Punk Showcase: Hartle Road, & Bad Anxiety

Celebrating Mississippi’s boldest voices in punk rock, this showcase will highlight the region’s thriving DIY spirit, community-first ethos, and forms of social resistance. Featuring the bands Hartle Road (Columbus), and Bad Anxiety (Hattiesburg), festivalgoers can expect lively performances that demonstrate that punk is indeed folk.

At its core, punk rock is more than a sound. It is also a form of storytelling and social critique. Punk rejects polished perfection in favor of grit, and values participation over professionalism. Like other folk traditions, punk is passed from hand to hand: in doing so, community members share an ideology of “do-it-yourself” and “do-it-together.” Whether it’s wielding a guitar or a using a photocopier to reproduce zines, everyone in the community contributes in their own way.

Punk’s community-centered ethos is particularly apparent throughout Mississippi. In Hattiesburg, punk has thrived through house shows, makeshift venues, and all-ages spaces that prioritize access and inclusivity. In Jackson, the scene pulses with creative independence, where basement shows, zine trades, and community art projects form a constellation of resistance to conformity. These expressions have emerged as a response to a culture that too often ignores or erases Southern voices, especially those that refuse to fit the mold.

Hartle Road fuses fuzzed-out melodies with tightly wound tension, delivering Columbus-born punk that bridges chaos and clarity. Bad Anxiety channels the Hattiesburg scene’s cathartic urgency by crafting songs that shout what can’t be spoken. These bands bring just a taste of Mississippi’s growing punk scene to the 82nd National Folk Festival, while delivering high-energy music that thrills and moves.