Hardcore Punk Is Looking (and Sounding) Different Now
One afternoon in April, in between sets at a daylong hardcore punk fest, three fans — Shani Nanje, 23; Dominique Wooten, 25; and Elizabeth Zaldivar, 31, all in town from Atlanta — stood in the backyard of the roomy, bare-bones Bushwick venue the Brooklyn Monarch, breaking down how they’ve seen their musical community change.
Wooten, like her friends, a woman of color, recalled meeting Nanje at a hometown show featuring Jesus Piece, a spectacularly intense Philadelphia band whose vocalist, Aaron Heard, is Black, and drummer, Luis Aponte, is Puerto Rican. “That was the first time I saw people of color onstage,” Wooten said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, wow…’” Zaldivar turned to Wooten. “You were one of the first brown, Black girls I’ve seen at a show,” she said, “so that was a moment for sure.” The three exchanged smiles. “What I’ve seen is more people that are going to shows,” Nanje added, “they’re seeing the bands, and they’re like, ‘I want to do that.’ So more diversity is pushing them to start their own bands.” The scene as a whole has “expanded,” Wooten said. “It’s growing, it’s evolving.” The day’s lineup, a showcase for the respected Baltimore label Flatspot, illustrated how hardcore is rapidly diverging from its former status as an outlet for largely white, male aggression.
The three friends from Atlanta arrived just in time to catch the end of a raucous set by Buggin, a Chicago quartet featuring the caustic shout of its nonbinary Black singer, Bryanna Bennett.
