User:Mashaunix/Fluff Fest

Fluff Fest is an independent hardcore punk festival held each July at the Czech town of Rokycany, near Pilsen. A significant event for the European DIY punk subculture, the festival is fully vegan, informed by an anti-capitalist and anti-nationalist stance, and associated with movements such as anarchism, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism, and straight edge. A product of the wider DIY music scene in Czechia, it draws audiences from across Europe to an international lineup of bands oriented mostly on hardcore, crust punk and grindcore, post-hardcore and screamo, punk rock and post-punk, sludge metal and metalcore, and post-metal, as well as talks and literature. Vegan catering is provided by Czech animal rights organization Svoboda zvířat. Prices of food, drink, and entry (for which there is no presale) are generally low.

Fluff originated from Y2K HC Fest, an event held in 2000 at the Rokycany swimming pool. It was renamed for the 2001 edition and eventually moved to the town's airfield as attendances grew to several thousand. In 2012, the Psych Tent became part of the festival, organized by Jakub Ďuraško of Stoned to Death Records. It showcases a separate lineup, oriented on mostly experimental music including electronic, psychedelic, avant-rock, ambient, and noise, for free outside the paid Fluff Fest entrance. Currently, Fluff runs for four days, starting on Thursday with a free warm-up and ending on Sunday night, and incorporates several side stages as well as dance after-parties each night. Additionaly, "pre-Fluff" and "after-Fluff" parties featuring some bands from the lineup are held on Wednesday and Monday at Café na půl cesty, a small venue in Pankrác, Prague.

Location


Rokycany is a town located 17 km east of the regional capital Plzeň, with a population of just over 14,000. The Rokycany airfield is within walking distance from the town centre and train station. Two paths can be taken: the more frequented one passes by the town's swimming pool where the festival was originally held (and which remains very popular with audiences on hot days)  while the slightly faster one leads through a forest and hillside which is a protected natural area. The airfield lies between this forest and a highway.

Fluff Fest has been described as a "strain" on Rokycany, which is unaccustomed to large numbers of foreign visitors and extreme music adherents. The festival brings a business boom to the town, especially in sales of vegetarian and vegan food. It is monitored by the police, including local municipal units, road units, and investigative units, with the stated goal of preventing crime, tackling theft, and making sure transportation runs smoothly.

Fluff Fest 2006
The 2006 edition was held on 21–23 July and drew about 2500 visitors. Svoboda zvířat made roughly 130,000 Kč selling food, while the two organizers' final income was estimated at 755,000 Kč, after substracting expenses of over 550,000 Kč (including €300 for each of the headliners, New Winds and Good Clean Fun, and €500 for the Suicide File) from their approximate gross income of 1,310,000 Kč. This led to criticism from some involved as to the purported DIY ethic of the duo.

Fluff Fest 2007
The 2007 edition was held on 20–22 July. Performing bands included Maroon and 108 on Friday, Victims, Set Your Goals, and Vitamin X on Saturday, and La Quiete, Oi Polloi, Rise and Fall, These Arms Are Snakes, and Converge on Sunday. Various workshops were held throughout the festival.

Fluff Fest 2008
The 2008 edition was held on 25–27 July, preceded by a welcome movie screening on Thursday 24 July. Performing bands included War from a Harlots Mouth, Meneguar, and Raein on Friday, Daïtro and Maroon on Saturday, and Cataract, Amenra, Death by Stereo, and Bane on Sunday. Side stages had been introduced, including the Arty Tent.

Fluff Fest 2009
The 2009 edition was held on 24–26 July and drew about 3000 visitors. Performing bands included Trial, An Albatross, Have Heart, Victims, Ratos de Porão, Fall of Efrafa, Analena, and Rise and Fall.

Fluff Fest 2010
The 2010 edition was held on 23–25 July, preceded by a welcome movie screening on Thursday 22 July. Various movies were screened throughout the festival. Performing bands included Carpathian, Comadre, and Ruiner on Friday, Ampere and Amenra on Saturday, and Cruel Hand and Municipal Waste on Sunday.

Fluff Fest 2011
The 2011 edition was held on 22–24 July. Announced bands included Ceremony, La Dispute, Black Breath, The Carrier, Blue Note, Victims, Touché Amoré, Ensign, Raein, Rosetta, and Polar Bear Club. Additionally, a diverse group of Czech bands appeared.

Fluff Fest 2012
The 2012 edition was held on 20–22 July. Performing bands included Verse, Pianos Become the Teeth, Trapped Under Ice, Defeater, Self Defense Family, Loma Prieta, Code Orange Kids, Landscapes, No Omega, and Light Bearer. There was a tent at which movies were screened. The Psych Tent was a part of the festival for the first time, organized by Stoned to Death Records, a label which had just been founded by Jakub Ďuraško in Prague.

Fluff Fest 2013
The 2013 edition was held on 25–28 July and drew audiences of between 6000 and 8000. For the first time, bands also performed on Thursday, with We Came Out Like Tigers closing this warm-up. Other bands included Code Orange Kids, Harm's Way, Circle Takes the Square, and Full of Hell on Friday, Downfall of Gaia, Brutality Will Prevail, Dangers, Vitamin X, and Catharsis on Saturday, and Mouth of the Architect, the Black Heart Rebellion, Birds in Row, Coliseum, and Strike Anywhere on Sunday. Side stages included Psych Tent II and the first Queer Noises Tent, which has remained a part of the festival since, oriented on electronic music. A speech on the contemporary anarchist movement was given by Brian D. of CrimethInc. while Greg Bennick held a workshop on becoming a hardcore punk vocalist/lyricist. Refundable cups had been introduced to reduce the environmental impact of the event.

Fluff14
The 2014 edition was held on 24–27 July and closed by We Came Out Like Tigers, No Omega, Backtrack, D.O.A., and Bane on Sunday. Side stages included Psych Tent III, which was performed by Andrea Belfi on Friday, and Queer Noises Tent 2. Large numbers of distro and activist tents had become a feature of the festival area. A pre-Fluff matinée was held at Café na půl cesty on Thursday.

Fluff15
The 2015 edition was held on 23–26 July. Performing bands included Raein, Endpoint, 7 Seconds, Loma Prieta, Trial, MDC, and Birds in Row. Movies were screened already on Thursday. Side stages included Psych Tent IV, Queer Noises Tent 3, a grindcore-oriented stage, and an open stage.

Fluff16
The 2016 edition was held on 21–24 July. Performing bands included Oathbreaker, Earth Crisis, Graf Orlock, Blacklisted, RVIVR, Rosetta, Totem Skin, Archivist, the Black Heart Rebellion, Dawn Ray'd, Swain, No Omega, and Jungbluth, while La Quiete were announced but had to cancel. Side stages included Psych Tent V, Queer Noises Tent 4, a grindcore-oriented stage, and an open stage.

Fluff17
The 2017 edition was held on 20–23 July and headlined by Doom and City of Caterpillar on Friday, Vitamin X, Burn, and Chokehold on Saturday, and Racetraitor, Birds in Row, and Sect on Sunday. Side stages included: Psych Tent VI; the grindcore-oriented All Go No Slow stage; an open stage; the Underdogs' Tent, which was curated by a different promoter each night; and the Infoshop Tent, which held acoustic performances on Friday (including Jonah Matranga) and Sunday (including Throw Me off the Bridge, the project of Birds in Row bassist Quentin Sauvé). On Saturday, the Infoshop first held talks including a speech by Greg Bennick and a discussion on the SHAC campaign, before staging several hip hop shows by Czech and Slovak acts.