Break Free Fest is an annual festival celebrating and centering BIPOC voices in punk and hardcore. For its seventh year, the event took over Foto Club in the Philadelphia’s Kensington Section, bringing two days of high-octane music and fiercely independent culture to fans on July 14th and 15th.

Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Fulano! | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Brainwashed at Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Lake Lanier at Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Foco at Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Psyop at Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Uniity at Break Free Fest | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN

Brainwashed

Hardcore five-piece Brainwashed repped Philly on the lineup. The band released their self-titled debut project last year, delivering five songs in eight minutes.

Foco

Hailing from New York City, Foco fuses metal with Chicano rock. A string of demos released over the course of 2024 is available on Bandcamp.

Lake Lanier

The New York hardcore band Lake Lanier does not have any recorded music available on streaming, but have made an impact on the scene nonetheless, particularly with their presence on Instagram and TikTok.

Psyop

Washington, D.C. punk outfit Psyop returned this year with Defector, their first project in two and a half years. They say their music circles around themes of “collapsing cities, class warfare, and the deterioration of the self.”

FULANO!

Brooklyn’s FULANO! has been active since 2023 with a mantra of “FUCK THE POLICE, FUCK THE PIPELINE, FOR THE PEOPLE, FREE THE PEOPLE, FUCK THE PHONIES.” A week after Break Free Fest, they released their latest single, “Heart Drum.”

UNIITY

Fronted by Philadelphia native Raven Clark, Cleveland’s UNIITY self-describes as a “genre warping avant-pop/electro-punk” project whose “mission and legacy is the unification of the emerging scene of independent, predominantly LGBTQIA+ & POC women in avant garde pop and punk.” The band’s 2022 debut HIIVES and a more recent single can be found on Bandcamp.

Gospel Roots: Bright Hope Baptist Church – Michael Gilmore, Cyrile Trawick and Chorale