Riffs, Rage, and Right-Wing Donations
Some punk music fans in the Southland probably felt like they were on an episode of Punked when they learned the festival founder had contributed to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
More than 40 bands were scheduled to perform at the show at the end of Miner Street in San Pedro, including Bad Religion, Pennywise, Descendents, and The Interrupters. The Harbor Area town marked the fourth stop on the traveling punk music festival, but many fans were just hearing whispers from the July edition in Denver, Colorado.
This past July, in Denver, headliners included Descendents, Bad Religion, Streetlight Manifesto, and Circle Jerks. When fans discovered that Collins had donated to Trump’s campaign, multiple bands dropped out, and at least one, Dropkick Murphys, vowed never to return.
In normal times, Collins’ political leanings might not have mattered much. But these aren’t normal times. Democratic-led cities increasingly feel like dystopian versions of working-class Detroit in the RoboCop films, where a cartoon villain deploys troops against ordinary residents.
If the absurdity described wasn’t absurd enough, on the second day of Punk in the Park in San Pedro, several ICE vehicles encircled the Lucky 7 Car Wash at Gaffey and Channel, where masked, heavily armed assailants in tactical gear seized a worker in front of witnesses. No warrants… No badges were displayed.
A few days earlier, four unmarked cars chased day laborers through the Carson Home Depot parking lot. Three were arrested; two were released after showing proof of residency. A week before that, on Sept. 26, another day laborer was briefly detained.
Meanwhile, bands at the festival tried to keep the mood positive. The only band to mention the donation issue was Death By Stereo lead singer Efrem Schultz and the Casualties. Schultz was happy to be there with his friends and family and was proud to be a Brown voice on the tour. Schultz also sings in the band Manic Hispanic and performed with both bands over the weekend.
The Casualties took a different road. They addressed Brew Ha Ha’s founder by raising two banners that read “Fuck Trump” and the other, “Fuck Ice Bootlickers.”
This was the festival’s second year in San Pedro, with last year marking NoFX’s final tour together. Despite the Los Angeles Harbor’s rich punk history, long-standing local bands were not given their due, whether through invitation or collaboration.
Todd Congelliere, proprietor of The Sardine, told Random Lengths:
“A while back, I talked to a couple of band members on the bill. They knew about the donations and were not pleased, but they still played. Now add the fact that ICE is terrorizing L.A., even posting up here in Pedro. It really makes me scratch my head and wonder what the hell is going on.
I get it—there’s money and a crowd to play to—but these bands that write anti-establishment punk for our kids need to admit they misplaced their spines on this one. That’s the least they can do.”
Punk elder statesman Mike Watt weighed in as well:
“My Missingmen drummer, Raul Morales, just told me about this. I had no idea, but I had no intention of going; something felt jive.
Look, I’m a minuteman—what do you think I think? What would D. Boon have thought?
I’m glad I wasn’t asked to play. I sure am glad people said stuff from the stage—was one of them Jack [from T.S.O.L.] maybe? I know he ain’t with that.”
Denver-based hardcore band Destiny Bond withdrew from the festival, citing the organizer’s support for Trump. They emphasized their decision was rooted in values and a commitment to inclusivity. Another Denver band, Time X Heist, also pulled out, saying the organizer’s politics conflicted with their principles.
Ahead of the Denver show, controversy erupted when Collins’ $225 donation to Trump came to light after Brandon Alan Lewis, owner of Punkerton Records, posted an FEC report screenshot on Threads. Lewis told ABC7 that fans had a right to know, noting the donation contradicted punk rock values. A petition to cancel Punk in the Park in Denver and other cities quickly gathered nearly 1,000 signatures.
Dropkick Murphys honored their commitment but announced afterward that they would no longer play Punk in the Park or Brew Ha Ha events. In a Stereogum interview, Ken Casey framed the controversy as a clash between the band’s left-wing, working-class politics and MAGA-aligned fan views, calling it a “poison” affecting the community and the punk scene.
Other bands voiced discontent but stayed on the lineup. Bad Religion, Pennywise, Descendents, Streetlight Manifesto, and Circle Jerks all publicly expressed concern about the organizer’s political donations and the impact on festival integrity.
In a statement released at the time the controversy erupted in Denver, Collins defended his political donations by emphasizing values of fairness, humanity, and free expression over party loyalty. He said his support was based on ending wars, lowering taxes, and limiting government overreach, rather than partisan identity. The Punk in the Park founder expressed disappointment with many of President Trump’s actions, specifically condemning “the recent ICE atrocities,” along with the administration’s foreign posturing and secrecy around the Epstein files. Stressing punk’s inclusive, anti-hate ethos, he noted his festivals never fund political causes, instead supporting charities and employing diverse staff to unite fans through music, individuality, and mutual respect.
But still, it wasn’t as if the current regime didn’t telegraph what he was going to do starting Day 1. Congelliere summed up the sentiment shared by many in the punk scene:
“Stop pretending this is no big deal just to make bank and sell T-shirts. Admit it, and we can go from there. Some bands don’t care and dismiss concerns as being ‘woke,’ but others were very conflicted. I love some of these bands and the people in them, but they directly supported normalizing apathy toward an administration that’s close to banning their artistic expression. Hope the mosh pit was badass.”