sheetz (Bad Copy)

Can’t forget, we had a major cultural shift during the pandemic: people changed jobs, folks moved, they got older, etc. Entire scenes have been disrupted, and it’s hard to say if it’ll ever come back to the way it was. Bigger bands and legacy acts are doing fine, but what bums me out is seeing how many people are losing their shit—and paying hundreds of dollars—for bands like MCR and Blink. Save some of that enthusiasm for the rest of the community.

– Tobias Jeg (Red Scare Industries)