UPDATED: The Punk Rock Museum will open in Las Vegas in March 2023
Originally expected to debut on Jan. 13, 2023, the Punk Rock Museum has announced a new opening date of March 10, 2023, as the world’s most comprehensive museum dedicated to the history and culture of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s “stepchild.”
When it opens, the 12,000-square-foot museum will house artifacts and memorabilia from across the world’s punk scene, including handwritten lyrics, instruments, clothing, photos, flyers, and artwork, as well as a bar, a tattoo parlor, a wedding/wake chapel, a punk merch shop, a performance space, and more.
The museum has also just announced that, beginning April 1, 2023, guided tours will be available with Punk Rock legends, including Don Bolles from the Germs, Roger Miret from Agnostic Front, and many more. Guided tours will be offered multiple times throughout the day and capacity is limited to 20 people per tour.
Louiche Mayorga by Tom Casey, Don Bolles by Alison Braun, Roger Merit by Britta; all others by Lisa Johnson
Some of the confirmed Punk Rock Museum tour guides include:
- Louiche Mayorga from Suicidal Tendencies
- Noodles from The Offspring
- Stacey Dee from Bad Cop/Bad Cop
- Don Bolles from The Germs/45 Graves
- Angelo Moore from Fishbone
- Greg Hetson from Circle Jerks/Punk Rock Karaoke
- Warren Fitzgerald from The Vandals
- Pete Koller from Sick Of It All
- Smelly from NOFX
- Roger Miret from Agnostic Front
- Joe Escalante from The Vandals
- Linh Le from Bad Cop/Bad Cop
- Intruder Blue from Masked Intruder
- Scott Shiflett from Face To Face
- Paddy Costello from Dillinger Four
- Zach Blair from Rise Against
The idea for a Punk Rock museum began when Mike “Fat Mike” Burkett of the American punk rock band NOFX was considering opening a punk rock store with friends (including former Warped Tour manager Lisa Brownlee); however, the original idea quickly “snowballed into a much larger endeavor.” Burkett assembled the Punk Collective – a group of like-minded musicians and industry professionals, including Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge, Black Market Flowers bass guitarist Bryan Ray Turcotte, and Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello – who envisioned a museum that celebrates the genre’s cultural impact over the last 50 years.
Prominent figures from the punk scene also stepped forward as investors, including Pat Smear of The Germs, Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, Warped Tour festival founder Kevin Lyman, and pro skater Tony Hawk.
Photo by Lisa Johnson
“The Punk Rock Museum will celebrate not only famous punk bands, but also every punk band that has ever been on a flyer, played in a basement, or recorded a demo tape,” says a statement from the Punk Collective. “We chose Las Vegas as our location because the destination welcomes visitors from all over the world, plus its always-growing concert and festival scene is unmatched.”
Lifelong punk fans and those interested in learning more about the genre will equally appreciate the distinctively hands-on, punk rock experience featuring artifacts like Debbie Harry’s iconic Vultures shirt, Johnny Thunders’ 1959 guitar, the molds for the Devo helmets, DC Scream’s amp form the “Faith/Void” cover, the chainsaw Sum 41 used to kick off their shows during the Does This Look Infected tour, FEAR’s saxophone, an entire outfit from the Interrupters’ Aimee Allen, and other “well-used-and-abused” objects from their favorite punk artists.
In addition, the Jam Room will give museum goers the chance to play real guitars and basses owned by artists from Rise Against, NOFX, Pennywise, Sick of it All, Strung Out, and many more.
Photo by Lisa Johnson
Seven presale ticket bundles for The Punk Rock Museum are available now, from the entry-level $100 bundle (two museum tickets, one museum T-shirt, and two beers at the bar) to the top-of-the-line $25,000 bundle (two lifetime museum tickets, a plaque with the purchaser’s name or band’s name, a not-sold-to-the-public Punk Rock Museum staff jacket, two tickets to the Opening Night All-Night Party, a Punk Rock Museum tattoo by Fletcher from Pennywise or Mike from T.S.O.L., a drink at the bar named for them, and four beers for life every day they visit).
The Punk Rock Museum will open on March 10, 2023. General admission tickets will be available in early 2023. Guided tours will start on April 1, 2023, with tickets available soon.
Click here for more information, or follow The Punk Rock Museum on Facebook or Instagram.
