"It's easy to get a little cynical about the very concept of CBGB Fest. When one of the side stages - the Young Punks Stage - is presented by Ed Hardy, it's even easier. Is corporate integration and brand licensing really "punk?" Surely someone else can write that dissertation. Besides, the idea of counter culture in 2025, where monoculture is so fragmented it barely even exists, is rarely decoupled from capitalism."
"Although beverage stands were abundant, the food options were insufficient; you cannot expect four food trucks and two little stands to comfortably feed a festival crowd, and just about everyone had to deal with brutal wait times. But if we're judging on the music alone, CBGB Fest knocked it out of the park - and it was the Godfather of Punk himself who put an exclamation point on the daylong event with a phenomenal set."
"At 78 years old, Iggy Pop is still one of the greatest live acts on Earth, and he proved that tenfold with his headlining performance. Taking the main CBGB Stage at 9:30 p.m., Iggy and his band tore right into the Stooges classic "TV Eye" - just about 20 minutes North West from the Brooklyn venue named after the song."
CBGB Fest held an inaugural edition Under the K Bridge in Brooklyn with branded elements such as a replica CBGB awning alongside original bar and wall segments on display. Corporate partnerships, including an Ed Hardy-presented Young Punks Stage, prompted questions about punk authenticity amid 2025's fragmented monoculture. Beverage service was plentiful, but food options—four food trucks and two small stands—proved insufficient, causing long waits. Musically the festival succeeded, headlined by 78-year-old Iggy Pop, who opened with the Stooges' "TV Eye" and played Stooges and solo classics that generated enthusiastic crowd sing-alongs.
Read at Consequence
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