Over the years, libraries have worked hard to shake off the stereotype of being quiet, staid places where stiff, cardigan-wearing, bespectacled librarians quickly “shush” anyone who disrupts the peace. Yes, libraries are still refuges for reading, study, and research, but their embrace of community has led to makerspaces, cooking classes, gardening areas, job-hunting programs, and even punk-rock shows complete with mosh pits.
Punk rock, you say? Indeed.
Libraries across the U.S. have opened their doors and let the punks take over. And the results have been electrifying, from Chicago Public Library’s Punk Rock, Donuts and Literature event in 2023 which featured a reading by author Kyle Decker and performances by the bands Bad Chemicals and Human Trials to D.C. Public Library’s Punk & Go-Go: Live at MLK, where D.C. hardcore greats Scream (along with Go-Go legend Big Tony and Trouble Funk) played in front of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, to the career-making performance by The Linda Lindas at Los Angeles Public Library, and many many more.
An event at an Alabama library last week is making waves and proving that the library is definitely punk.
Birmingham Public Library (BPL) hosted its latest Loud at the Library program on March 22, and it was wild. The free, all-ages show featured the bands Apprehend, Domesticatrix, and Terminal Man—all of whom raised the volume at the library to ear-splitting levels. So much so that BPL recommended patrons to “pack your earplugs” before attending.
BPL’s Loud at the Library program began in January 2023 as a twice-yearly event, with shows scheduled in the spring and fall. Videos of the March 22 show have gone viral on social media, reaching more than 2 million views and thousands of likes and shares. Check them out below!
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Photo: Domesticatrix performing March 22, 2024, at Birmingham Public Library. Credit: 1819 News.
