Road Diary (Scumericana Fest 26) Entry #3

Road Diary: (Scumericana Fest 2026) Entry #3

We are on day 2 of the fest. Im currently chilling outside of the venue.

I wanted to reflect on last night. The city of Morenci has been nothing but kind to us, as a born and raised Buckeye, I may get some shade for this but I don't see why we hate Michigan so much haha. We have had a blast hanging out in this awesome little town.

Day 1 of the fest went off with a bang. It truly was a day full of friendship and good music. We got to see our host Alicks play in his band Agatha Haag. These dudes absolutely ripped. they were full of energy and played some really good songs.

After the show the party continued over to the local pub across the street where we drank beers and sang some kareoke. I did my usual songs "Dancing with myself" by Billy Idol and "Friend of the devil" by Grateful Dead. After that we ventured back to Alicks and his partner Carly's house where we had a killer time hanging out at like 3 am, Carly was so kind and cooked for all of us! It was a delicious stir fry and rice. It really hit the spot!
We all crashed and woke up ready to do it all again... And now, I will tell you about Day 2.

(Im writing this sporadically throughout the rest of my time in Michigan and on the way home at this point)

We decided to go out and get some food before the show. We made our way back to the pub from the day before when suddenly we noticed dozens of bikers rolling in and its a small place so.. we ended up going to subway instead where no one else was there. After we filled up on some much needed subs, we got ready and made our way to The Rex Theater to begin the fest.

On day 2 we were in charge of the outside busking stage. I jumped up almost as soon as we got there and did some busking for the first time in years. It was such a fun experience and a great warm up for playing the main stage later in the night with Katrina.

SMFC played first and killed it. I really enjoyed watching him play.

It was fun to see Josh Bastard play next. He and Uncle Mounty (who killed it on day 1) put the whole thing together. Josh killed it. full on energetic punk rock acoustic darby crash style. I loved every second of it. Even got on stage for a minute when he called up the Scumericana records crew (which I am new to but proud to be a part of).

These dudes (Scumericana Records) really got something special going on. I learned that first hand by being there for this fest. Everyone looked out for us. We were treated like family the entire time.

Our friend Arin Arson joined us on this adventure. His plan was to come and play acoustic on the busking stage representing Ohio Riot, he did exactly that and crushed it acoustically which for anyone that knows Mr. Arson.. he doesn't really play acoustic. Hit set was so killer that Scumericana Records asked him to do a set on the main stage later! He played right after us!

When we hit the stage I felt at home. I was surrounded by familiar faces from day one and it felt great to finally get to show them what we were about. I feel like we played pretty strongly. I know Katrina was on point. I was a little nervous about the venues sound system, it was causing issues for bands throughout the nights. But when we played... none of that happened. It was sounding great. The Rex Theater staff was so friendly. I had a good time hanging out with the sound guys, and the lighting guy. Super cool dudes.

Afterwards we watched Arin kill it again on the main stage.

After that our friends Swamp Rats played! They were so good and had everyone in the house singing and dancing. I sat back in my seat and watched it all go down with a smile on my face knowing that these cats Andy and Scotty deserve every bit of energy that the audience was giving them. They work so hard and have been at it for a while. we have had them at open mic twice and they are solid people.

We gotta talk about our headliners for night!!
YELL AT GOD!
I've never seen them before this show. I didn't know what to expect when I met them briefly before they played. When they got on stage they brought a boost of energy with fast paced banjo pickin like I've never seen before. It blew my mind. This band is legit folk punk. The basslines were on point as well as both of their vocals. The songs were very meaningful topics. They sang about things like building communities and how in 25 years we will all be dead.

And just like that... the show was over.
it was time to decompress and kick it back at Alicks and Carly's place again... But this time with Uncle Mounty, his partner Rebecca, and Swamp Rats. We all had a good time together doing what we do and chatting it up. Eventually the party fizzled out people left/went to bed. But Katrina and I kicked it with our new homie Alicks who has super rad taste in music and is a very talented and well versed musician! We ended up crashing at about 3 or 4am again.

We woke up and before we left. We hit the Village Inn for breakfast with Swamp Rats. That was such a nice time. The biscuits and gravy really didnt hit the spot. it wasn't the best. it wasn't the worst though. The coffee was good though.

As I sign off safely and at home in ohio at around 10pm on Sunday August 2nd.
I just wanted to thank Alicks and Carly for hosting us, all the bands that played, all the buskers, especially on day 2!! SCUMERICANA RECORDS and all the new friends made along the way. Punks not dead in Morenci. book shows at The Rex Theater.

If you followed my journey I really appreciate you reading these blogs. I played to you in spirit. It was fun to update you. Drop some comments and I will be hitting you with another Road Diary in November when we head to Florida with Abortion Twins and No Context.