Flyover Fest, formerly Act Like You Know, is a punk and hardcore music festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This year, it will be the weekend of November 17th-19th, at VFW Post 77. All the proceeds from the festival are being donated to Oklahomans for Equality, an organization that fights for LGBTQ+ rights and gives resources to the community.
While there are many sponsors for Flyover Fest this year, these three organizations have caught my attention due to their drive to impact the hardcore community through art and music.
1. New Morality Zine
“Reading. Listening. Culture.”
NMZ was created in Chicago as a fanzine about hardcore punk and the subculture surrounding it. This included DIY tutorials, band interviews, international photos, etc… After a few years, NMZ impressively evolved into a DIY record label, bringing even more talent to the scene. Their ever-growing music catalog is available on their Bandcamp.
What separates NMZ from the rest is their passion and determination to help the Black Lives Matter movement. On their website, under the Education section, it states that all of the resources provided are meant as a starting point when learning about issues of race and injustice. The resources provided are for reading and viewing, as well as over 100 places to donate in support of Black Lives and Communities of Color.
2. Youth Energy
“Growing up but not getting old!”
Chris Mollet, founder of Youth Energy Designs, began to design as a teen, creating logos, flyers, and shirts for his friends’ hardcore bands as a way to participate in the community. Even though he was designing for years, he did not create the clothing brand until 2018. Not only are these clothes affordable, but Chris stays true to the punk ideology, using a local Illinois print shop for the shirts, rather than a big corporation. Due to that, the clothing might take a bit longer to create and process, but it is worth it to support your local businesses.
If you already have too many clothes in your closet but you still want to support them, they are also selling prints. All of the designs being sold are absolutely beautiful, with my favorite being the Skulls print, inspired by the Misfits song of the same name.
3. Bored Magazine
“Representing the culture one story at a time.”
Based in Dallas, Bored Magazine is a fanzine that gives readers a deep view and understanding of the hardcore subculture through visuals and storytelling. Their hope with every reader is that they will want to dive deeper into the subculture, ready to learn something new. The zine also features more recent musical acts and small businesses to extend their reach into the community.
Their mission to have readers dive deeper into the hardcore culture seems to be going well. On their social media, specifically their Twitter, they share bands and flyers for shows in Texas. This outreach on social media is important to growing the scene, hopefully encouraging interested people to support the community, and to keep those who are active.
Bored Magazine wrote an article about last year’s Act Like You Know Festival, which you can read here.
Listen to some of the bands playing Flyover Festival on our Spotify playlist below!
