On June 6, punk music devotees from the river city and all around the country will gather under the St. Louis Arch for one big group portrait. The snapshot serves as a focal point for an all-ages DIY festival dubbed All Punks Meet In St. Louis Under the Arch that will take place at a handful of venues throughout the weekend. The programming includes live performances from local and touring bands, vendors, and group social club activities.
Local musician Jack Middeke got the idea for the meet-up from graffiti he spotted on the scrawled on the bathroom wall of Bolozone–a cooperatively owned house on the south side at which he previously resided (he currently works on another related venture, the Dielmann Kaiser House). The phrase “All Punks Meet Under the Arch 6/6/06” piqued his interest enough for him to start asking around regarding its origins.
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While the date noted in the graffiti was wrong, he discovered that “through the efforts of many people leaving notes, writing on walls and trains, and making flyers of their own, all punks did meet in St. Louis on May 26, 2006.” The anonymous call seemingly instigated by outsiders spread via word of mouth and brought self-identified punks of all shapes, sizes, and subsets from coast to coast to St. Louis—all for a day of chaotic camaraderie in the gateway to the West.
In the process of researching what he refers to as “a college project for someone who never went to college,” Middeke unearthed countless stories from that fated date in St. Louis punk history and felt compelled to organize his own version of the event to perpetuate the culture and share findings. “I kind of fell into the behavior of the original planner. I just started telling people about it and writing it on shit, and I made some flyers and handed them out to people who were traveling and told people to spread the word,” he says.
The original bare-bones poster cryptically states “All Punks Meet In St. Louis Under the Arch 6.6.26” and little else, save for the phrase “All Are Welcome” and an e-mail address underneath a comical drawing of a scribbled creature making its way to the Midwest monument against a photocopied cityscape. Slowly but surely, the subversive field day began to take shape.
Twenty years after the original famed All Punks Meet, Middeke and his close friends and fellow musicians Mark Plant, Kendall Nettleton, Josh Levi, and Grace Smith have assembled an all-star cast of acts that span the spectrum of punk, with some genre outliers to keep things interesting. The team aims to forge face-to-face connections within their community across generations. “My goal is to bring some punks together young and old and celebrate the scene that has been a great gift to many,” Middeke says.
“This fest serves as a means for people to come together to have fun during undoubtedly dark times,” says Levi, who is in charge of logistics. “I think the fest speaks to the tenacity, creativity, and ingenuity of St. Louis artists, and shows that a simple idea—no matter how small—can become a reality when people combine their skills and lived experience to breathe life into something.”
On Friday night, a kick-off party at Off Broadway will set the tone for a series of shows across multiple stages the next day. The opening line-up showcases newcomers Sorry, Yuppy, Black Glove, Muscle (New Jersey), and The Mall. On Saturday, music starts at 1:30 p.m. on S. Leonor K Sullivan under the Arch, featuring Chorus Truly, Tonya (New Orleans), The Pink Tax, Middeke’s own group Miracle Whip, and an open skate hosted by Arch Rival Roller Derby.
From 4:30–11 p.m., the festivities continue at the William A Kerr Foundation with a maker’s market and 12 more performances from Miranda and The Beat (New York), Desire Path (Kansas City), D. Sablu (New Orleans), Kids, Bradford Reed (New York), Stuck (Chicago), Nature Boys (Kansas City), Total Con (Leeds, UK), Janet X, Home & Office, Bootcamp (Iowa City), and Stress Positions (Chicago).
To cap off the stacked schedule, June 7 offers a day full of fun at Cherokee Park that includes a small bracket baseball tournament hosted by STL Skeletons, a karaoke dance party, and a chess club. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a motivation to get people offline to meet each other in real life,” Middeke says. “It’s definitely a dream of mine and I got a lot of help from people who share the same enthusiasm for the concept.”
Middeke hopes to make the meet-up an annual tradition that can be passed down to the next class of creatives looking to spiritedly challenge the status quo. “Punk rock by itself isn’t going to end any wars, but that doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to enjoy each other’s company,” he says. “Just at the bare minimum, I want people to hang out. I just feel for the city and for people who are so fucking mad and feeling isolated that need an outlet and community. I think it’s more pressing than ever to meet people in real life and discuss things, join organizations, and form coalitions… And I’ll say this too: It’s okay if you’re not a punk.”
Tickets for the June 5 Off Broadway show can be purchased directly from the venue, while the June 6 fest is based on a $25-45, pay-what-you-can sliding scale. All donations go towards performers with a portion benefitting St. Louis Mutual Aid.
