As the live music scene comes back to life in the Bay Area, rock festival Mosswood Meltdown has announced a return in Oakland in July 2022 with Bikini Kill as headliners.
Burger Boogaloo to Return as Mosswood Meltdown in 2022; Bikini Kill Headline
Bikini Kill. (Debi Del Grande)
The legendary riot grrrl band reunited in 2019 after a 22-year break, prompting happy tears from fans who grew up on their proudly feminist punk rock in the ’90s. Oakland’s own Shannon Shaw joins Bikini Kill on the bill with her blend of punk, soul and country, and multi-hyphenate author, dancer and musician Brontez Purnell will perform as well.
[UPDATE, Feb. 16: Kim Gordon, the Linda Lindas and more have been added to the festival. Full lineup below.]
This edition marks the festival’s first year since 2019; while on hiatus due to the pandemic in 2020, organizers changed its name from Burger Boogaloo after cutting ties with Burger Records. The change was part of the fallout surrounding the Southern California music label after numerous women, including some prominent artists, accused its musicians of grooming and sexual abuse.
Shortly afterward, Burger Records attempted to rebrand by hiring a woman as its interim president and announcing an all-female imprint called BRGRRRL. But the move didn’t go over well with its detractors, and the label disbanded last summer. Meanwhile, Total Trash Productions, the producer of the festival, denounced the label and clarified that it was only affiliated with the event in name.
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In its announcement of Mosswood Meltdown, Total Trash Productions issued a statement acknowledging this fraught history. “While Total Trash Productions has always independently produced the festival and Burger Records only played a promotional role, we do not want to discount the problems of safety and inclusion that have plagued the music scene for far too long,” they wrote. “Instead, we would like to be part of the solution. We are committed to becoming a leader in event safety and are working to expand our policies beyond the accepted standards.”
Organizers said their safety plan will be announced in the coming months, and in the meantime they’re soliciting community feedback at safety@totaltrashproductions.com.
The full daily lineup:
July 2
Kim Gordon, The Dirtbombs, Shannon Shaw, Bleached, Flipper, Twompsax, Carbonas, SNõõPER, Rubinoos
July 3
Bikini Kill, Hunx and His Punx, Pansy Division, The Linda Lindas, The Fevers, Podium, Brontez Purnell, Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries
Mosswood Meltdown takes place July 2–3, 2022, in Mosswood Park with John Waters as host. Details here.
