“Punk” is likely not the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Oxford. Like any college town, there punks on the University of Mississippi campus, but the scene is smaller than those of other Mississippi college towns like Starkville or Hattiesburg. One student, sophomore biology major Peyton Price, is ready to change that.
Price came to Ole Miss from Dogtown, Ark., a short drive away from Little Rock’s thriving punk scene. When asked about the difference in punk cultures of Little Rock and Oxford, he called it as he sees it.
“There’s nothing. At least not in Oxford,” Price said.
Aside from the Punk Flea Markets organized by the university’s Southern Punk Archive and the occasional non-local show, there is not much going on Oxford punk. That is not for lack of demand, as the Punk Flea Market turns out plenty of people at every event.
To the average person, Price might not fit the typical punk stereotype: His hair is not spiked, he is not wearing all black and he is a member of a fraternity. However, he came to bat for the diversity of punk style, believing that punk can look like many different things.
“It’s welcoming — very diverse,” Price said. “I had friends off the bat. Shows are fun. I mean, I pay 10 bucks to see, like, six bands that I think are huge bands. No one else thinks that, but I do.”
John Rash, curator and founder of the Southern Punk Archive and assistant professor of film production and Southern studies at UM, agrees with this sentiment.
“There is a thriving punk scene in Oxford that is being starved by the lack of access to live music, due to there being no all-ages venue in Oxford or a venue interested in supporting touring punk and hardcore bands. I do what I can to help with the Punk Flea Market and occasional shows at the skatepark, Burns Belfry or even at the university,” Rash said. “However, what Oxford needs is a more reliable space where these shows could happen and more people booking shows to truly grow into a town with a flourishing scene.”
Memphis, Birmingham and Little Rock have strong scenes and are only a few hours away from Oxford. In Rash’s words, “We’re in the middle of it.” That puts Oxford, in his opinion, at an advantage for booking punk bands that tour the South.
“If you’re on a seven-day tour, you need a place one night and you don’t want to drive six hours from like Birmingham or whatever after, stop off here. We can brand ourselves like that,” Price said.
To have a truly local punk scene, Price said, “You gotta have bands.”
Oxford punk is in a dry spell: There have not been any local punk bands performing since 2019.
Creating a more punk demographic in Oxford would require people interested in making music and driving the scene forward, Price said. He has a few recommendations for people looking to get into punk and hardcore: Minor Threat, Kaonashi, Pain of Truth, Momentum, Kind Eyes, Death Rattle and Dryer Fire. The last two are Little Rock’s own. I assume these are the name of bands. Is he recommending people travel to see them play or purchase/download their music? I’m unsure what “recommendations in this sentence means.
In true punk fashion, Price hopes to get in on the action and start his own band.
“Punk is no f—ks given. Just go out on your own time, (your) own dime and just figure it out for yourself,” he said.
