Act Like You Know music festival raises money for Oklahomans for Equality

Hardcore punk is experiencing a mainstream renaissance, and that trend was represented last weekend in downtown Tulsa.

The Act Like You Know punk and hardcore music festival was held to raise money for Oklahomans for Equality. The sellout crowd watched dozens of hardcore bands from local acts such as Agony from Oklahoma City to the headliners like Scowl based out of Santa Cruz, California, perform at VFW Post 557 from Friday to Sunday.

The festival is organized by Aaron Johnson, who has been running the event since 2018 as Promcore before changing the name this year.

The Act Like You Know punk and hardcore music festival was held this weekend to raise money for Oklahomans for Equality. The sell-out crowd watched dozens of hardcore bands from local acts like Agony from Oklahoma City to the headliners like Scowl based out of Santa Cruz, Calif., perform at VFW Post 557 from Friday to Sunday in Tulsa, Okla.

“I think the kind of ethos of punk and hardcore is about equality and acceptance and kind of like no matter where you’re from or what kind of lifestyle that you have, that you are welcome in a space like that,” Johnson said about the festival being a benefit for Oklahomans for Equality.

Oklahomans for Equality is based out of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, and its mission is to seek equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

“I knew that if I wanted to promote a fest of this size, in order for me to invest my time into it, it was going to have be going towards giving back as opposed to just build a brand for recognition,” Johnson said. “I just really like what the organization stands for and what they do.”

“I know that they’ve been super supportive of all of this, and I just hope that they are feeling the support from this,” said former Tulsa resident Skyler Storm, who returned for the festival from Louisville after attending it since 2018.

“This is the most fun anyone’s ever had at a hardcore music event in Tulsa since probably 2009,” Storm said.

“I think Promcore and Act Like you Know is developing a little more steam behind it so people know that what they’re doing here is really cool,” said Michael Walsh, drummer for the Philadelphia-based band Chemical Fix, who performed at the festival last year.

“Right from the beginning, I think the idea of what Promcore was about resonated with us in personal ways. Now that it’s a little more established, I think what they’re still doing is great, and we’re just happy to sign our name to something like that,” said Walsh.