SPINNING THOUGHTS AT SICK TIGHT FEST

Denton, Texas. To most outside of the state the name doesn’t ring a bell, but to Texans it’s home to one of the best music schools we have to offer: University of North Texas. The area surrounding the university is crawling with musicians of every possible genre, illuminating the town with music almost daily. Within this town of hippies and freaks is its very own community of punks. Before March 19, 2020 the punk scene was alive and thriving with weekly basement shows and random garage shows happening frequently. With the collapse of gig work and economic struggle following the COVID 19 shutdowns, our local scene in Denton grew quiet, but not for long.

Prior to the shutdowns in 2020, Ryan Sword had been planning a festival dedicated to showcasing local punk and alternative music, a festival he called Sick Tight Fest. He had the entire event planned and scheduled, with 20 bands, local vendors, artists and a hoard of fans ready to attend the festival in late May of 2020. Despite the global setback that was (and still is)
Coronavirus, Sword persevered with his vision of showcasing the punk music from the community to bring us Sick Tight Fest ’21 &’22.

Hosted this year by Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Sick Tight fest was supported by sponsors Common Thread Records and local scene celebrity, Danny Paradise. The original roster for the fest in 2019 hailed 20 bands and in 2021 18, but in 2022 Sick Tight hosted 23 different musical artists and a variety of visual art and accessory vendors.

On June 11 Gloves welcomed local favorites All There Is, Worst Case Scenario, and Odd Folks. The two revolving stages also presented new faces like ‘Lil Shawties as well as out of state touring artists Seneca Burns and Home For The Day from North Carolina.

Doors at Noon, music at 1pm and ending sometime between 12 and 2am… on the first day of a heatwave through North Texas. On that day- the heat may have waved, but the punks out here moshed back. I was able to attend the middle chunk of the day, getting to see outstanding performances from ‘Lil Shawties, All there Is, Duckbeak and Hyperbolic, just to name a few.