Highlights from Las Vegas’ Punk Rock Bowling 2025

Punk Rock Bowling’s 25th edition had everything you could possibly want: ear-rattling riffs from some of the best punk bands in the scene, enough late-night club shows to keep the party going and an admirable amount of camaraderie. Here are the festival highlights from May 23-26.  

Mariachi El Bronx (Friday, Citrus Grand Pool Deck) South-of-the-border sounds prevailed at Downtown Grand’s pool deck, where Mariachi El Bronx headlined a club show, and openers brought Tejano, ska and cumbia to two different stages. With the help of a melodica, the all-female foursome The Mexican Standoff signed off with a spirited rendition of the classic “Ring of Fire.” San Antonio-based Piñata Protest's ska-happy “California Girl” charmed the crowd with a three-button accordion and trumpet front and center. Oakland-based La Misa Negra brought not one, but two saxophones and a trumpet to Afro-Latin-tinged songs like “El Agua Se Ya Se Acabó.”   

Mariachi El Bronx took the stage in full uniform and ensemble, including the vihuela, massive guitarrón and violin. The mariachi alter egos of the LA-based hardcore band the Bronx promptly went into “Great Provider,” a song about hope. For “Norteño Lights,” they brought out Piñata Protest frontman and accordionist extraordinaire Alvaro del Norte. Frontman Matt Caughthran spoke on the spirit of punk rock that was very much alive Downtown on Memorial Day weekend. “I’m gonna be a punk rocker until the day I die. This one’s for the bands. ... This one’s for Los Angeles,” he said before “Wildfires.” The closer “Revolution Girl” was dedicated to Mexico. –Shannon Miller 

Youth Brigade (Saturday, Monster Street Party Stage) The legendary punk rockers delivered an incendiary set, led by feisty frontman and Punk Rock Bowling festival co-founder Shawn Stern. Between blisteringly fast riffs and rousing call-and-responses, the outspoken punk preached unity in the face of fascism. “This one goes out to the Christian white nationalist pieces of s**t who think they can take over this country,” Stern said before tearing into “Spies for Life.” “We have to f**king fight and resist that. This song’s about a woman’s right to do whatever the f**k she wants with her body and don’t let any man tell you otherwise.”

The band played angry but energized by the mosh pits opening up before the Monster Street Party stage. Blasting through a decades-long discography, Youth Brigade kicked in numerous heaters from 1983’s Sound & Fury, including “Did You Wanna Die,” “Sink With California,” and the fiercely sung “What Are You Fighting For?” Drummer Mark Stern, Shawn’s brother and PRB co-founder, rattled the audience with his aggressive timekeeping. But our hearts were melted by the sight of Mark’s tiny daughter standing beside her father’s kit, headphones on and unfazed by the percussion. As he buttoned up the set, Shawn left us with some encouraging words of wisdom: “Fight for your rights. Be an individual. Never lose sight. Knowledge is the way to see. Ignorance is the enemy.” –Amber Sampson  

The Adicts (Saturday, PRB Main Stage) Keith "Monkey" Warren, vocalist of the iconic British punk band The Adicts, took stagecraft to a new level. In a full face of mime makeup, the charismatic joker brought every bit of attitude to tracks like “Troubadour” and the energetic “Numbers.” Hanging off the mad man’s every word, the crowd matched him lyric for lyric—especially on the highly anticipated “Viva la Revolution.” Warren, for his part, devoured that attention, ripping off his clothes in the sweltering heat and pretending to eat paper streamers out of a takeout box for the bit. He entertained till the very end, closing with a stadium-size singalong of “Walk On.” –AS 

Power Trip (Saturday, PRB Main Stage) On Saturday afternoon, Power Trip stepped out to one of the most anticipated crowds of the weekend. It’s been five years since its last Vegas show at Psycho Fest in 2019. And in that time, the world changed dramatically. The pandemic reshaped life as we knew it, and even more profoundly for the band, which endured the tragic loss of original frontman Riley Gale in 2020. Now vocally fronted by Seth Gilmore (Skourge, Fugitive), the band has returned with a renewed purpose. From the opening notes, the Texas thrash-metal band locked in. Blake Ibanez and Nick Stewart’s guitars sliced through the air, shifting between breakneck tremolo runs and punishing, sludgy riffs. Chris Ulsh and Chris Whetzel kept the low end tight and relentless, pushing the pace with intensity and precision. Gilmore brought grit and power, channeling the energy of the crowd without trying to imitate what came before. –Gabriela Rodriguez 

The Bridge City Sinners (Saturday, Downtown Container Park) A punk billing featuring two bands with an upright bass player is already a novelty, but Downtown Container Park’s club show doubled down on that experimentation with a fiddle and a pair of banjos as Portland’s self-styled “dark-folk” string quintet The Bridge City Sinners unleashed a dazzling fusion of punk, folk, bluegrass and Prohibition-era jazz sounds in their first of two PRB sets over the weekend. Singer Libby Lux displayed impressive range and a disarming improvisational aura as she crooned, swayed and plucked away at her banjolele on hits like “Kreacher” and “Break the Chain,” while versatile entries like “The Devil’s Swing” had banjoist Clyde McGee swapping out instruments with guitarist Michael Sinner to jump into a twangy duel with black-bearded fiddler Lightnin’ Luke.   

They hit the stage just after Detroit psychobilly power-trio The Koffin Kats got the crowd moshing to the speedy horror-punk riffs of “For Hire” as frontman Vic Victor alternated between performing and hoisting his glittery-silver stand-up bass over his head. LA-based openers Witches Ride and Before Dawn added depth in the earlier sets, with the former’s catchy take on brooding late ’80s punk and metal shining through in the earworm licks of original tracks like “The Collector." –Tyler Schneider 

Frank Turner (Sunday, Monster Street Party Stage). On Sunday evening, English folk-punk singer Frank Turner wrapped the last show of his U.S. tour and his third performance at PRB. Standing solo with just a couple of guitar changes to accompany him, he expressed "solidarity" for a country bounding toward authoritarianism. “For the first time in 17 years, I was nervous about this show. I was scared they wouldn’t let me into the country,” Turner said, pointing to some countries’ travel advisories against visiting the U.S. because of immigration and free speech crackdowns by the Trump administration. “If punk rock doesn’t mean speaking your mind at this time, then it doesn’t mean anything,” he said amid cheers leading into “Sand in the Gears.”   

The mosh pit swelled during “No Thank You for The Music” and the anti-fascist “1933.” NOFX cover “Bob” introduced a little country strumming and storytelling about an alcoholic who has to stop drinking. The crowd sang along during “Do One,” “Photosynthesis” and “Get Better.” “The Ballad of Me and My Friends” sobered us down, while “I Still Believe” brought us back up. “Now who’d have thought that after all / Something as simple as rock ‘n’ roll would save us all?” –SM 

Angel Du$t (Sunday, Substance & Monday, PRB Main Stage) After stepping into Substance, you’d think someone booked Angel Du$t at the wrong venue. Built for electronic footwork, not stage dives, the club braced itself as the Baltimore-based band lit the fuse with “Toxic Boombox.” The crowd exploded. The pit surged. Security, visibly baffled, stood tense like they were watching a riot unfold, kicking folks out for “doing too much,” which in hardcore often means doing it right. It looked like a breakdown in communication, no warning for security, no heads-up for fans. But despite the tension, Angel Du$t pushed through. The band delivered its set with the same genre-blurring, high-energy sound it's known for. Riffs were loud, vocals animated; every song met with movement. The next day, at 3:30 p.m., on the fest’s main stage under a brutal sun, the band ran it back like it’d just woken up from a power nap—faster, louder, more in its element. The crowd was better prepared, the sound bigger, and Angel Du$t met the moment with chaotic grace. –GR 

Ceremony (Sunday, Substance) It was 1:15 a.m. Security drama had kind of killed the mood, and people were bruised, tired, half-drunk and half-pissed. But as Ceremony stepped onstage, everything flipped. The opening notes of “Into the Wayside, Part I / Sick” tore through the room like a wake-up call. Vocalist Ross Farrar barked out the lyrics, enticing us to push forward as we shouted them right back. Suddenly, tired feet weren’t tired anymore. The pit wasn’t empty. Instead, it grew faster and larger. Substance might be a nightclub most nights, but for the next hour, it was sacred punk ground. Floors were slick with sweat, spilled beer or both. Crowd-surfers clawed their way to the front barricade, while moshers cut through in a primal haze. By the end, no one cared how late it was because Ceremony had proven once again why it’s one of the most emotionally explosive bands in the game. –GR