the 5 best of skull fest 2024

There’s no shortage of corporate-sponsored festivals taking over city parks and fields across  America all summer long. But tucked into the hills, hollers and riversides of the Paris of Appalachia, a scrappy coalition of veteran punks are determined to curate an incredible weekend of punk from all over the world without a single bank sponsor: Skull Fest.

What once started as a tongue-in-cheek titled birthday party in Pittsburgh has become a full-fledged destination punk event with people even attempting to make fake passes to get in. In its 14th year, the fest has really hit its stride with performers from France, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Chile, Canada and all across the U.S. (and I might even be missing some places!), showcasing a mix of exciting newer bands and legacy acts like The Chameleons, Subhumans, The Goons and more. It’s also an opportunity to platform a slice of the incredible bands from right here in Pittsburgh, PA like De Rodillas, Peace Talks, Nasty Nancy and Speed Plans to name just a few.

As a Pittsburgh resident, I might be biased, but I think some of the coolest bands are already here. The difference Skull Fest makes is that punks from all over congregate to go nuts and show off the various pit styles of their regions. The vocalist of Ready Armed System had my favorite mosh style of the weekend, but each pit was full to the brim with psychos from the Midwest and South freaking it in new and innovative ways. Pittsburgh has a reputation for being difficult to get moving, but that’s a non-issue at the fest. As a result, the hometown heroes get the off-the-walls response they should every time they play.

Another really important thing to know about Skull Fest is that it’s run by a team of extremely dedicated volunteers who are deeply invested in taking care of everyone and giving attendees the most batshit weekend of music and camaraderie possible. There’s medics at all the shows, delicious and affordable food, drug testing strips in venue bathrooms, and just generally folks ready to jump in when shit needs done. It’s an enormous labor of love. After the Sunday matinee I went to find nitrile gloves for Skull Fest organizer Krystyna Fox and Kapital vocalist Sarah Sequoia as they bagged all the loose trash and cans so that the waste management folks would actually empty the dumpster come trash day.

So what did I see this weekend? A man’s whole entire ass falling out of his pants during Speed Plans kicking off the weekend. Hundreds of beer and seltzer cans thrown from the crowd Ianding the stage. Nitrous nozzles peeking out of backpacks. More mohawks and rattails and dreads per capita than you could imagine. Goths with perfect makeup. Battle vests that belong in future punk archives. Friends from far flung places jumping into each other’s arms. People grinning ear to ear as they pumped fists in the air and pogoed and slammed back and forth in sweaty, smoky rooms.

I could write a novella-length article every year about all the things that I witnessed in four days of Skull Festing, but I’ve whittled it down to five highlights. Come to Skull Fest. Don’t move here!

5. Disintegration 

I usually try to leave a few surprises for myself, so if I haven’t heard a band before the weekend starts I’ll hold off until I watch their set to dig into them. Disintegration was one such set. The band’s careful blend of synth pop and post-punk (and the crisp electronic drums paired with a traditional floor tom and real cymbals!) made for an electrifying danceable set. Vocalist Haley Himiko (also of Pleasure Leftists) was absolutely mesmerizing to watch, her magnetic energy and movement matching the insane vocal range and power she possesses. I’ve had “Time Moves For Me” stuck in my head since seeing them play it on the very first night of the festival.

4. Protocol 

Tallahassee’s Protocol brought a level of intensity that truly floored me. The tone for the following 20 minutes was set with vocalist Ahmad making a point to emphasize the necessity of not treating people of marginalized experiences like accessories, and instead to fight for what’s right from a place of genuine interest and mutual respect–and then going on to say very few words between songs otherwise and having the performance do the rest of the talking. The band’s vicious speed and energy felt like an earthquake, rattling the floors of the venue and spurring a maelstrom of forty unrelenting punks shouting back at Ahmad and slamming for the entire set. Everyone behind the pit in the packed room were just as locked in, with very few phones out filming and instead everyone fully dedicated to experiencing the band. 

3. Physique 

If you’re wondering why the photo I took of Physique is not close at all, it’s because the venue was so packed that you stayed where you were once you got into the room. When the pit broke out the crowd had to move like water to accommodate because there was simply nowhere to go, not that anyone minded because Physique’s brand of blistering crusty d-beat had the entire room of maniacs in a frenzy.

People were stage diving, swirling, swarming on each other as Olympia’s finest charged through their set, bodies squishing against each other in various directions. Every member of Physique is extremely locked in, and their drummer Riley truly offers a clinic every time they sit down at the set. The amount of “Holy shit” and “that was fucking nuts” I heard as we all crowded into the stairwell to exit after the set was truly uncountable. And holy shit, it was fucking nuts.

2. The Matinees

This year’s Skull Fest featured several matinees, and it’s my opinion that the matinee shows embody the communal spirit of the festival. The fact that these are the all ages shows of the festival dovetails nicely into the local vendors set up and the general comfort that comes with being at and performing in a DIY venue built up from scratch. I was able to hit the Saturday and Sunday matinees this year (historically the Sunday matinee is my must-see show), and I was floored on both days. Saturday featured Nasty Nancy, KAPITAL, no knock, Kartel, X2000, Mutant Strain, Blazing Eye, Pure Terror and Haram.

Every single band crushed it, but my MVP of this particular matinee was Mutant Strain. How those fuckers fit so many crazy riffs into such fast songs defies psychics and also God. Additionally, the hi-hat stand of the backline broke during the set, and after it was removed to be hopefully fixed quickly, the drummer Alex insisted on just going ahead the set, and they barreled through three songs without missing a beat. You’d never have a clue that a whole piece of the set was missing. A repaired stand was sneakily returned midsong a few songs after, but I was still gobsmacked at how smooth they handled such a derailing speedbump. Mutant Strain’s vocalist Maryssa is delightfully deranged on stage, sounding demonic and freaky while they thrash around with seemingly boundless energy. It was equal parts entertaining and intimidating, and it was a set for the true freaks of the weekend.

The Sunday matinee lineup included Body Farm, Illiterates, Yambag, Ready Armed System, INNUENDO, Savage Pleasures and Bootlicker. This Sunday show is usually a good litmus for gauging how well the weekend went, and while folks were certainly tired, everyone was in great spirits. Sunday was the birthday of Illiterates’ guitarist Kevin, and after he blew out the candle on his cake, Lawson smashed it into the pit right before the band catapulted into their set. Cake was flying, for the first few songs before it became completely obliterated by the boots of moshers.

I was lucky enough to have a small part in the Illiterates set, having the mic passed to me for “Tricks of the Trade,” which was very fun. My MVP for this matinee was Cleveland’s own Yambag. We’re extremely lucky that the sports beef between Pittsburgh and Cleveland doesn’t translate to art, because the two scenes get to share incredible bands back and forth to our benefit. As per usual, the band seemed dangerously close to breaking time itself in its furious speed, and people rolled and prowled with frantic urgency on the greasy concrete (the cake may have been obliterated, but the oil remained). The band covered "Suspect Device" by Stiff Little Fingers to great excitement from the folks in the room, and even some more chill characters in the scene and at the fest couldn’t help but get into it during Yambag’s set. Richard could teach a master class on how to front a band. I mean, how does he jump that high?! People genuinely were having so much fun, and the band packed a ton into 20 minutes. 

1. Surrogates

I saw my favorite set of the weekend on the very first night on the first floor of the venue Spirit. The last time I’d seen Surrogates perform was in a half pipe in the woods of Pittsburgh, and it completely redeemed my love of punk and hardcore. That kind of revelation doesn’t always happen, but the Minneapolis band’s Skull Fest set was proof that lightning does strike twice. In fact, I think lightning must strike every single time Surrogates perform.

With blistering riffs and an unrelenting rhythm section, each song completely ignites your body into motion, while Lulu’s energy on the microphone is unlike anyone else. Lulu’s bright smile, dance moves, constant motion and fierce intensity is truly exhilarating to witness, and Surrogates does that thing to a crowd where a bunch of hard ass motherfuckers are all watching with these enormous smiles on their faces. Even as people cannonball into each other it’s all smiles. The energetic exchange is unreplicable. It’s impossible not to have fun when you’re watching Surrogates. 

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