Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center hosted the fourth annual Fools Fest, giving a platform to the punk community in Colorado and bringing it to CSU’s campus. This year’s Fools Fest was held March 27, bringing five punk bands — local and regional — to the LSC’s Sutherland Community Garden.
Fools Fest is organized and hosted by KCSU, a student-run radio station that supports and advocates for local music in Fort Collins as well as alternative music genres in the community.
Euan Peart, KCSU’s station manager, took on the lead role for this year’s event, prioritizing the community as well as the integrity that Fools Fest has had in years past.
“It was pretty similar to how it was when it first started — very DIY and very punk,” Peart said.
While the event’s integrity and overall impression has stayed true to its roots, other aspects have changed for the better. Multiple sponsors, including RamEvents, Bizarre Bazaar LLC, Aggie Theatre and 830 North, made the event come alive.
Additionally, the Fort Collins thrift and vintage community has expanded, offering students places to explore and enjoy between music sets. Molly Van Anne, CSU graduate and owner of the local vintage shop, bar and music venue Collective Vintage, worked alongside KCSU and other vintage vendors to provide an alternative option for those who wanted to be present for the event but not join in with the music crowd.
“I love being back on campus,” Van Anne said. “It’s a wonderful community. You get to see everyone you love and meet new people that you don’t know.”
This addition to Fools Fest fostered more inclusivity and allowed people to give the genre of punk a chance and connect with a potentially unfamiliar community. As both a genre and an aesthetic, punk can come with many preconceived judgements when, in actuality, it strives to cultivate a welcoming culture.
“Punk is not just an aesthetic or yelling on a stage; it is a movement,” said Mazzy Madeira, a member of the Denver punk band Dry Ice, which has advocated for the transgender community in Colorado. “It’s inherently revolutionary, so if you’re not supporting your community or making a community at least at your shows, I mean, that’s what it’s all about.”
While its essence may be lost in translation at times, punk remains a movement dedicated to uplifting and supporting communities.
“When you’re playing your shows where a lot of community members (are) from all around, from the DIY community to the trans community, music community in general, when a lot of those people come out to shows, it’s a responsibility to make sure they are taken care of and are safe and feel safe, especially since a lot of those shows are ways for people to make friends, find mutual aid connections and be a part of something bigger than themselves,” Madeira said.
This energy and sense of community was very much present during the event, which featured moshing, mingling and energetic performances.
Various subgenres of punk music were showcased as well. From Dry Ice’s Riot Grrrl performance and Slag’s noise punk all the way over to Plastic Forearm’s country-gone-punk style, Fools Fest turned the LSC’s Sutherland Community Garden punk for a day.
“Everyone at KCSU is super proud of the show,” Peart said. “We are very glad everyone could come and are excited for next year.”
Reach Ruby Secrest at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
