WAC Punk Festival - Punk Gigs - All Ages! All Welcome!
26. APRIL 2025 – PUNK AT WAC !!!!
1-DAY EVENT: FREE
12:00 – 23:00: ART EXHIBITIONS & DISPLAYS
13:00 – 15:00: TALKS
15:15 – 15:30: OPENING
15:30 – 15:40: ALBUM SLEEVE COMPETITION
15:40 – 16:30: INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS
COVER CHARGE – PUNK FESTIVAL
17:00 – 23:00: 7 Bands live – Book tickets at the bottom of the page!!
50 YEARS PUNK
Punk is very much alive! Never mind anyone claiming its demise over the last 50 years… From a small scene in New York and London, formed by a few creative malcontents in the 1970s, it became a global phenomenon and has forever permeated every facet of culture to-date.
This one-day celebration, aims to bring together Punks of all ages, subculture aficionados, and everyone else that wants to know what all the fuss was/is about. On show is astounding Punk art from local and international artists, an album design competition, as well as vintage artefacts. This is complemented with oral history and topical talks and ends with a Punk music festival that features 7 acts, with 3 young bands hitting the stage for the first time! It’s an amazing and unique concentration of all things Punk, an event that looks back fondly and plots a path to the future. Miss it and you’ll be none the wiser, come on the day and you’ll be… well, PUNK!
12:00 – 23:00 ART EXHIBITION & DISPLAYS
Foyer/Entrance Hall, Mezzanine, Dr. Billy Colfer Gallery
DEREK BAKER AKA DEKDISASTER (UK/SWITZERLAND)
Skateboards & Apparel
Derek creates truly original and unique cartoon-style Punk and monster characters for skateboards and t-shirts. Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, he’s entirely self-taught and never went to art school. When Punk Rock broke in 1976/77, Derek was eight years old and it hit him like a brick, the music and the whole culture. He was also hugely influenced by comics, in particular 2000 AD when it waslaunched in 1977. This comic featured Brian Bolland (later Batman, The Flash) as well as Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl, co-founder and the creator of art and animations for the virtual band Gorillaz). For Derek, 2000 AD with characters like Judge Dredd was full of violence and the art perfectly fit the music of the time!
PIP FIRMAN (WEXFORD)
Paintings & Photographs
MARTIN GÖSSI (SWITZERLAND)
Posters
Martin turned to Punk in the 1970s, growing up in a (very) rural part of canton Lucerne, Switzerland. An award-winning artist, he is internationally renowned for his distinctive Punk, HC, and Rock posters. He has also been featured at Rebellion, the largest Punk festival in the world. Martin is completely self-taught and to this day he starts every work by hand! His earliest output during the 1980s included flyers, fanzines, record sleeves, and painting leather jackets and skateboards. In the 1990s, Martin created concert posters for the myriad of acts that he booked for the Sedel, the premier Punk venue in Switzerland. Each year, he now produces two coveted calendars with a selection from this vast treasure trove of unique Punk and Rock posters. He’s also the vibrant singer for MÖPED LADS, one of the longest-serving Swiss Punk bands.
JOHN HOLDEN (WEXFORD)
Street Photography
John grew up in Midleton, Co. Cork and took part in the nascent days of Punk and New Wave of the late 1970s and early 80s in Cork City. Passionate about street photography, he’s also an award-winning wildlife photographer living in Rosslare, and was voted Irish Biodiversity Photographer by the Irish Times, 2017 and 2018. He utilizes pretty much the same skill set required for wildlife work when capturing images of his favourite subjects: Punks, Skinheads, Bikers, Mods, Goths and other subcultures. In essence, all sorts of misfits and societal outsiders in his favoured hunting grounds of Camden Town, Brighton, and Dublin city. He prefers the candid shot, although that is not always possible or required. His works have featured in many solo shows and exhibitions. John is the owner and operator of Hellfish Trading, a market shop featuring all things Punk and underground in Wexford Town.
www.instagram.com/hellfishtrading
MARTIN WANNER (SWITZERLAND)
Punk Pop Art
Martin grew up in the canton of Aargau, a predominantly rural part of Switzerland. With Punk as his Leitmotiv since his teenage days in the 1970s, he is nowadays a recognized artist, author, musician, graphic designer, and illustrator. He is considered to be a visual communicator, with works full of energy and conveying strong messages. Martin is acclaimed for the unique and humorous artwork that he produces, specifically for his “Blitzausstellung” series; legendary one-day art exhibits in odd locations and merely lasting a few hours. Beginning in the late 1970s, he has also played in several Punk bands, released numerous own recordings, designed a great number of album art for the Swiss band Yello, made brand-logos and product-labels, and wrote several books, including the autobiographical Tagedieb and the Time Out novel.
www.instagram.com/martinwanner.ch
VINTAGE ARTEFACTS DISPLAYS & PUNK POSTER RAFFLE
A variety of rare original posters, books, fashion, and art from the early days of Punk have been brought together to be on display during the exhibition. Some of the posters are also the prizes for the Punk raffle, with winners announced during the Punk gigs.
13:00 – 15:00: TALKS
WAC Theatre – Book limited seating : 053 912 3764… otherwise, first come, first serve!
13:00 – 13:45: PUNKS ON PARADE
Hosts: Álanna Hammel & André Tschan
Participants: Pip Firman, Martin Gössi, Stephen Averill, and Alan Robinson
This is a unique chance to hear from the early heydays of Punk! This talk will focus on a brief history from 1950s Rock’n’Roll music to the nascent 1970s explosion that was Punk Rock. A panel made up from local and international protagonists has been selected to highlight what experiences were uniquely scene-specific or then mutually shared in different places. For many actively engaged Punks it was more than a simple fad, much rather it actually became a design for life: sharing a common self-recognition of being different or outsiders of sorts. Punk is nowadays a global fixture and it has proven for 50 years that seeking truly individualistic forms of (self-) expression goes far beyond the requisite attire or hairdo. It’s an attitude residing in one’s head that gives Punk its immortal appeal, to find an own way as part of society and circumnavigating its constraints, forever applying the well-honed bullshit detector…
14:15 – 15:00: WE ARE DEAD STARS – PUNK ROCK FUTURE SHOCK
Presenter: Peter Murphy
We Are Dead Stars – Punk Rock Future Shock is writer and musician Peter Murphy’s celebration of the 50-year forbidden romance between punk rock and dystopian fiction, two subjects united by a single phrase, ‘No Future’, the original title of the Sex Pistols’ single ‘God Save the Queen’. Beginning in punk’s signal year of 1977 with the launch of IPC’s insolent and anti-authoritarian sci-fi comic 2000AD, the book then travels through the subterranean currents of London, Belfast, Berlin, Detroit, New York and on into the psycho-geographical spaces of neo Tokyo and the Cold War underground.
Equal parts memoir, time-travelogue and alternative history, Murphy’s first non-fiction work, after the novels John the Revelator and Shall We Gather at the River, is a valentine to punk prophets like Burroughs, Ballard, Ziggy, Iggy and Patti, from Revelation to Rimbaud, from the Velvets to Videodrome, from the Clash to A Clockwork Orange, the Beats to Blade Runner and the 1980s cyberpunk and graphic novel revolutions, all the way up to the alternate realities of the 21st century.
@cursedmurphy
15:15 – 15:30: OPENING
Host: André Tschan
15:30 – 15:40: ALBUM SLEEVE COMPETITION
Host: John Holden, Prize: €100 Hellfish Voucher
This is a competition to design unique Punk record album art, using print, collage, embroidery, digital photography, 3D print, found objects or by any other means. Sleeve designs have to be presented on 12”x12” canvas and need to be suitable for wall hanging. All works will be displayed! Canvasses are available exclusively at Hellfish Trading, Bullring, Wexford Town, for €3 from Friday 21st February and completed works have to be submitted to Hellfish Trading, the latest by Friday 18th April.
Judge: Stephen Averill aka Stephen Rapid
Stephen Rapid was the founder of what is recognised as Ireland’s first punk band, The Radiators from Space in 1976. It included the late Philip Chevron and Pete Holidai, with two critically acclaimed albums released on the Chiswick label in London; although Rapid left as a performing member after the debut TV Tube Heart. As a graphic designer he began a long-lasting relationship with U2 from the 1970s onwards and worked as a design consultant with many other Irish and international bands and artists. He also produced the first punk fanzine in Ireland, titled Raw Power; and with Jude Carr and Pete Price, the wider distributed Heat magazine. Later bands included the electronic act Tell Tale Heart who appeared on the Late Late Show and who transformed into SM Corporation. The Radiators came together to play an AIDS benefit in 1987 and this led to the reforming of the band. After the passing of Philip Chevron, the remaining members decided to carry on as Trouble Pilgrims, releasing the albums Dark Shadows and Rust and Blood, Glass and Gasoline. Rapid returned to live gigs, combining singing and playing electronics with Trouble Pilgrims.
15:40 – 16:30: INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS
Host: André Tschan
17:00 – 23:00: PUNK FESTIVAL
Wac Theatre – All ages, all welcome
THE GAKK
The Gakk are an original five-piece Punk band from Dundalk, Ireland. Taking influences from the classic Punk sound of the’70s (The Clash, SFL, Sex Pistols, Subhumans, Dead Kennedys, Crass, Buzzcocks, Conflict and Rancid) this band are the real deal, touring extensively across Ireland, leaving fans breathless wherever they play with their melodic Street-Punk & highly energetic live performances!
www.facebook.com/thegakk
www.instagram.com/thegakkdundalk
THE DUBTONES
Blending their own mix of Ska-Punk-Dub-Rock since 2005, no apologies for hearing influences from The Clash and The Specials by way of The Ruts & The Jam, as the 3-piece Dublin band The Dubtones wear their influences on their sleeves! Busy on the gig circuit since their inception, they have clocked up over 350 shows, including many headliners. They released their last album “The Art of Social Distancing’ in July 2022 and want to play more UK dates as well as remain active on the home front. Not all agitators are subversive, but The Dubtones certainly are!!!
www.facebook.com/dubtonesireland
RECOIL
RECOIL is an explosive teenage Punk-inspired Rock band from Enniscorthy, Wexford. This high octane outfit is comprised of Jack (voc, guitar), Evan (lead guitar), Connor (bass), Andrew (drums), and AJ (keys). Their set of original tunes includes the singles “I Wanna Start a Riot” and “Rip You Out”, the latter an iTunes no.1 hit single. With several rapturous gigs in Kilkenny, Waterford, Dublin, and Enniscorthy under their belt, RECOIL is a tour de force and showcases the future of things to come!
www.instagram.com/recoil.band
BAGGLES & BUTCH
BAGGLES & BUTCH are Freddie Trebble and Ross Collie. Based out of Baggles’ shed (affectionately named Trebble Studios) in Ballinteer, Dublin, the duo were recently featured on the Punk compilation LP Bullshit 2024; inspired by the Bullshit Detector compilations produced by the classic Crass label in the 1980s. With a penchant for fast paced punchy songs, they’ll be joined by Yuri Lopez on bass for their debut gig!
www.instagram.com/bagglesandbutch
STICK N POKE
STICK N POKE is a Hard Rock/Punk band formed in Greystones by Tadhg (lead singer) and Sam Burke (lead guitarist) in 2022. Completed by bassist Darragh Emerson and drummer Zak Hastie they played their first gig in May of 2024 and have since been seen live in Wicklow, Dublin and Wexford. Building up a repertoire of original material, they have become known as a very energetic live act by their steadily increasing fan base.
hyperfollow.com/StickNPoke
OFFBEAT
Formed in the heart of Wexford in early 2024, OFFBEAT is a band made up of five young local musicians between the ages of 14 and 16. All have a great passion for music and performance. They come from a wide variety of musical genres, ranging from Indie to Rock and Punk, with each member bringing their own unique soundscape to the collective endeavour. Another premiere on the big stage!
www.instagram.com/the_off_beat_band
THE ZONAI
What started out as a post-modernist joke in Hellfish Trading, referencing Malcolm McLaren putting the Sex Pistols together from his shop SEX on The King’s Road in 1975, has now become a real beast! THE ZONAI are comprised of Hellfish staff and customers, all musicians in young local bands. The original plan was to put an act together for a singular performance at the festival. But the current feedback suggests that it may become more than a mere one-night stand. Expect punchy 1970’s Punk!
