Punk in the Park is headed back to Denver for a grizzled bacchanalia of punk rock, craft beer and nostalgia, following its single-day debut in 2021. And boy, is it full of Gen-X catnip.
The three-day event, which takes over the National Western Stockyards July 18, 19 and 20, will feature punk-rock legends Bad Religion, Descendents, Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, Streetlight Manifesto, Circle Jerks and dozens more, promoter AEG Presents said in an announcement.
If you recognize them, it’s because those SoCal acts for decades have dominated nearly every punk rock festival in the U.S. While most are great in concert (trust us) and have clung admirably to their ideals, they’re also reliable Gen-X draws that have aged along with their fans.
There has also been no shortage of opportunities to see them in recent years — particularly as similar events such as Riot Fest have visited Denver on and off, and overlapping acts headlining their own shows locally. But its audience demo is likely more selective about where they spend their concert money, so having all these bands is one place is a mighty attractive bargain.
Three-day general admission starts at $145.50, with VIP tickets starting at $365 (neither includes fees) and are on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28 via punkinthepark.com. Single-day tickets and an hour-by-hour schedule will post closer to the event.
That’s pretty packed compared to most Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Ball Arena shows, where nosebleeds can top $75 each. But with consistently impressive, evolving bookings at corporate venues such as Mission Ballroom — and Red Rocks itself, which has lately morphed into a summer-long mini-fest in some ways — it’s definitely got some competition. And yet, the event is all-ages, which means three-day attendees with embroidered Dwarves and Circle Jerks patches won’t need to hire a babysitter.
As we recently noted, the festival fatigue that Denverites have felt is real, as is the metro area’s inability to support large, multi-day pop, hip-hop and rock events over the years. Festivals ranging from Westword Music Showcase and Grandoozy to Meow Wolf’s Vertex have paused or canceled their events, which were angled much more for music discovery than wistful, button-pushing nostalgia.
But Punk in the Park also boasts a deep list of contemporary, down-bill bands, many of which will be new to attendees. The headliners — some of whom have been around since the late 1970s and early ’80s — have admirably led generations of pop-punk, Warped Tour acts, hardcore, mallpunk, emo and other genres that rise, fall and rise again (see the current revival of early 2000s punk and nth-wave ska).
The music’s not the only draw: beer tastings, which are baked into the format, run from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19, with a $15 add-on for attendees 21-and-up. The beers include local, regional and national craft beers, hard seltzer and cider; food, including vegan options, will also be available.
Punk in the Park’s 2025 Denver visit is its biggest-ever, building on a single-day debut at Sculpture Park outside Denver Performing Arts Complex in 2021. In the 2025 marketing, the DIA public-art mascot nicknamed Blucifer (not actually a public-domain image, and now an actual marketing cliché) appears to be shooting its red laser-eyes at East Colfax Avenue, just outside the State Capitol building.
The event is actually about 5 miles to the north, along Interstate 70, where its performances will hopefully overpower the sirens and 18-wheeler horns crowding that busy stretch. Another nice feature: no overlapping sets, which means bathroom breaks (even diaper-changing ones), water breaks and other chill moments won’t force you to miss your favorite band’s set.
Not all of it, anyway. See you in line?