Loren

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 … Read more

FEST 23 takes place later this month, from Oct. 24-26 in Gainesville, FL. Something like a billion bands are driving, flying, canoeing, and snowshoeing to the festival from across the country -- many of them for the first time and many come back to play nearly every year. Scene Point Blank has traveled to “over half” of them (we’ve lost … Read more

Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, FL, we’ve got some Fest games for you to play, including a few samples from this year’s performers. Click here to play FEST LIBS -- like a fill-in-the-blanks word game about all things Fest! We have 8 different options to … Read more

For close to a quarter-century punk fans have flocked to Florida for The Fest. Boasting a lineup of 300+ bands and roughly a dozen venues these days, the festival has grown, shifted and evolved. For several years the main stage has been in a large downtown park called Bo Diddley Plaza, named for the influential musician and one-time Gainesville resident. … Read more

The less I say about 2025 the better. Well, except to say that Scene Point Blank's 2025 Year End coverage is in development so, actually, I'll be talking about the year a lot. Search/Play/Repeat is a sporadic playlist feature that's just about sharing music though, instead of hitting some topical … Read more

It's been a while since I put another playlist up. I actually had this 99% done a couple of months ago, but everything went haywire and the list went on hold. This edition of Search/Play/Repeat is a quick play, running about 30 minutes in total. Enjoy! Read more

Visual Learner, BlackDots, City Mouse, Couch Potato Massacre Cloudland Theater Minneapolis, MN May 7, 2025 I’m embarrassed that I haven’t covered any shows at Cloudland for SPB previously. It’s a relatively new addition to the Minneapolis scene and a welcome addition that feels as much like a community space as … Read more

Sometimes I get all introspective and ask myself why I do this. Not very often, but the answer is always because I like music. It's that simple. I like to discover new stuff and I like to share it. Every year, the staff at Scene Point Blank sink a ton … Read more

After a string of singles, darkwave project EFF will release debut album Zero on Dec. 8. EFF started in 2023, with the songs that comprise Zero were written after July 2024 and take the sound in a new direction that balances reflection with transition. To steal some perfect language from … Read more

Marking one year after the Los Angeles, CA wildfires, members of Social Distortion, Pennywise, the minutemen, Foo Fighters, Alkaline Trio, The Go Gos, and more have teamed up on the single "We Are LA," out Jan. 7, 2026. Sales will benefit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. More info about the 12" … Read more

Chalk Hands of Brighton, UK, has shared a new single "Breaking Waves," an angular post-hardcore track out on streamers as of Dec. 12. The band also announced their second album, The Line That Shapes the Coast of Us, will come out nexy year on March 27, 2026 \via Dog Knights … Read more

Proton Packs' fifth release is a-coming, the new Visions From The Void, featuring 12 new songs, a theme album to "guide you like Virgil through a maze of mind trips, hallucinations, dreams, nightmares and prophecies," per the band's announcement. The band from Tuscany, Italy formed 21 years ago in 2004. … Read more