I arrived at the Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, shortly after noon June 28, when gates opened for Punk In The Park. The first band, Distorted Times, was slated to go on at 12:30 p.m. and the line to enter already extended for two blocks, taking over the entire sidewalk and bike lanes of Naito Parkway. For such a large festival, I thought, 30 minutes before the first set is not early enough to get everyone in, especially with only one gate entrance. There was a separate line for VIP, though from what I could tell that line didn’t seem much shorter.

I went up to the box office tent to pick up my media pass and was told I had to wait in line with others buying tickets or getting guest list or vendor passes because there’s “only one computer.” Again what seemed like an organizational failure — why would you only have one computer at the box office for a festival of this size?

About a week or so prior, long after I had already submitted my press credential application, I found out that Brew Ha Ha, the production company that puts on Punk In The Park festivals, had donated to the Trump campaign — something distinctively antithetical to punk and what the scene stands for. Admittedly, after finding this out, I had my reservations about covering the festival, but I knew many of the bands had signed on to perform before this became public knowledge and many of the openers needed the exposure and funds that performing at a large punk festival could give them — in the music industry, especially, there is always the conflict between maintaining your morals and ethics as a band/artist versus trying to survive under capitalism in an industry often controlled by corporations that don’t align with your values. “There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism” is a mantra I often repeat to myself and the same rings true for attending or performing at music festivals as well. Thus, when I received the approval for press credentials, I myself was faced with the dilemma — do I cover the festival where the profits go to something I don’t support? Eventually, I came to the conclusion that regardless of Brew Ha Ha’s political leanings, the majority of the bands playing the festival do deserve my support and their values align with mine.

Since I arrived at the festival with the knowledge of Brew Ha Ha backing MAGA, I wasn’t too hopeful that the company would put on a very inclusive and accessible festival and that assumption was unfortunately correct. Beginning with the long lines, short doors time, and only one computer at the entrance, it was clear the festival wasn’t organized well. After waiting in line for my media pass, I barely made it in in time to shoot the first band, Distorted Times, who are local to Portland. This is a band I feel deserves more exposure, so I was excited they got the opportunity to play Punk In The Park. When I made it to the front of the stage, however, I looked over the barricade to see only a handful of people in the crowd — everyone was still waiting in line to get in, many of whom had been waiting since before the gates had opened. My concern about the 30 minute window for doors was correct and I was disappointed to see that one of my favorite local bands barely had an audience due to the disorganization of the festival. One of the reasons to attend festivals, in my opinion, is to discover new bands and see artists you haven’t heard of before, but if you’re not able to enter the festival in time for those earlier acts, then that defeats that purpose. In my case, the only reason I was able to squeeze in early enough to make it for Distorted Times set was because where they had everyone lined up in the grass was inaccessible for me in my wheelchair and they let me skip the line. A fellow photographer, who was in the box office line right behind me, had to go to the end of the line and wait to go through security with the rest of the attendees — another mark on them for the organization since most other large events and festivals often have a separate entrance for press. I thought about this while I was photographing Distorted Times’ set — wouldn’t they want photos of all of the acts? But they didn’t care to get people into the festival in time to see the opening acts, so I guess it’s not surprising that they also didn’t care if their press photographers got photos of the opening acts.

Though they only played to a crowd of maybe 20 people, Distorted Times nevertheless put on a fun show. The addition of a brass section with a saxophone, trumpet and trombone added some ska vibes to their DIY punk sound.

Niis followed Distorted Times and while the crowd had about doubled, more still were waiting in the line outside the gates to get in. Niis (pronounced “nice”) is a female-fronted hardcore band from Los Angeles and the Bay Area. While I had heard of them, I hadn’t actually listened to them before Punk In The Park, so I was excited to see them. Vocalist Mimi SanDoe entered the stage with a fierce presence, with bright fiery orange-red hair and fishnets layered under a miniskirt. Though it was the height of the midday heat, she danced around on stage with intense energy, screaming and growling into the mic. Niis’ morals and political views clearly shined through in their music and performance as well — they modified the lyrics of their single “Fuck You Boy” to the relevant current chant “Fuck You ICE” for their set. Niis gave a powerful performance and was one of the standouts of the day for me. I’ve been listening to their debut full-length album, NIIS WORLD, on repeat since the festival.

Next up was Swingin’ Utters, the California punk band formed in the late ‘80s, who opened with “The Librarians Are Hiding Something” from their 2013 album Poorly Formed. Vocalist Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel thrashed and grimaced on stage in true punk fashion until his face was red. Swingin’ Utters closed out their set with “Brand New Lungs” from 2011’s Here, Under Protest and finally their hit “Five Lessons Learned” from the 1998 album of the same name.

Following Swingin’ Utters, Mustard Plug brought the ska genre to Punk In The Park. Fans skanked as the Mustard Plug mascot danced on stage and the band members interacted with their hype-man. By now, a larger crowd had formed, and those I saw waiting in line on the sidewalk when I arrived had finally made it into the park. Due to the heat and harsh sun, the crowd was more dense in the VIP section, an area with more shade thanks to the trees that lined the park. Unfortunately, this was pretty much the only shaded area of the park where attendees could still see the stage, which meant anyone that didn’t want to stand for hours under the direct sun was forced to cough up extra money for VIP. The draw of shade seemed to be enough to convince people, considering how many people I saw with VIP wristbands and how much of the crowd remained in the VIP area instead of venturing out to the area in front of the stage. While some VIP attendees hung out around the picnic tables in the shade, with beverages in hand, some stood on the steps of the barricade separating VIP from GA so they could still see the stage but remain somewhat in the shade.

It seemed many of those with GA tickets waited until later in the day to arrive, choosing to miss out on the earlier bands to avoid suffering under the direct sun. That, in combination with how long it took for people to enter the festival, really lessened the crowd for the earlier bands. I thought about how much especially I loved Niis’ performance and how many missed out on seeing them due to the poor organization of the festival and the timing of their midday set. And while the “amenity” of shade was definitely a VIP perk, it also seems very much not-punk to force people to pay more to avoid getting sunburnt or heat exhaustion — though of course, with the knowledge and awareness of their political contributions, it’s clear that Brew Ha Ha as a corporation prioritizes profits over the health and safety of their fans and this move falls in line with that so it wasn’t too surprising. I did notice that the ADA section was at least partially shaded under a tree on the other side of the park, which was an improvement from the previous festival produced by Brew Ha Ha, NOFX’s Punk In Drublic, that I attended at this park — at that festival the ADA seating was directly in the middle of the park in the most exposed area.

Before Mustard Plug went on, I took a break to go to the bathroom and get some lunch, which led to more discoveries of the inaccessibility and poor organization of the festival. In the VIP area where I was, the only accessible port-a-potty was placed in a grassy section with lots of mud in front of the entrance, which meant I had to push my wheelchair through the mud in order to get to the bathroom. Some 15 or so feet away, however, was a sidewalk where the accessible port-a-potty could have been placed so that people could enter from the pavement. Though I managed to make it to the accessible bathroom, this was something that clearly the organizers didn’t think about — or just didn’t care to — when setting up the festival. There was a spot they could have placed the accessible port-a-potty to make it more accessible, but instead placed it further away someplace less accessible. The sinks placed outside of the port-a-potties were not accessible, either, utilizing a foot pump to activate. The air-conditioned bathrooms provided in the VIP section were also not accessible with stairs leading up to them. Later in the day, I ran into a friend and fellow wheelchair user in the ADA seating area who told me he had bought VIP after emailing Brew Ha Ha and asking if the VIP area would have ADA accommodations and accessible bathrooms. He was told that yes, there would be an ADA section in VIP and accessible bathrooms, but this wasn’t the case. Even though he had spent the extra money for VIP, he couldn’t access any of the amenities VIP offered.

There were limited lunch options and unfortunately, my wheelchair got stuck in the sand trying to order lunch. Thankfully my partner was with me at that moment and could help me get out of the sand, but again, I thought about how terrible placement that was in terms of accessibility — putting down wheelchair mats over sandy patches would be a small investment for a company like Brew Ha Ha and greatly improve accessibility and safety for everyone at the festival. It is something that other festivals I’ve attended at Waterfront Park have done. Of the lunch options, I ordered the only thing that was gluten-free, the $17 tacos, and crossed my fingers I would be safe. Normally I wouldn’t risk the cross contamination, but since the festival didn’t allow re-entry and with how many calories I was burning pushing myself over the uneven terrain in the heat, I needed food in me or else I would pass out. While it’s understandable to not allow re-entry for safety reasons, in my opinion, if a festival is going to have this policy, then they also need to ensure there are plenty of options for food that accommodate different dietary needs or those with allergies. The lack of food options for those with dietary restrictions was also an accessibility issue — you can’t expect people to stay at your festival for 10 hours if there isn’t anything they can eat.

After Mustard Plug, I managed to stay for two more sets: 7 Seconds and The Adicts. I was already getting fatigued from the lack of accessibility of the festival and the heat and sun exposure were affecting me, but since 7 Seconds was a band on my bucket list to see, I told myself I would at least stay for them. They didn’t disappoint, either. Vocalist Kevin Seconds also called out Cameron Collins and Brew Ha Ha on their hypocrisy of donating to the Trump campaign and I was glad that a band performing finally made a statement about that. A prominent local punk band I love, 1876, had been very vocal about Brew Ha Ha backing MAGA, but unfortunately word hadn’t spread enough. Many of the people I talked to at the Portland festival who knew had already bought their tickets before it became public knowledge and came because they didn’t want the ticket to go to waste and still wanted the chance to see many bands they love that rarely come to Portland.

In true hardcore fashion, the crowd was more rowdy for 7 Seconds and the festival saw its first crowd surfer of the day. Thankfully, with it being later in the day, the heat was starting to die down, giving the crowd more energy.

The Adicts, who were announced shortly before the festival as the replacement for Propaghandi after they had cancelled all of their U.S. dates, came on after 7 Seconds and the crowd was enthusiastic. I had originally requested my press pass when Propaghandi was on the lineup and admittedly, they were the band I was most excited to see at that time. Many others I spoke to had originally bought their ticket because of Propaghandi as well and were disappointed when the well-loved and politically outspoken Canadian band had to drop from the festival. It took some time for Punk In The Park to announce The Adicts as their replacement, but when they finally did, I saw many comments of excitement.

The Adicts were a band I wasn’t as familiar with and never listened to, so I didn’t know what to expect, but based on the crowd’s reaction and enjoyment, however, I could tell they were an adequate and well-respected replacement. Vocalist Keith “Monkey” Warren entered the stage dressed in a white suit with black and red stripes and card suits painted on on the jacket and stretched his arms out to reveal a black cape with fluorescent dots. The crowd went wild. His clown-like face paint accentuated his facial expressions as he sang. After dropping the fluorescent cape, he pulled out his deck of cards and started tossing them to the audience.

Though I was originally disappointed in the replacement for Propaghandi being a band I didn’t listen to, I ended up thoroughly enjoying The Adicts’ set. They had their aesthetic and crowd engagement locked down. Despite my fatigue, I stayed for their entire set and after the first three songs, I watched from the elevated ADA section as the crowd enthusiastically tossed inflatable balls around and jumped to catch The Adicts’ playing cards. Monkey continued to shed layers of his suit throughout their set as he ran from side to side and tossed playing cards until the end, when he proudly held up a large red balloon during “Viva La Revolution.” Though I hadn’t planned to stay for The Adicts’ set, I was glad I did — The Adicts brought a high-paced energy that, despite being out in the sun in inaccessible conditions all day, perked up my mood. I was impressed with their performance and made a note to myself to listen to more of their music.

Overall, though I was disappointed in the lack of accessibility of Punk In The Park and how much it seemed Brew Ha Ha didn’t care to make the event accessible and inclusive, I was impressed by the bands that I got to see perform. One of them, Niis, has become a new favorite of mine and I hope to see them grow to the point of being headliner status — they deserved to play to a much larger crowd than the one that was there earlier in the day. However, my experience with the accessibility issues, as well as Brew Ha Ha’s choice to donate to a politician that is currently trying to strip marginalized communities of their rights and goes against what punk as a genre stands for, makes me skeptical about Brew Ha Ha’s ability to organize an inclusive punk festival and skeptical of their role in the scene. Punk should be accessible and it should be inclusive. While I recognize that many of the punk bands are forced to survive under capitalism, there is certain point in which you shouldn’t compromise your morals for money or fame. Dropkick Murphys later announced at their Denver Punk In The Park performance that it would be the last Punk In The Park they played — they didn’t want to let fans down who had already bought tickets to see them in Denver, but they wouldn’t be playing anymore Punk In The Parks due to Collins’ financial support of Trump. After Dropkick Murphys’ announcement went viral, Collins finally released a statement, one that claimed he made the choice based on a “few important issues” while also claiming to be anti-racism and believing in human rights for everyone. Thankfully, many have pointed out the hypocrisy in his statement — you can’t be anti-racism while actively supporting a racist. The statement was one that clearly was penned after Dropkick Murphys announcement gained traction in order to try to save his business. Smaller bands like 1876 and Destiny Bond had already called him out on supporting Trump, but Punk In The Park and Brew Ha Ha previously deleted comments on their Instagram pages and chose to ignore it, hoping the information wouldn’t be spread. My friends in 1876 also approached Collins at the Portland festival and asked him about his support of Trump — to that he responded that he wouldn’t take back his donation even knowing what he knows now. That, in combination with his statement, shows no remorse and makes me believe that the only motivator in who he backed politically was his pocketbook. Taking that into account with the accessibility issues I personally experienced at the festival tells me that Brew Ha Ha isn’t punk — they don’t care about creating an inclusive space for everyone to enjoy music.

Across the river another festival was happening later in the day — one that embodied the true spirit of punk and DIY. 1876 band was putting on their “Victory Day Fest,” a festival in celebration of the anniversary of the day the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho people defeated the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry led by General George Armstrong Custer. The lineup featured local punk bands as well as an indigenous metal band from the Navajo nation — who flew into Portland on their own dime to play the show — and the proceeds went directly to an indigenous non-profit. 1876’s festival sold-out and several attendees there had left Punk In The Park early to support their local scene and the cause.

After draining myself trying to push my wheelchair through the dirt, sand, and mud at the waterfront park for six bands’ sets, I decided to head across the river as well. There I was welcomed with a completely different vibe, one that felt inclusive. I was able to recoup some energy in the air-conditioned venue and could move around with ease, even with the small venue being sold-out and packed with people, everyone made space for me to get through in my wheelchair. Even though I was excited to see many of the bands at Punk In The Park, it wasn’t worth it to put my body through that and deal with Brew Ha Ha staff treating me like an inconvenience. Of any genre I have covered, punk has always been the most inclusive and accepting, and it’s up to us fans and artists to keep it that way. Many of the smaller bands have to make the choice to play corporate festivals to maintain themselves and survive as a band, but there are also headliners like Dropkick Murphys who have the means and status to speak out and I hope to see more of those bands follow suit.

I do truly want to go to another Punk In The Park again — seeing a bunch of my favorite punk bands in a park while discovering new favorite bands sounds like the perfect summer day to me — but not if it’s produced by a company that doesn’t care about its attendees or uphold the ethics of punk. With Brew Ha Ha now facing backlash for their support of Trump, I am hoping this will propel the change needed with the festival and its organization. I’ve attended and covered music festivals organized by smaller production companies that were much more inclusive and accessible, so it shouldn’t take a large corporation that supports MAGA to put on an event such as Punk In The Park. If a festival like Punk In The Park were organized by a smaller company with ties to the community and the local punk scene, it could be a great event and would truly embody the ideals of punk.