Gluesniffer Fest Reportback

Over the years the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA scene has developed a bit of a reputation. Potentially wild gigs, lawless youth, the occasional bleakness that comes with punk houses, and at the end of the night you get paid 17 wet dollars. Last time BAD ANXIETY and SILO KIDS tried to play Murfreesboro they canceled the show on us (reasons still remain unclear), and we only found out through an Instagram post the day-of. All that being said I didn't have high hopes for "Gluesniffer Fest."

BAD ANXIETY and SILO KIDS rolled out in early AM to make the drive. I was able to convince the folks booking this to let SILO KIDS do a secret set since they were going to be in attendance anyways. Before the gig, BAD ANXIETY stopped off at a dollar store to pick up gig essentials – an oscillating fan, some silly string, and other various party supplies.

The show was at a punk house, The Crossroads or CXR for short. A little outside of town, on a big corner lot with no neighbors in sight. Kinda the perfect setup. The property was deep and allowed for a ton of parking. We parked and immediately realized "oh shit were gonna get boxed in by the folks staying the night." We weren't planning to camp, but depending on the hell that was trying to get out of here we realized we might be forced to.

The show had already started once we arrived. Said "wassup" to some friends and started chilling by the merch tables (my preferred spot.) The whole fest was a real celebration of hardcore from the American southeast – the furthest band was from Indianapolis. As far the eye could see it was a sea of freaky youth punkers. Banjos, a dog or two (never saw them inside when a band played thankfully), big fire pit, a comical number of whippets and other drugs. A punk utopia for certain individuals. Many things I would normally find annoying but the overall vibe to the fest was so positive and fun that it was only a good time. Everyone was taking care of themselves and each other while getting wild to some sick bands.

All the bands were hardcore punk bands. Genre-wise there wasn't much going on but for it being just one big show it didn't matter much. The room was decent size for a regular show, but filled up real quick for this big gig. Missed many of the bands simply because I couldn't get in the room.

Eventually SILO KIDS took the stage. I was filling in on drums and we were playing a shortened set. The vocalist of SILO KIDS, Patty, got their start in DIY from shows at CXR when they previously lived in the area, so playing this show meant a lot to them. The set was awesome. To all of our surprise, people knew the songs, sang along, moshed, and the reception was killer. It was boiling hot in that room. The extra fan we brought didn't exactly help but we had to try. BAD ANXIETY hit the stage (floor) next, broke out the silly string and party supplies. Things were bumping, shit was rocking. Second song in though, people ran in screaming and freaking out from outside and snatched the mic from me: apparently at least five cop cars had pulled up to the house.

Props to the people living in the house, they handled the situation as well as one could ask for. Moved people out of sight, didn't let the police come in. The cops tried to assure us they were "cool," saying that we can "keep smoking weed or whatever we don't care." The situation was that a "punk" looking person had stolen stuff from the dollar store down the road. Never heard a follow up to if any of that was true, but after 20 minutes standing around doing nothing the cops left. Once again, props to the people living in the home for making sure the rest of the show-goers didn't interact with the police and stayed away.

With the final cop car rolling down the road away from the house, BAD ANXIETY continued. Kinda hard to regain momentum for a set after 20 minutes of police presence but we tried the best we could. Had another situation where someone moshed into all the amps knocking them and the PA over. It took another 5+ minutes to get everything set back up. The cosmos did not want us to play this set, but we continued on and made it work.

Spent the rest of the night watching sick Birmingham and Jacksonville bands. Bullshitting with old friends, meeting new friends, and having multiple conversations with different groups about how Everything Is Not Okay 4.5 was a letdown. Was nice to hear I'm not the only one with big thoughts on that particular fest.

The true miracle was the moment the last band finished people started leaving. The property was a mess of dirt roads and trees, so I ended up being the main person directing traffic, helping get all the cars outta there. Thirty minutes later, our vehicle was free and we crammed while we still could. The party kept going for a while. I'm sure you could still hear the whippet canisters hit the ground during sunrise.

For a fest that I thought was gonna be forgettable and filled with insufferable idiots, I had a blast and was severely proven wrong. Gluesniffer was a celebration of hardcore punk and debauchery. Every band was awesome and kept their set times shorts, we got paid more than enough and much more than we expected, met a lot of new people, and got to play sick punk music and shoot silly string with my friends. What more can ya ask for.

My advice: if you're planning a tour, skip Nashville and play Murfreesboro. Its just south of it. Check out COFFEE STAIN from Jacksonville, CERVIX, CONFUSION'S PRINCE, BORN and SNAKE CHURCH from Birmingham, PILL BOX from Indy, MISANDRY from Murfreesboro, and a bunch of other bands I didn't see because that room was filled to the brim of sick youth punks of all different styles and vibes getting wild for all these bands.

Now the 6+ hour drive home at 1am, that's a different (much more boring and bleak) story. I will spare you...