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Spokane punk bands raise money for nonprofits through benefit concerts
After COVID silenced live music, Spokane’s punk scene is back — and bringing its politics with it
By Caleb McGever | FāVS News Reporter
Main Points
SPOKANE, Wash. – In the last year, nonprofits in the Spokane region saw an increase in funding from a passionate and growing community: DIY punk bands.
These bands host benefit concerts at local bars, friends’ houses and popular venues. After the show, they donate money from the cover charges and merchandise to local nonprofits addressing causes like immigrant justice and mutual aid.
Benefit shows like these are not new to the punk scene — they’ve actually been a staple of the scene since the ‘80s. However, COVID-19 made live music difficult, squashing any effort that might have led to benefit shows in Spokane.
This May, two music festivals in Spokane showed that things have changed.
The month began with Punk in Perry, which raised money for the Mutual Aid Survival Squad (M.A.S.S.), a group that brings meals, clothes and supplies to unhoused people around Spokane.
The event brought together 13 local bands, a half-dozen community sponsors and coordination from businesses all throughout the neighborhood.
At the end of May, another benefit show called the Crucial Times Fest will rock listeners’ ears, while raising money for immigrant defense.
Crucial Times Fest will bring together 23 bands — largely regional, but also featuring several out-of-state bands — at the Guardian, a historic church renovated to host art-related events.
Hardcore music for ‘Crucial Times’
“We knew that if we’re going to do a hardcore fest, and we want to bring bands from all over, we want it to be political-minded and driven by a cause,” Brent Noble, co-owner of Crucial Times Fest co-sponsor 221 Press, said.
Brett Noble started 221 Press in 2023, which works with independent musicians and artists. Since it started, the company has organized or sponsored several Spokane events, including Punk in Perry and Crucial Times Fest.
Brett Noble said the tradition of setting up benefit shows, planning community events and publishing zines goes back to the beginning of the punk genre. Further, he said these activities are still important for young people today.
“We’re living in an era where it’s all phones and fakeness. That idea of getting people together is real. I think that’s why you’re seeing so many kids getting a lot of music, playing instruments and putting out zines. The idea of holding something and really coming together and being part of something is important,” he said.
Punk events are loud. The air shakes and the floor bends under the weight of moshing audience members, who run, push each other and crowd-dive to fast-paced beats and frantic guitar lines. After each song, audience members clap and give each other hugs.
The Crucial Times Fest lineup features a dozen Spokane-based bands, five other Washington-based bands, three Oregon-based bands, a band from Montana and a band from California. Some of the bands, like Spokane-based band It’s a Setup, started only a month ago, while others, like California-based band Downcast, have been playing since the ‘80s.
Action-oriented musicians
Chris LaPoint, the guitarist for Tacoma-based hardcore band Wake of Humanity, said he hopes people at the show “learn something new and act on it.”
Wake of Humanity has been making music, touring and playing benefit shows for over a decade. They have released three records and are working on a fourth, featuring songs that touch on animal rights, environmental justice, human justice and current events.
“Our music is politically-charged and it’s action-oriented. That’s one of the things, especially for us, being a vegan, straight-edge band, where we’re all about taking action, not just yelling about it, not just singing about it, not just talking about it on stage, but actually doing it,” LaPoint said.
LaPoint said the band often raises money for causes they sing about. They also bring zines full of information about their causes to concerts, which is common-practice at punk events.
Brent Stephens, the guitarist for hardcore band Downcast, said exchanging ideas and joining together to raise money is one of the things he is excited for about the Crucial Times Fest.
“It’s always fun to be in contact with new ideas and people taking new approaches on things, and then just getting to contribute to a really good cause is important for us,” he said. “It feels really good to be part of a community that’s trying to do good things in the world, especially right now.”
Downcast, which started during the late ‘80s in the Santa Barbara area, also has a history of playing in benefit shows. Stephens said the band tried to embody a shift in the punk scene to being more inclusive and aware.
“I hope we sort of played a positive role in kind of starting to shift toward thoughtfulness, political awareness and thinking about what the scene itself could be for everybody who was participating in it,” Stephens said.
Stephens said others who influenced that shift in the scene include Fugazi, another late ‘80s punk band famous for its benefits shows and political, reflective songs, and Inside-Out, which eventually evolved into Rage Against the Machine.
Spokane’s music scene
“The spirit of DIY, hardcore and straight edge and all those things that I grew up on, is to bring people together for something important,” Brett Noble said.
DIY, an abbreviation for “do-it-yourself,” refers to musicians who largely set up their own shows or rely more on members of the community to create posters and share information.
Hayes Noble, who is Brett Noble’s son and plays in Hayes Noble, It’s a Setup, X-Reality and other local bands, said the characteristics of the DIY scene go hand-in-hand with benefit shows and fundraising.
“I think what makes sense to me is that with hardcore and punk rock, it’s heavily rooted in DIY culture, and sure, a lot of the indie stuff is as well,” he said. “Those people are going to be the ones who are more keen to organize events, events like benefit shows and little fests and stuff that bring the scenes together.”
Spokane’s DIY bands have played a role in the community since the early ‘80s and the current era of punk bands includes many who have organized smaller benefit concerts to support local nonprofits.
Where does the money go?
Some benefit concerts state the organization they donate to outright, often on the poster for the show.
Punk in Perry shared money with M.A.S.S. A regional festival in February called Punk Palouse raised money for a local food pantry. Other recent, local concerts in Spokane raised money for Nuestras Raicas and Manzanita House, non-profits that support immigrants in Spokane.
Other events, like Crucial Times Fest, don’t state their cause. Brett Noble said he learned from experience that outsiders worried about punk’s aesthetics sometimes attribute a band’s values with the cause they’re supporting, which can lead to backlash against the cause.
“Especially when you’re dealing with hardcore and you’re dealing with bands that have in your face lyrics and sacrilegious artwork,” he said. “People can take the wrong way.”
Brett Noble said the cause the festival is supporting is “local” and “on the ground and highly involved.” He also clarified that the relationship is not a partnership, but just an instance of the punk community supporting a cause they believe in.
“We want them to do their own thing. We’ll do ours, and we’ll help them out the best that we can,” he said.
He said anyone who wants to know where the money is going can reach out to 221 Press and ask.
“People who have been part of what we do, and the bands that play with us, know that we’re stand up people and we have ethics, but I totally understand questioning and trying to find out,” Brett Noble said We’re happy to answer those questions for folks.”
The Crucial Times Fest will take place at The Guardian on May 29 and May 30. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door and are $15 per session or $35 for a weekend pass. Students can buy a special weekend pass at the door for $25.
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