When The Punk Rock Museum opened in April 2023, it set out with the following proclamation: “The world’s most compre- hensive punk museum to shove history, culture and the absurdity of rock ’n’ roll’s bastard stepchild in visitors’ faces.”
Consider the mission accomplished.
The Punk Rock Museum could easily be an hours-long visit, as it houses one of the world’s most expansive, inclusive and intimate display of artifacts, fliers, photo- graphs, clothing, instruments, handwritten lyrics, artwork and just about everything else donated by the people and bands who were there.
The collection at the Downtown Las Vegas museum is unexpectedly large, vast, diverse, fascinating and exciting, and the many photos of penises were a surprise.
So punk!
The museum and tour include a jam room, tattoo parlor and bar – as well as Kurt Cobain’s black leather “nodding off” chair, with a photo of him nodding off on the wall behind it, as a photo opportunity.
But the highlight was a guided tour by kickass punk rock legend Alice Bag of Bags. It shouldn’t be a surprise, considering the counterculture music genres, but it was fascinating to learn that women, minorities and the queer/LGBTQ+ communities have had integral roles in punk and new wave.
Bag’s tour highlighted this, as she is an advocate. What a get to feature tours by punk rock legends like Bag.
If You Go
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesdays, 12-8 p.m. Wednesdays. ThePunkRockMuseum.com
