CBGB Festival Proves Punk Is Not Dead

09-28-2025

(Shore Fire) CBGB & OMFUG - Home of Underground Rock lived on with CBGB Festival, presented in partnership with The Bowery Presents, at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn, NY. The stacked one-day event featured a lineup of generation-spanning bands across 3 raucous stages. Iggy Pop closed out the night with his first NYC performance in over a decade and Jack White returned to the city fresh off three sold-out shows this past February.

CBGB founder Hilly Kristal's grandson Adam Burgman shared "It was so exciting to attend the CBGB Festival this weekend. The whole lineup and getting to see Iggy Pop and Jack White was amazing! I know my grandpa would be happy to see the legacy of CBGB and his name continue with this festival."

The lineup was impeccably curated, featuring punk legends like Johnny Marr, Lunachicks, Marky Ramone, The Damned, and Melvins; CBGB-era hardcore staples Gorilla Biscuits, Murphy's Law, and Cro-Mags; and today's punk torchbearers including The Linda Lindas, Lambrini Girls, Destroy Boys, Angel Du$t, Scowl, Pinkshift, Teen Mortgage, YHWH Nailgun, Soul Glo, Lip Critic, and The Molotovs. Under the K Bridge Park was chosen for its industrial grit and cultural relevance in the heart of Brooklyn. Festival-goers enjoyed a full day of music on three stages, vintage and new merch, local food and drink, and immersive CBGB installations-including the famous bar and Hilly Kristal's front office.

Harley Flanagan from Cro-Mags said "I honestly really had an amazing time. I actually cried on stage after dedicating our song to Hilly and all my old friends from the hardcore punk scene that are no longer with us. That's how meaningful it was for me. It was a very emotional experience in more ways than I can explain."

Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973 on the Bowery, CBGB became an icon of raw energy, rebellion, and underground music, launching the careers of the Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television, and countless others. This weekend, CBGB Festival paid tribute to New York City's gritty, sticker-covered past through the lens of modern punk. The lineup connects punk's originators with its fiercest future voices, all answering one core question: Who would be playing at CBGB today?

Highlights from the festival included:

*Iggy Pop storming into the photo pit during his first New York City show in more than a decade, creating a moment of pure punk chaos.
*Jack White ripping into "Seven Nation Army" with the crowd's chant reverberating under the K Bridge.
*The Damned reviving "New Rose," their groundbreaking 1976 single that helped launch UK punk.
*Murphy's Law bringing fellow New Yorker Jesse Malin to the stage, as he continues his recovery from a recent spinal injury, uniting two eras of the city's punk scene.
*The Linda Lindas' set with unrelenting energy, drawing one of the night's most enthusiastic responses.