SMASH THE FASH
FEST II
We are uniting UK antifa collectives and activists to create an event with a singular function; to decimate the spoils of fascism with a weekend of celebration, talks, music and fundraising.
This is an anarchist festival by definition. There is no hierarchical structure. All parties currently involved are collectively volunteering to deliver a truly special benefit event. As with all of our previous bashes, all benefits will go to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Comrade Tickets give you access for Saturday and Sunday while also contributing a donation to support the cause.
Ticket prices vary, with discounted rates for Trades Hall Members and standard General Admission pricing for everyone else. If you’re a Trades Hall Member, please bring your card with you on the day.
26th-28th February 2027
Walthamstow Trades Hall, London UK
The Oppressed are a Welsh Oi! band that formed in 1981 in Cardiff, Wales. Most of the band's lineups have been skinheads.
Throughout the band's career, the members (especially vocalist Roddy Moreno) openly expressed opposition to racism and fascism[1] — in their lyrics,[2] interviews, on-stage comments and other actions. In 1989, Moreno visited New York City and met a few members of Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP). On his return to the United Kingdom, he started promoting SHARP ideals to British skinheads.[3][4] The band has also had ties to other anti-racist groups, such as Anti-Fascist Action. Moreno is a Cardiff City F.C. supporter, and some of the band's songs express that support.
The band has split and re-formed several times, the first occasion being in 1984, after which Moreno focused on his record labels, Oi! Records and Ska Records for the remainder of the decade.[5]
After splitting in 2016, they re-formed in 2020 with a line-up of Roddy Moreno (vocals/guitar), fellow founder member Russell "Ducky" Payne (guitar), Che Jones (drums) and Ross Goldworthy (bass).
The Oppressed
Oi Polloi are a punk rock band from Scotland that formed around 1981. Starting as an Oi! band, they are now generally more associated with the anarcho-punk genre. The band has become notable for their contributions to the Scottish Gaelic punk subgenre.[2] The name comes from the Greek expression "οἱ πολλοί", Anglicized hoi polloi, meaning "the masses" or "the common people".
The band has gone through about 50 members since their formation, and their only permanent member has been vocalist Deek Allen, who has also been involved in Gaelic-language television.[3] The band has included punks and skinheads. The members have been supporters of Anti-Fascist Action and Earth First!, and they use the motto "No Compromise in Defence of Our Earth," which is an adaptation of Earth First!'s motto. They support direct action in defence of the environment, hunt sabotage, as well as resistance to racism, sexism, homophobia, fascism and imperialism. They are also supporters of Linux and criticized Microsoft in their song, L.I.N.U.X.
Oi Polloi
The Restarts are a street punk band based in London.[1]
The Restarts were formed in 1995 in London with Darragh O'Neill on drums, Kieran Plunkett from Armed and Hammered on bass guitar, and Mik Useless on the guitar. They played many shows in the UK as a trio until Useless left, at which point Alan Campbell joined the band. With Campbell on guitar, they recorded their album System Error LP, but due to his commitments to the UK Subs he had to leave. In April 2003 Robin Licker from the Short Bus Window Lickers joined the Restarts as their new guitarist.[2] They toured extensively in Europe and US. They have played with bands like Born/Dead, Limp Wrist, The Accüsed, Strychnine, Dr. Know and Monster Squad.
The band members are also politically active. For example Robin is a member of Elbit Eight.
The Restarts
Clobber are a ferocious five-piece from London, delivering a blistering cocktail of hardcore punk, UKHC, and street punk with zero compromise. Emerging in 2021 with a DIY ethos—debuting in a gutted Soho barbershop—they've since ignited stages alongside Madball, The Chisel, and Grade 2.Their EPs, Tribal Rites of the New Friday Night and Yesterday’s Heroes, Tomorrow’s Snide, are sonic gut-punches, tackling Tory hypocrisy, scene elitism, and the erosion of working-class culture.Tracks like “Hardcore Hive Mind” and “Council Estate of Mind” channel raw fury into anthems for the disillusioned.Clobber aren’t just a band—they’re a battle cry for the pissed-off and unheard.
Clobber
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- Fast Loud & Angry
What’s Your Message?
- Grail Guard’s songs call out government corruption, the rise of the far right, systemic inequality, and the ongoing struggles faced by marginalised communities, all while exploring their own cultural heritage. Their music is anger, protest, and catharsis – a call to action for a world that still needs change.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Everything! Anything to smash some Fash!
Grail Guard
Ritual Error is a subversive power stirring within the UK’s underground landscape. Melding the razor-wire sharpness of the Minutemen, the fury of early 90’s San Diego post-hardcore, and the metronomic noise-rock of the mid 90s – the London-based trio have cemented themselves as a band to keep tabs on.
Ritual Error
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- Higher Walls play technical hardcore music.
Musically we combine driving rhythms, chaotic riffs, blast beats and breakdowns all wrapped up in polyrhythmic swirls.
What’s Your Message?
- No one person or group is better than another.
We will always be allies for marginalised groups and proudly announce this.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Local communities and assertive action have been instrumental in the dismantling of far right rhetoric as its presence rises globally.
Seeing Smash The Fash Fest expand and bring together more bands, activists, speakers and positive people is truly inspiring.
Higher Walls
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- We’re a sludge violence band from Leeds. Musically we’ve plonked our sens in between Dystopia, Dropdead, Corrupted, Meth Drinker and Despise You have been about for a stretch in other bands (Afternoon Gentlemen, Groak, Gets Worse, Mortuary Spawn, Sloth Hammer etc). Ideologically the tunes deal with societal collapse, urban decay, the world wide descent into right wing shittery, human and animal rights with a strong anti facist, anti war anarchic angle. Despite a bunch of the stuff we write about being grim as owt there’s always an edge of hopefulness and we believe in strong DIY communities being the key to us getting out of the stinking mess we’ve all found our sens in.
What’s Your Message?
- Politically a couple of us spent a bunch of us time touring around the EU squat circuit where there was a proper strong 161 presence and a bunch of that cemented itself in us to over the years. Been lucky to be a stones throw from class punk spots in the north like and all.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- We’re gassed as owt to get to play the festival with so many other like minded folks, it’s integral to keep this stuff moving especially while the water’s as murky as it’s getting now. The more folks pull together the more chance we’ll have of getting to the other side and with strong communities we can tip the balance back in the favour of folks who give half a shit about each other.
Give Over
Describe your music - Main Musical/ideological/political influences?
- Angry and frustrated crust_leaning hardcore punk sung in Arabic and English.
What's your message?
- Our message is one of anger comaraderie and representation. We want to see people who look like us in the crowds, in the pit and in bands. Forever anti-fascist, anti cops anti homophobic anti misogyny and anti Zionist.
Smash The Fash Fest - what does participating represents to you?
- Being asked to play this amongst many friends and bands that we admire means a lot to us. It is reassuring that the way that we have been conducting ourselves in the scene is being received exactly as we intended it to be. We are so excited to play amongst our comrades.
Sarsour
Describe your music - Main Musical/ideological/political influences?
- weird hardcore - DIY forever, free Palestine forever
What's your message?
- start a band, join a union, do something in your community, put back in more than you take out
Smash The Fash Fest - what does participating represents to you?
- being part of a community of like minded people
tethered
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- We are a progressive metal band with influences ranging from death metal, folk, grunge, classic rock and post rock.
What’s Your Message?
- We mostly sing about how aweful the human species is and the planet would be better off with us gone. Quite nihilistic. Some horror themed stories aswell.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Whilst we are not generally a political band at all we are happy to be asked to play smash the fash. I attended one of these shows before and it was full of great bands and people standing up to the worst types of people and institutions in society. To be part of that can only be a good thing.
Black Horse Road
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- 90s black metal & post punk mainly, but with a touch of experimentation. lyrically, our themes deviate from the typical fantasy/occult of that era and focus more on the realities of modern life
What’s Your Message?
- "We only have each other"
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Playing in an antifascist festival and sharing the stage with so many great bands with clear antifascist stance is very valuable for us. It is through efforts like this that the underground can send a clear message that intolerance and bigotry have no place in our community and that we are not alone in our fight against toxic and harmful ideologies
Unmother
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- We’ve been described as pummelling hardcore and also as sounding like Rush so describing our music in a punchy short sentence is difficult. Our music is somewhere between 80s DC hardcore and noise rock bands like Minor Threat, The Jesus Lizard and Chat Pile with existential and political themes and lyrics. As for political influences Bernadette Devlin for slapping a Tory in the House of Commons?
What’s Your Message?
- Our message is one of empathy and class solidarity as well as vehemently calling out the cowardice, hypocrisy and falsehood of fascist rhetoric that has become mainstream in political discourse at the moment.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Participating is a chance to connect with other likeminded people but also to share knowledge and organise on the left. It’s also to get to listen to perspectives from the amazing bands on that may differ from your own.
Hearing Tests
Magpie Conspiracy
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- We call ourselves a queercore band, so there’s definitely influences from that lineage (Limp Wrist and GLOSS are favourites of mine) as well as Queer Theory on the ideological end of things, though I think the lived experience of being four non binary queer people probably influences us more than any particular author. That said, the Against Equality series was a big influence on my thinking about political queerness and not trying to fit in with an oppressive norm, which I think comes out in some of our lyrics.
Politically I don’t think we fit all under one flag (I’m an Anarchist myself, and it defintely comes up in what I write) but I think broadly we’re all anti-authoritarian and see music as a way of expressing both rage at the world as it is and hope for what it might be. Musically I think what we do is catharsis for disaffected angry queer folks, but also kinda fun – if you can’t dance, is it really a revolution afterall?
What’s Your Message?
- If you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention! We’ve got to build the world we want to see here and now, and live as if we’re already free as much as we can!
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- As a life long anti-fascist and someone who’s been in the Punk scene since I was a teenager, being part of something that brings those together feels joyful and affirming for me. Heavy music should be anti-fascist, it should be challenging authority and bigotry and we should all be saying “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” as our mantra! We can’t take down fascism just by partying and playing music, but what’s the point of fighting fascism if we don’t party and play music as well?
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- Music: aggy post hardcore - Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, Bikini Kill
Politics/ideology: DIY forevs, intersectional feminism, queer/trans rights, anti fascist, anti racist, Anti Zionist
What’s Your Message?
- We have many political and social threats to people’s lives in this country - which is racist, classist, transphobic and inward-looking. It’s up to all of us to care about this stuff and be conscious and active (passivity is grim af)- this also means checking yer privilege (esp if you’re a white person, and double that if you have funds) and using whatever you have available to speak up, take action, or show solidarity in whichever way a person/cause wants it. Listen to other people in your families and at work and discuss this stuff - call people out for harmful behaviour especially when it’s uncomfortable to do so. Look after people (locally and internationally) and give back in some way (and don’t do it for clout or content as that eradicates anything decent right???). If you’re in a band you need to use yer platform (however big or small it is), boycott brands associated with countries and governments causing harm, look outside the bubble of your algorithm and do your homework about what’s happening in the world. Cite your sources. Reject AI.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Being together in public is a protest - for and with marginalised people whose rights are being threatened in this country, and to show audible and tangible solidarity and raise funds with people outside of this tiny isle. It’s got to mean to something to be part of owt like this - it’s not enough to post on socials, turn up, play your gig, slap each other on the back and think you’re doing something. Being together at STF is a way to connect with other people (bands, organisers and people who are coming to rock out) who care and want to be active in making things better (in whichever way is manageable due to your own circumstances). It’s one weekend of action and hopefully perpetuates momentum into ongoing tangible change for the better.
Value Of Nothing
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- Ancient Hostility sing a mixture of personal and political songs in 3-part close harmony, mostly unaccompanied. Singing songs about migrant solidarity, antifascism and radical histories, and relationships ending and the death of friends. Inspired by The Watersons, Chumbawamba and Swan Arcade, and explictly anarchist politics.
What’s Your Message?
- This band is resolutely anarchist, but we have no interest in telling others what to believe, we do our best to interogate our own beliefs, and also celebrate the stories of victories from the radical community we come from.
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- We get labeled as a folk band a lot, but we also see this as a punk band, especially because we are more explicitly political than a lot of folk music. Playing such militant and explictly antifascist events like this is so important to us, especially in the frightening times we live in. It can seem like these ideas are obvious, but I think we can't repeat them enough. We have to keep these scenes political.
Ancient Hostility
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- We are KENT OI with Breakdowns 86’ punk/oi! with Hardcore influence, Influenced heavily by the SEHC scene, such as Mindless, Flacid State and SwearDown
What’s Your Message?
- Get out there and do something. Get involved with your community, don’t let the far right take hold of what we have left, building and strengthening your community is essential, music binds friendships and relationships that last forever, and has opened up a lot of doors for us to help out our community. At the end of the day we’re just 5 lads that like a beer and a tear up and occasionally playing music
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- Its an honour to be part of this fest, it represents to us standing up against the establishment and the Far-Right and stopping racism spreading through our communities. It represents revolution and youth culture. It represents a free palestine, and the elimination of apartheid worldwide, but best of all it represents us. We are proudly antifascist, anti-capitalist and Anti-You!
Lets Av It
Describe Your Music & Politics?
- rosary. is a rough emo band with hardcore and shoegaze influences from low income area who believe in fair treatment and equality
What’s Your Message?
- our message has always been fairness and respect for the planet and its people
Smash The Fest - What does it represent to you playing?
- participating in this festival is an opportunity to bring people together and be part of something bigger, spreading the message of a better future
Rosary
Activists
The Venue
Walthamstow Trades Hall
61-63 Tower Hamlets Rd
London E17 4RQ
12 minutes walk from Victoria Line tube station or Overground (see map below)
If you have any accessibility questions related to our event please email smashthefashfest@gmail.com or visit http://www.walthamstowtradeshall.com/access
Special Collab
Libertalia Brewing Co. based in Leyton, East London, is where unique beers meet punk vibes in a cozy railway arch brewery and taproom.
Their mission is to blend tradition with a modern flair, creating brews that leave lasting impressions. With an open brewery concept, DIY punk aesthetic invites beer enthusiasts to witness the craft first hand.
The Cause
Benefit for MAP
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a UK-registered charity (No. 1045315) that provides emergency medical services, healthcare development, and humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees and people living under occupation in Gaza, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and Lebanon.
Profits from the sale of tickets will go to the charity.