It is named after the American punk legend’s fifth studio album—Punk in Drublic, released in 1994, just over a decade after the band formed in 1983—and it is the proper name for their farewell tour-meets festival that celebrated their 40th anniversary as a band last year. And when NOFX brings its farewell tour mixed with a curated guest list of performers, a craft beer garden, and 40 songs performed by NOFX alone, it will end in San Pedro at Berth 46.
“This is not a final tour like Mötley Crüe or Black Sabbath,” member Fat Mike warned. “These are the very last shows NOFX will ever be playing. We are gonna play with all our hearts, with all our joy. And then we are done. We are done done.”
The ‘Punk in Drublic’ tour was destined to end somewhere in the Los Angeles region
The Punk in Drublic beer and music festival has been going on for years and it was very much presumed, year after year of it reappearing with new guests, it would continue on for a long time—until Fat Mike shut that down.
Fat Mike, the band’s charismatic and controversial front man, has never been on to mince words or hide his thoughts. So it was befitting in September of 2022, he announced via an Instagram comment—yes, an Instagram comment—that the band would breaking apart the following year with a final tour.
Amid those comments of fans asking NOFX when they’ll return to certain places—it was a fan asking about a return to Canada that prompted Fat Mike to say, “Actually we love Canada, it’s just that next year [2023] will be our last year. We will be announcing our final shows soon”—that Mike noted “they began in the L.A. area so they will end in the L.A. area.”
And the move makes sense: We’re talking four decades of a career that has made the band one of the most successful independent bands of all time as they proudly never signed to a major label—despite eight million albums sold across the globe.
‘Punk in Drublic’ will end with three shows in San Pedro with some likely stellar guests, if not the best of the entire tour
“We’ve played over 2000 shows in 33 countries, in more than 300 cities [across our career] and darn it—we’re a bit tired,” Fat Mike said. “One thing I know in my heart: this is going to be the most emotional, heartbreaking, greatest tour of our career. I’ve never been so excited and at the same time terrified—mostly excited.”
And per the spirit of punk—anti-fascist, community-centric, support your siblings—each event of the tour has featured some of the finest in punk and rock: Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, Pennywise, Less Than Jake, Gimme Gimmes, Descendents, Face to Face…
Given the San Pedro set of the festival will span three days—Oct. 4, 5, and 6—it is likely the guest appearances are going to be epic.
Speaking of San Pedro and music, we might get a Hollywood Bowl-like amphitheater there
This is as good a time as any to remind people: Renderings have been released showing that the westernmost tip of the massive overhaul of San Pedro’s former Ports o’ Call—the West Harbor development project—that showcase an amphitheater that oozes Hollywood Bowl vibes while increasing the probability that entertainment will indeed be a large feature of the project.
Revealed in an environmental report published by the Port of Los Angeles, the renderings mark the first major announcement about the project since it was announced that some of the region’s most recognized food brands will be joining as tenants.
So more good music in the future? We shall see.
Punk in Drublic’s final appearance in San Pedro will take place on Oct. 4, 5, and 6 at Berth 46. The lineup is to be announced. For more information, click here.
