November 1, 2025
We made it to 10 years of Foreign Dissent, and we’re not stopping. FD11 will be held October 19, 2026 at Will’s Pub in Orlando. Get it in your calendar now!
FD headquarters will start hearing from bands in late January, confirming bands in the following months, with the first announcements hopefully coming in April. Stay tuned here and on our social media.
October 21, 2025
What an incredible milestone. The 10th anniversary of Foreign Dissent has come and gone, and it’s going to be a while before I come down from this high. This year’s show felt like a culmination of everything the event has ever stood for—community, passion, and an international celebration of punk rock energy.
To all the bands who played: thank you for being part of this special night. Every single one of you brought something unique to the stage and filled the room with love, energy, and connection. You reminded me why this crazy idea from 2014 was worth carrying on in the first place.
Huge thanks to Will’s Pub and the entire staff for once again making it feel like home. I honestly can’t imagine doing Foreign Dissent anywhere else—the place has become part of its DNA.
To everyone who showed up—whether it was your first FD or your tenth—thank you for supporting this wacky idea that somehow grew up and hit double digits. You’re the reason it keeps happening.
There are a few special thank-yous I have to give:
Micky and Mary, for providing the backline gear that kept everything running smoothly.
Stacey, my partner, for moral support and for taking charge of t-shirt sales.
Blaine, for somehow surviving a full night of multi-camera recording across all ten sets—seriously impressive.
Park Ave CDs, for sponsoring the event and tossing in extra cash for the bands.
Ill Will, for doing an amazing job on this year’s FD shirts.
And especially Joe Williams, whose creative work brought the entire visual identity of FD10 to life. From the social posts to the poster to the t-shirt design, Joe’s art shaped how this milestone year looked and felt. I’m so grateful for his continued creative partnership over the years.
If I forgot anyone, I apologize—and I’ll go ahead and blame the hangover.
Foreign Dissent has always been about connection: between bands, between scenes, between countries, and between everyone who believes in the power of punk to cross borders. After ten installments of FD, that spirit feels stronger than ever.
And yes—we’ll do this again. Foreign Dissent 11 will happen October 19, 2026. Until then, thank you for making FD10 one for the history books.
7:00PM DOORS
7:30-7:50 Germinar
8:00-8:20 Small State
8:30-8:50 Swear
9:00-9:20 LEXT
9:30-9:50 Toodles & The Hectic Pity
10:00-10:20 Back Teeth
10:30-10:50 Descartes a Kant
11:00-11:20 Harker
11:30-11:50 Modern Shakes
12:00 Sunliner
October 14, 2025
Foreign Dissent has always been about more than just the show; it’s about the connection between bands and the people in the room. We asked past FD bands to share their memories and their words capture that spirit perfectly (except for Wonk Unit because they’re just crazy, beautiful wankers!). Here’s to 10 years, come celebrate with us on October 20.
Go fullscreen on the videos for best viewing. Sorry, the UX on this kinda sucks.
October 14, 2025
Today, I joined A Corporate Time With Tom & Dan, an Orlando-based podcast, to talk about Foreign Dissent 10 — our 10th annual international punk showcase happening right here in Orlando.
We got into what makes Foreign Dissent such a unique event, why it’s so special to see bands travel from across the globe to play their first U.S. shows, and some of the challenges that come with bringing international punk acts stateside. It was a great conversation that really captures the spirit and purpose behind the series.
Check out the full interview below (FYI, people pictured below are not me!):
September 15, 2025
One of the things that makes Foreign Dissent special is giving international punk bands a stage in the U.S. For our 10th edition on October 20, 2025 at Will’s Pub in Orlando, that spirit is alive and louder than ever.
Out of the 10 bands on the lineup, six will be playing their first-ever U.S. shows at Foreign Dissent 10. That means if you’re in the room, you’ll be part of a moment these bands — and this scene — will never forget.
Here’s who’s making history with us this year:
Harker (England)
Back Teeth (England)
SWEAR (Italy)
Toodles & the Hectic Pity (England)
Modern Shakes (England)
LEXT (Japan)
For these bands, Orlando will be the first stop on their American journey. For you, it’s a chance to catch something rare: a mix of raw energy, new voices, and international perspectives colliding on one stage.
That’s what Foreign Dissent has always been about — breaking borders, building community, and creating nights you’ll be telling stories about years from now.
📅 October 20, 2025
📍 Will’s Pub, Orlando
🎶 Foreign Dissent 10
Be there. Be part of it. Get tickets now!
July 31, 2025
On October 20, 2025, Foreign Dissent celebrates a milestone: 10 years of bringing international punk to Orlando (get tickets now). To mark this special anniversary, we’ve pulled together 10 bands from around the world—one returning, many making their U.S. debut—to take over Will’s Pub for one unforgettable night. Rather than introducing them ourselves, we asked each band to introduce themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
First appearance at FD
“Four friends from the south of the world come together to face the midlife crisis by playing music for racing hearts — melodic punk, sometimes furious, sometimes reflective. Like grass pushing through cracks in the pavement, they still believe noise can heal all wounds.”
Returning after FD8 (2023)
“SUNLINER are gruff punk rock from Leeds. For fans of Hot Water Music, Against Me! and Simpsons references. Really excited to be back; Foreign Dissent was one of our highlights last time we came over!”
First U.S. show
“Swear is a four-piece shoegaze band from Genoa, Italy, formed in 2018. We just released a brand-new EP in May 2025, and FD10 will be our first-ever US show. Expect very low-volume vocals but very high emotions. Get your earplugs ready for the wall of guitars.”
First Japanese band to play FD. First U.S. show.
“We are a four-piece band from Tokyo, Japan. This will be our first showcase in the US. Our sound is rooted in skate punk—catchy yet aggressive. In January, we released a new album titled ‘FLASHBACK,’ a 10-track collection that sums up our style so far.”
First U.S. show
“Since forming in 2015, Harker have gone on to establish themselves a UK heavyweight with two full-length albums released through notable labels such as Wiretap Records (US), Paper + Plastick (US), and Fixing A Hole (JP). They’ve toured the UK, Europe, and Japan and regularly appear at festivals like Booze Cruise, Manchester Punk Fest, and The Great Escape. 2025 sees the band releasing new music from their forthcoming third album and playing the first shows in America in October.”
First U.S. show
“Like a hangover with harmony, Back Teeth play gruff, melodic punk for people who know exactly what’s wrong but still can’t do anything about it. Big choruses, bad decisions, and songs about how everything’s getting worse but we’re still making the best of it.”
First Mexican band to play FD
“Descartes a Kant is a Mexican experimental rock band formed in Guadalajara in 2001 by Sandrushka Petrova. Known for their eclectic musical style, they blend punk, rock, and electronic elements with theatrical live performances. The critically acclaimed underground sextet equally incorporates punk, metal, pop, shoegaze, and cabaret into their sound, making them an otherworldly and unpredictable live act. The Wall Street Journal even noted, ‘Trying to describe their music is to do it a disservice. It’s loud, racy, incredibly imaginative, sophisticated, funny and wild; it’s as if the Yeah Yeah Yeahs fronted Albert Ayler with Frank Zappa conducting.’ They are considered one of the leading lights in the vibrant, ever-evolving Mexican experimental underground scene.”
First show outside the UK
“We are Toodles & the Hectic Pity, a three-piece folk-punk-emo band from Bristol, UK. Absolutely stoked that Foreign Dissent will be our first ever U.S. show and first ever show outside the UK! We play heart-extremely-on-sleeve music FFO The Mountain Goats with more fuzz. Music via Specialist Subject Records.”
First U.S. show
“Formed in the murky depths of London in 2018, Modern Shakes combine catchy, well-crafted songwriting and modern punk rock energy to create a contemporary Midwest orgcore sound, with memorable melodies, powerful dynamics, and choruses that get audiences singing along. After releasing their debut LP in 2024, Modern Shakes are bringing their Bolt from the Blue stateside, hitting eastern and central Florida like a lightning strike. The lads are delighted to be playing Foreign Dissent and looking forward to partying in Orlando with friends, old and new. Get the PBRs and Coors Banquets chilling! Following FD, they’ll be hitching an airboat ride up the coast on the hunt for Florida Man and playing a few punk rock shows along the way, concluding in Gainesville at Fest 23! The debut album A Bolt from the Blue is available on vinyl and cassette through various labels worldwide.”
First appearance at FD
“Foreign Dissent is such a marquee showcase for us and we cannot wait to take the stage in Orlando and play some songs for you. We are keen on meeting new people and making new friends. Love – Small State.”
Foreign Dissent 10 takes place October 20, 2025, at Will’s Pub in Orlando, Florida. Get your tickets now, and come scream along with new friends from around the world.
Every year, Foreign Dissent brings together punk and punk-adjacent bands from around the world for a single night in Orlando. As we gear up for the tenth edition this October, the official FD10 playlist is now live, giving you a chance to get familiar with the entire lineup before show day.
This year’s playlist features 10 bands from 6 countries across 4 continents, each offering their own take on punk, post-punk, and everything in between.
Who’s on it?Harker, Toodles & the Hectic Pity, Sunliner, Modern Shakes, and Back Teeth – all from the UK!
LEXT (Japan) brings high-energy, anthemic punk that’s sharp and infectious. They’ll be the first Japanese band to play FD!
Descartes a Kant (Mexico) defies genre with chaotic, art-damaged brilliance. They’ll be the first Mexican band to play FD!
Swear (Italy), Small State (Germany), and Germinar (Chile) round out the bill, each bringing a truly unique sound from one another.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to know the songs before the show — or you just want to dive into what DIY punk sounds like across the globe — this playlist is for you.
📍 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL
📅 October 20, 2025
✅ 18+ (Children welcome with a parent)
⏰ Doors at 7:00 PM | First band at 7:30 PM
This is the biggest Foreign Dissent lineup yet, and the playlist is the perfect way to explore what makes it special. Stream it now, share it with friends, and get ready to see it all live this October.
What started in 2014 as a half-baked idea rages on more than ten years later. Foreign Dissent’s 10-year anniversary celebration will take place on October 20 at Will’s Pub in Orlando — and it’s going to be bigger than ever before.
To celebrate a decade of performances, 10 bands are hitting the stage for this extra special edition of Orlando’s International Punk Rock Party. Six different countries are represented, including two never before featured at Foreign Dissent (Mexico and Japan), and one band coming back for an encore performance (Sunliner).
FULL LINEUP for FD10:Sunliner (England)
Modern Shakes (England)
LEXT (Japan)
Harker (England)
Back Teeth (England)
Descartes a Kant (Mexico)
Toodles & the Hectic Pity (England)
Small State (Germany)
Germinar (Chile)
Swear (Italy)
FD1 (2014) I was asked to book a show for Laura Palmer and learned it was a three-piece punk band from Australia and not a solo singer-songwriter. This realization and my instant love of the band truly set the concept of Foreign Dissent into motion.
FD2 (2015) The organizer of The FEST in Gainesville, Florida (the reason these foreign bands are in Florida in the first place) started to give the international bands a heads up about Foreign Dissent. Now, instead of having to chase down bands, many of them started hitting FD up. This year also featured vegan food truck Leguminati for one of their very first events. They’ve gone on to be a mainstay brick-and-mortar for the Orlando food scene.
FD3 (2016) Panama’s Lemmiwinks had to give a last-minute crash-course in learning their songs to a 16-year-old friend who joined on bass so they could pull off their tour to FEST. It was so cool getting to see this young musician thrown into the fire of FEST week.
FD4 (2017) Austrian quartet ASTPAI performed as a three-piece with lead singer/guitarist Zock doing vocals and drumming when their drummer couldn’t make the trip due to health reasons. This is the only time the band ever performed with such a configuration, as they found an extra musician to help out on guitar the day after FD4.
FD5 (2018) This first notable milestone felt like a huge accomplishment to reach. FD had t-shirts for the first and only time (until now, as there will be new shirts for FD10!), and this was the first Foreign Dissent that was recorded in full by FD legend and video mastermind Blaine Helmick.
FD6 (2019) We were blessed by the vegan eats of Orlando vegan entrepreneur Mackenzie Singleton’s Vs Diner, at the time a food trailer. Today, you can find Mackenzie continuing to spread vegan food joy around Orlando with Scratch Vegan Kitchen.
The COVID Years (2020-2021) Little did I know how things would fall apart as I started to plan and confirm bands for FD7 in early 2020. As 2021 rolled around, a vaccine offered promise and it seemed like FD7 could finally happen. Bands were hitting me up, and FEST was moving forward, but the US travel ban remained until early November 2021, preventing any foreign bands from making the trip in time.
FD7 (2022) Foreign Dissent returns! In addition to the joy of finally being able to do the event again, Blaine created an iconic FD moment as he mounted a camera to a bike helmet to allow himself to capture an additional view of the bands.
FD8 (2023) This year, there was much lineup fluctuation — three bands dropped from the original lineup, and two got added. We also partnered with Orlando’s best record store, Park Ave CDs, for a sponsorship, providing extra cash for the far-traveling bands.
FD9 (2024) Also known as the year of Italian Dissent, four of the eight bands that played were from Italy. Bellissimo!
So here we are, ready to hit the stage again for the celebration of 10 years of Foreign Dissent. Memories will be created. Come be a part of it at Will’s Pub in Orlando on October 20.
I was lucky enough to be a guest on DCxPC Live’s new podcast SCENE SUPPORT, where we dug into my punk rock roots, my love for and connection to the scene, some of the DIY projects I’ve done and, of course, Foreign Dissent. It was an honor to get to share why punk rock and the punk rock community are so important to me. Give it a watch and subscribe to the podcast. And remember, the 10th anniversary of Foreign Dissent is October 20 at Will’s Pub in Orlando.
