Misael Ruiz
- Apr 4, 2022
- 3 min read

Punk In Drublic in Ventura, California 3/27/22

The Punk In Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival features some of the biggest and best punk bands around. Headlining the festival are punk rock legends NOFX. There were plenty of bands playing and needed two stages just to be able to handle everything. This stop of the festival was on the west coast in sunny Ventura, California not even a quarter of a mile from the beach. Even before doors opened, a big line had formed with punk rock fans from around the area just waiting to enjoy punk rock again. Doors opened at 12pm and the show was underway. Attendees had a variety of things to do while there. There were plenty of food options ranging from chicken strips to seafood to carne asada fries. One of the main attractions of the festival was the craft beer tasting from 12pm-3pm. There were a variety of breweries both local and international. Everyone that went into the venue was handed a little plastic souvenir cup for the beer tasting. One of the beers to try was Pennywise's new beer Unknown Road (named after their second album) with the official release date being later in April. There also several vendors selling their products which included shirts, handbags, stickers, glasses and skateboards. At 1pm, the show had officially started with Dry Sockets kicking things off. The sun was out with a few clouds in the sky and the setting was perfect for an outdoor festival. Around 3pm was when the festival grounds started getting more full of people. The Bombpops brought the energy to the second stage and got a good crowd to watch their amazing performance as well as got a mosh pit going. Following them was Bad Cop/Bad Cop who also put on an electrifying performance. The second stage was headlined by punk rock legends T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) who had one of the biggest turnouts of the day. The main stage had its own slew of great punk bands. One of them were the local Nardcore legends ILL Repute who are from Oxnard, California just next door to Ventura. Guitarist and founding member Tony Cortez is considered the "Mayor of Nardcore." During Face to Face's performance, the band had to pause their show due to a fan being injured in the crowd. After a brief pause, the show continued. The second to last band on the main stage were the legendary punk rockers, Pennywise. By this time at night, it started to get cold and windy being next to the beach. Their setlist was cut short after only four songs due to another fan being injured and needed to be escorted out by a medic team. After about twenty minutes, the show resumed with Pennywise only playing half their set. They even played a Black Flag cover and brought out their special guest who was Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies. Their ending song Bro Hymn always drives the fans wild with mosh pits, crowd surfers and people go on stage with them to sing the chorus. The headlining act of the night was NOFX. The show started with a traditional dance from singer/bassist Fat Mike. The rest of the band came out and joined in as they started with conversation before finally starting their show. Their shows are fun and loud with fans once again moshing, crowd surfers and singing along. Nearing the end of the show, it even started to sprinkle a bit. NOFX finished up their show and the day-long festival came to an end. As the ground cleared up from people, you could see trash and cups everywhere from people drinking. It was a good day for live music coming back and just as good for punk so people in denial will see that punk is not dead!