Tri-Cities show draws 560 fans. Was PUNKS WEAR BLXCK a success or safety hazard?

Tri-Cities has hosted many concerts in the past year.

One of the most anticipated shows of the year was PUNKS WEAR BLXCK, a mixed genre show held at The Uptown Theatre in Richland on June 6.

Advertising for the show began as far back as March. Hundreds signaled their plans to attend the concert featuring Spokane-based duo BLXCKPUNKS supported by four regional acts.

More than 500 people attended the June 6 show, but not all of them were pleased.

Allegations regarding safety parameters at the event have taken over Tri-Cities-based social media spaces.

So what really happened? Here’s what we know:

Who performed at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK in Richland?

PUNKS WEAR BLXCK featured a lineup of Tri-Cities and Walla Walla artists before BLXCKPUNKS, a rising hip-hop duo with hardcore elements, took to the stage.

The night began with popular teenage hip-hop artist JOSIAHDAVIS. Steadily growing his accolades, the young performer has proved his dedication to becoming a successful musician, frequently releasing music and getting on bigger stages.

“When it comes to PUNKS WEAR BLXCK, I felt that it was an overall positive event,” Davis said. “I saw a lot of the behind the scenes of what was going at the Theater and I thought it was really professional. Everyone was treating me with respect and I felt as if I was an equal among these people who I looked up to in a sense.”

Davis was followed by local punk band The Velvet Helmets, who perform across the Pacific Northwest. Members of the band are also behind shows held at popular DIY venue Flying Z Farms in Benton City.

The Velvet Helmets were added to the lineup after event organizers asked members of the Tri-Cities scene which bands they’d like to see at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK. Many named The Velvet Helmets, landing the group the gig.

Two more fan favorite bands in Tri-Cities took the stage next. Tri-Cities’ A Quiet Life and Walla Walla’s Heel Klick both frequently bring some of the biggest crowds at local venues.

A Quiet Life is a post-hardcore band that has exploded in the local scene since its first show in April 2025, releasing its self-titled debut album in January. The five-piece band’s blend of emo and post-hardcore sounds resonate with several pockets of the local music scene, bringing out troves for every show.

Heel Klick is an PNW emo trio with alternative and indie influences that’s preparing to release its second album. The band’s sets display a rising trend in music: a genre-bending experience full of high-energy dancing and raucous crowds.

Local DJ Prota-C kept house music going between each set.

Who headlined PUNKS WEAR BLXCK show at The Uptown Theatre?

Headliners BLXCKPUNKS, made up of rappers IAMTOPP (Aaron Loving) and Jang The Goon (Elijah Kilborn), put on a powerhouse performance featuring numerous special guests.

Some concertgoers said the guests were a favorite element of the show, specifically rapper Yel and local dancers.

Loving is originally from the Tri-Cities, and the duo met here, according to reporting by The Inlander.

Loving and Kilborn performed at the first hip-hop show at the re-opened Ray’s Golden Lion in November 2023, before coming together as BLXCKPUNKS.

The duo has exploded in the Spokane scene and online, with more than 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and numerous successful shows at large regional venues.

PUNKS WEAR BLXCK was put on by BLXCKPUNKS’ label AFFILI8D Records and Darling Visions.

How big was Tri-Cities show?

Marketing for PUNKS WEAR BLXCK promised the “party of the summer.”

An estimated 560 people attended the show on June 6, according to Loving.

The Uptown Theatre’s main hall has a capacity of 416 people, and the lobby allows for an additional 278, according to multiple sources familiar with the venue.

“(It was) definitely very, very close to the legal capacity for sure,” Loving said.

That crowd size definitely puts PUNKS WEAR BLXCK among the biggest locally organized shows in Tri-Cities in 2026.

Was BLXCKPUNKS’ Richland show a success?

Loving told the Tri-City Herald that PUNKS WEAR BLXCK was profitable, with everyone involved in the event making “really good money.”

Organizers “wanted to make sure that… everybody was paid fairly, or had a decent amount of money,” with the community’s help.

As of Wednesday, June 17, The Velvet Helmets had not yet been paid for the event. All other performers received payment.

The event also raised funds for an initiative at nearby Ray’s Golden Lion. While eating or drinking at Ray’s, patrons can pre-pay for a meal for a member of the local homeless community, many of whom spend time in the Uptown Shopping Center overnight.

This initiative, called Feed The Scene, received 25% of sales from the show, after subtractions were made for the venue and sound payouts, according to Loving, totaling around $1,200.

“It’s really, really cool that everyone got to see success from this event in multiple different ways,” Loving said. “New friends were made, new people were introduced, new cultures were blended, and so things like that were really, really, really cool.”

Kilborn said the event drew concertgoers from Walla Walla, Spokane, Yakima and even Tacoma.

“So when I’m thinking about the amount of regional community we were able to achieve, I thought that was a strong success,” Kilborn said.

“The goal was to bring the scene together, and I feel like we did that,” Davis said. “That room was packed full of not only the punk scene, but people from scenes across the Tri-Cities. People who may have never interacted otherwise came together through one common thing, and formed bonds because of that.”

One member of the local hardcore scene said it was “pretty beautiful to see” the different communities come together.

Loving specifically noted how proud he was to work with primarily local sponsors and collaborate with numerous local organizations and artists through the event.

Technical problems, lack of communication at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK

Despite its relative success, both staff and attendees shared criticism after the show.

Staff had numerous complaints relating to communication issues, lack of coordination, dismissive responses to safety concerns and difficulties working with some of the organizers.

Although they arrived at the Uptown Theatre early and planned for standard issues, some staff members said, nothing could have prepared them for how the night went.

One staff member, who asked not to be named due to concerns about losing work, called the event “recklessly irresponsible” and said they would have gone about it completely differently if it was up to them.

“(BLXCKPUNKS) wanted a good show by any means necessary, and they didn’t quite understand the technical logistics around making that happen,” said Calisto Riddle, an independent sound engineer based in Tri-Cities who was hired for PUNKS WEAR BLXCK just days before the show.

Multiple people who worked the event said they worked unexpected hours, staying late because no one was hired for cleanup tasks. They got there early to make plans for the night, but a lack of communication and proper coordination made those plans irrelevant.

Requests for unsustainable bass levels and an insistence on “keeping the party going” rather than allowing for safety checks and proper switchovers between sets caused strife for Riddle and led to technical difficulties.

The sound engineer also said they were screamed at, publicly called out during the last set and even had food thrown at them by the audience during a technical difficulty.

Riddle said after this, “no amount of money” have made the show worth it, but they saw it through anyway.

“I’ve never been treated that way,” Riddle told the Herald. “Of course, I’ve never had a show sound that bad, so I understand tensions get high.”

While those familiar with the sound system at the Uptown Theatre say it can be “finicky,” and technical difficulties are generally expected, PUNKS WEAR BLXCK had an abnormally high number of technical issues.

Systems malfunctioned throughout the night due to continued demands to push the bass, unrealistic expectations for the system and staff size, and an additional unrelated power surge.

“I could not do my job the way that I have done my job for years,” Riddle said.

BLXCKPUNKS told the Herald they thought Riddle did a great job.

“We love Cali,” Loving said, calling them “a great communicator, great at (their) job, one of the best in the city for sure.”

Loving and Kilborn both said they felt communication could have been improved that night, saying this was their first event working with other entities.

“All I want to do is put this show behind me,” event co-organizer Reign Darling said. “This show got taken away from me a long time ago as an organizer when we started having differences of opinions …”

“I’m shattered as to what this has done to our community and the part that Darling Visions had in it,” Darling said.

Were there safety issues at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK?

Sound was not the main concern from attendees or staff, though.

The lack of security was considered an extreme oversight by staff members.

Multiple attendees made public comments online concerned about the lack of adequate security, an emphasis on a big crowd over a safe crowd, and a lack of education for newcomers to the scene.

At hardcore shows, security staffers often are not intended to prevent moshing or stage diving. Instead, they serve as monitors who can respond when safety issues arise.

Some staff suggested the venue required at least three security personnel for an event of this size.

Due to “a breakdown of communication,” BLXCKPUNKS told the Herald they found themselves without security the day of the event. Three people were assigned security roles that day.

Loving said BLXCKPUNKS had worked with these three individuals before, and trusted they could do the job even with the short notice. However, they did not have any identifiers such as badges or shirts labeling them as security.

He said they “definitely tried to get as much security as possible,” but added they could have had “another one or another two, for sure.”

“When people get hurt at shows, that’s not acceptable,” said Riddle, who often works as a production manager.

Riddle estimated that they’ve worked more than 250 shows in the past two years. They were hired specifically for sound work at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK.

“Whenever I produce a show, that is my first thought ... and it never stops being a thought: ‘Is everything safe? How can I make it safer?’ ” Riddle said.

Loving said safety is a priority at BLXCKPUNKS events and they always want to make sure everyone’s safe. Kilborn noted that the majority of people were not harmed, but “if even one person is harmed, that is something we have to look at.”

However, Loving said security was “not able to operate at the fullest capacity.” The duo would not disclose where security was stationed throughout the night, but stated that they were instructed to cover as much ground as possible.

What was the pit like at PUNKS WEAR BLXCK?

With critiques regarding security came commentary on the pit.

Some social media commenters suggested the stage diving was over-encouraged in event marketing, and the emphasis on hardcore moshing didn’t match the lineup or the crowd.

Other attendees disagreed, saying hardcore moshing and stage diving were to be expected, and the pit wasn’t any more unsafe than any other one.

Those entering a mosh pit generally understand the basic rules and etiquette that come with it.

However, mixed genre bills mean some folks in attendance may not be familiar with these rules, potentially leading to unsafe situations.

Kamaryie Gomez, a local who regularly attends hardcore shows in the region, spent most of PUNKS WEAR BLXCK in the pit. He said there seemed to be a mixture of experience levels in the crowd, with some concertgoers used to hardcore moshing and others who seemed unfamiliar with pits.

“There was definitely a lot of basic pit etiquette that was being performed, just basic things, helping people when they fall, checking if people are OK...” Gomez said. “Also, there were a few people there that when they did see someone fall, they just froze and didn’t know what to do.”

“Pit-wise, it was honestly very safe,” Gomez said. “It wasn’t too aggressive, definitely more of like a too-many-people thing, like just tripping on top of people. Other than that, the pit itself felt pretty safe.”

Others suggested the stage diving got out of hand. At least one person went to the hospital following PUNKS WEAR BLXCK due to injuries sustained in the pit.

“Each one of us could have been more vigilant about crowd control and we’re sorry the stage diving got dicey,” PUNKS WEAR BLXCK organizers Darling, Loving and Kilborn and the volunteer representing Uptown Theatre, Travis Rybarski, wrote in a joint statement to The Herald. “We did have three paid security people patrolling, but mosh pits always carry risk of injury.”

Loving mentioned a social media post from PUNKS WEAR BLXCK that went up the week of the event encouraging attendees to drink water, help each other up and look out for each other. The same post also encouraged stage diving.

“We wanted to create a safe environment, a controlled chaos environment, where it’s like, it’s still fun, but everybody’s OK,” Loving said.

What’s next for the Uptown Theatre?

The PUNKS WEAR BLXCK show on June 6 garnered a variety of strong opinions — from concerns about safety risks and questions about the organizers’ motivations to disappointment about a lack of pit etiquette education — although some felt the criticism was unwarranted.

“To have that many people show up to a hip-hop-centered punk show was amazing,” Riddle said. “I think they did achieve something great. But I also think that the backlash from what happened took away all that progress.”

As of now, the Uptown Theatre no longer plans to work with outside entities for concerts and intends to host concert events internally only, along with other types of events.

“I use the Uptown Theatre a lot for charity events, and for the Battle of The Bands,” Riddle said. “It’s a very special space to me, and if it’s off-limits to punks from now on, I would feel like that is a very unfortunate thing that would make me feel pretty sore.”

When asked if BLXCKPUNKS would do anything differently if they could start over entirely, Loving and Kilborn didn’t give an answer.

Karlee Van De Venter is a full-time reporter at the Tri-City Herald who contributes arts and entertainment coverage for Tumbleweird. This is a shortened version of this article; the full version will appear in an upcoming edition of Tumbleweird through a co-publication agreement.

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:41 PM.