Beneath a bright blue Saturday sky, Brendan Yates, lead singer of Baltimore-based hardcore punk band Turnstile, surveyed a sea of an estimated 60,000 concertgoers gathered at the foot of the Washington Monument. As cheers erupted from the crowd, Yates posed a question carried beyond the stage: “Is it loud enough for the White House to hear?”
The telltales of a punk show were present: random objects being flown into the air, mosh pits, headbanging and crowd surfing. The scene unfolded against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, where thousands gathered for a free concert supporting humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza, Sudan and Lebanon.
Concertgoers were encouraged to donate to Human Concern International (HCI), a humanitarian organization that delivers emergency and long-term aid to communities in need, according to its website.
Before the performance, Hassan Wadi, HCI’s Global Director of Fundraising, shared the story of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who nearly lost her leg after being severely injured in an apartment bombing in Gaza. According to Wadi, donations raised by HCI helped save her leg.
Wadi announced that Turnstile had already raised more than $150,000, with additional donations expected following the concert.
Formed in 2010, Turnstile emerged from Baltimore’s hardcore punk scene, gradually expanding its audience beyond the genre’s underground roots. Their most recent album, “NEVER ENOUGH,” brought the band further into the mainstream.
However, the band’s growing popularity has also sparked debate among listeners over its place within hardcore punk, particularly following its Grammy win and Saturday Night Live performance.
For self-proclaimed Turnstile “Superfan” Alice Olivarea, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, for her, it reinforced their belonging in the punk rock scene.
“A lot of people are saying Turnstile aren’t punk or aren’t hardcore anymore; that’s not true…I love that they’re supporting a free Palestine, in front of the Washington Monument,” Olivarea said.
Olivarea said it is consistent with punk culture to support these social movements and be against fascism.
The band played a mix of songs off their most recent album NEVER ENOUGH, including the titular NEVER ENOUGH, BIRDS and I CARE alongside older tracks including MYSTERY and T.L.C.
Yates moved around the stage, at one point scaling one of the speaker towers towards the end of the set as the crowd continued moshing and crowd surfing below.
The crowd was intergenerational, with young children joining adults decades older in the crowd. Attendees Lisa King and Zoe Trojans disclosed that their high school-aged sons had turned them on to Turnstile.
“I know Turnstile from my son, and I like them a lot, but I’m also here for the cause,” Trojans said. “To be able to have a free space and be able to say what you believe in means a lot.”
Punk rock families scattered across the crowd, with some young children sporting Turnstile merchandise and forming their own mini mosh pits. Parents kept a close eye, making sure to lift them off each other when deemed necessary.
Concert attendee John Onyenemezu said the band’s political messaging reflected a longstanding relationship between punk music and activism, referencing bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains.
Both bands emerged from Washington D.C.’s punk scene, which has a history of political expression through music. In 1993, Minor Threat’s frontman Ian MacKaye performed in front of the Washington Monument with his later band, Fugazii.
“I think for the genre they’re in, hardcore punk and punk music in general, it has a very long history of being connected to politics,” said Onyenemezu. “Bands like Minor Threat, like Bad Brains, they all made political messaging a part of their act.”
Copy edited by Jori Johnson
