The Punk Rock Museum To Open In Las Vegas In March

The Punk Rock Museum will debut the world's most comprehensive attraction dedicated to the history, culture and absurdity of rock 'n' roll's bastard stepchild in Las Vegas on March 10, 2023. To be located at 1422 Western Ave. next to a strip club in a gritty industrial area between the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown, the 12,000-square-foot museum is now under construction.

When it opens, The Punk Rock Museum will house not only artifacts and memorabilia from across the world's punk scene — such as handwritten lyrics, instruments, clothing, photos, flyers and artwork — but also a bar, tattoo parlor, wedding/wake chapel, punk merch shop, performance space and more. Guests will also be able to take guided tours with notable punk and hardcore musicians — including Roger Miret from hardcore pioneers AGNOSTIC FRONT, 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, Joe Escalante from THE VANDALS, Linh Le from BAD COP/BAD COP and Zach Blair from RISE AGAINST.

Guided tours will be offered multiple times a day and will be limited to 20 people per tour.

The Punk Rock Museum began when Mike "Fat Mike" Burkett of the American punk rock band NOFX was bouncing around the idea of opening a punk rock store with a bunch of friends, including former Warped Tour manager Lisa Brownlee. Quickly, the idea grew, and Burkett put together a group including PENNYWISE guitarist Fletcher Dragge, Bryan Ray Turcotte, Vinnie Fiorello and hundreds of like-minded musicians and industry professionals who became the Punk Collective. With their collaboration, the concept snowballed into a much larger endeavor — the creation of The Punk Rock Museum. Together, the Punk Collective envisioned a museum celebrating the genre's substantial cultural impact over the last half-century. Prominent figures from the scene who stepped forward as museum investors include Pat Smear, Brett Gurewitz, Kevin Lyman and Tony Hawk.

"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," states 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 curious looky-loos alike will enjoy a distinctively hands-on, punk rock experience when they tour The Punk Rock Museum. Visitors will see extraordinary artifacts, such as Debbie Harry's iconic VULTURES shirt, Johnny Thunders's 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 artists.

In addition, punk fans of all ages can visit the museum's Jam Room, where they can play real guitars and basses owned by artists using their actual amps. Artists whose instruments and amps are featured in this room include RISE AGAINST, NOFX, PENNYWISE, SICK OF IT ALL, STRUNG OUT and many more.