When the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas opened its doorways in 2023, onlookers fell into considered one of two decidedly other camps. Many have been excited to have fun the style’s distinctive and interesting historical past, whilst others argued that striking punk in a museum would cross in opposition to the tune’s anti-establishment techniques.
After visiting ourselves, we will file that the Punk Rock Museum were given it proper. This isn’t a stuffy choice of artifacts, however fairly a thrilling have a look at the style’s distinctive position in historical past. Such a lot of artists are represented, overlaying the quite a lot of generations of punk acts. The museum additionally put a transparent emphasis at the higher punk neighborhood – with quite a lot of nations, races, sexual orientations and gender identities all represented a number of the sprawling two-story venue.
One of the vital rooms have other vibes. There’s a sitting space made to appear to be a vintage early ‘80s front room, its wall embellished with “circle of relatives albums” – aka non-public footage given to the museum from quite a lot of musicians. In different places, a hall is enshrouded with live performance fliers and zines, a mirrored image of punk’s proceeding DIY ethos. Nonetheless, in lots of different areas, the pieces on show do the speaking, with one-of-a-kind artifacts and memorabilia accrued from lots of punk’s most famed acts.
Corey Irwin, UCR
Some heavy-hitters have been at the back of the Punk Rock Museum’s advent, together with MXPX chief Fats Mike, Warped Excursion writer Kevin Lyman and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Vital contributors of the punk rock neighborhood have been concerned with each and every side of the museum’s advent, making sure it will be a correct mirrored image of the neighborhood, fairly than some Disney-fied retelling of punk historical past.
The result’s an unfiltered and truthful glimpse within considered one of rock’s maximum vital sub-genres, and a museum not like every other we’ve been to. Listed here are the ten coolest issues we noticed throughout our discuss with.
