Dead Kennedys confirm they will play Punk in the Park in 2026 despite owner’s Donald Trump support
Dead Kennedys have confirmed they won’t pull out of Punk in the Park despite the festival owner’s previous financial support of Donald Trump.
This year, the travelling festival will begin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before making stops in Orlando, Florida, and Vallejo, California.
Other artists set to appear across the three dates include The Adicts, Fear, Screeching Weasel, and The Exploited. However, artists such as Naked Aggression, 8 Kalacas and N8NOFACE have withdrawn from the bill.
Cameron Collins, owner of Brew Ha Ha, which runs Punk in the Park, previously donated to the Trump National Committee, Never Surrender and WinRed ahead of the 2024 election.
After this emerged last year, after Dropkick Murphys withdrew from the festival, Collins acknowledged his Trump support, stating that he was lured in by “the promise to end wars and refrain from entering new international conflicts, lower taxes, and stopping government overreach”.
Collins also said he wasn’t “pleased with many of the President’s viewpoints, opinions, and policies thus far, particularly with the recent ICE atrocities and the backtracking on the Epstein files”.
Now, Dead Kennedys have said that while they will participate in 2026 Punk in the Park events, they will not appear at the festival in future years.
They wrote on social media, “We’ve become aware that the owner of Brew Ha Ha Productions, the company behind Punk In The Park, made financial contributions in support of the Trump administration.”
Dead Kennedys also stated, “Our first reaction was to cancel our upcoming appearances. However, we do not feel it would be fair to our supporters who have already purchased tickets & made plans to attend these shows.”
The group added of their political stance, “Dead Kennedys have always stood firmly against authoritarianism, racism, and fascism. That has not changed.”
Their statement concluded, “After these scheduled appearances, we will not be participating in future Punk In The Park events.”
Notably, the current incarnation of Dead Kennedys doesn’t involve original vocalist Jello Biafra, who has condemned the band for taking the Punk in the Park booking in the first place.
According to LA Taco, Biafra said in response to the Dead Kennedys statement, “They’re taking the money $$$, and THEN pulling out?? The real Dead Kennedys would never have let this happen in the first place! One more sordid reason I don’t ever want to play with them again.”
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