Tahoe Onstage photos by Shaun Astor
After taking a year off a year off, one of the West Coast’s biggest punk music festivals is coming back in May 2023, and will bring four days of concerts, hotel pool parties, late night club shows, and — yes! — bowling to downtown Las Vegas.
Punk Rock Bowling – which originally spawned out of a handful of punk record labels getting together for a bowling tournament – will fill Memorial Day Weekend with more than 40 bands on the outdoor festival stage. This year’s headliners include Rancid, Bad Religion and Dropkick Murphys. With two stages going and no overlapping in set times, it’s possible to see every band at PRB. Although if festivalgoers want a break, there are vendors, galleries by well-known punk artists, VIP areas for the older crowd, and plenty of food and drinks on the fest grounds.
As the all-ages outdoor event gets closer, the festival starts announcing the club shows, with plenty more bands performing in bars and venues walking distance from the fest late into the night. And for everyone who survived the previous night, each afternoon has hotel pool parties with even more bands playing poolside stages.
Despite the discordant music, year after year Punk Rock Bowling remains one of the most positively well-organized events we attend. From the care that goes into selecting a lineup across the spectrum of punk and hardcore to creating a welcoming environment for young and old fans to the general friendliness of those making the trek to attend, the festival puts on a party on a scale that only Las Vegas can. Combine that with the brand new Punk Rock Museum which is scheduled to open off the Strip in January 2023, Punk Rock Bowling is an essential pilgrimage for those looking to get their mosh on to some of the biggest names in the scene.
-Shaun Astor
Punk Rock Bowling
May 26-29, 2023
Downtown Las Vegas Events Center
All information at: https://punkrockbowling.com
Hyperlink for Punk Rock Museum – https://thepunkrockmuseum.com
A partial lineup of bands performing this year’s festival:
Rancid
Bad Religion
Dropkick Murphys
The Interrupters
L7
Suicidal Tendencies
Face To Face
The Exploited
TSOL
Agnostic Front
Fishbone
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Suzi Moon
For the full lineup and to keep up with club show and pool party announcements or to purchase tickets and VIP packages, head to PunkRockBowling.com
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage Tim Parsons/ Tahoe Onstage
