Bullwinkle’s 2 results

Bloomington’s thriving punk scene of the ’70s and ’80s paved the way for today’s punk bands. Pictured here, Seven Seconds performing at Ricky's Canteena, a Bloomington all-ages club, in 1984. | Photo courtesy of Mike Whybark

Since the ’70s, Bloomington Has Been a Midwestern Haven for Punk

Sierra Vandervort

Punk rock was a lively part of the Bloomington music scene even before the godfathers of American punk, the Ramones, recorded their first album in 1976. And it is still alive and kicking. Sierra Vandervort looks into the hardcore beginnings of punk and how it has influenced today’s stock of DIY musicians. Click here to read the full story.

January 24, 2017

Coley D, of Misfit Toy Karaoke, and Stacy Louise Hardy perform during karaoke night at Bloomington's only queer bar, The Back Door. In a post-Orlando world, writer Zak Szymanski argues places like The Back Door, with “its diversity and ideology,” are becoming sanctuaries for the disenfranchised — and “the future of LGBT space.” | Courtesy photo

Queer Space, Post-Orlando: Can Karaoke Save the Misfit?

Zak Szymanski, Andrew Grodner

Many people think what’s happening at The Back Door is culturally transformative,” Zak Szymanski writes about Bloomington’s only queer bar. In a post-Orlando world, places like The Back Door, with “its diversity and ideology,” are becoming sanctuaries for the disenfranchised — and “the future of LGBT space." Click here to read the full story.