The North Texas hardcore music scene is seeing more women, people of color, and queer musicians.
Hardcore music, a subgenre of punk music, has historically been dominated by white cisgender men, but bands like Barista, True Grit, and Gagging Order have changed what hardcore music sounds and looks like on stage.
Here are nine bands that have made the North Texas hardcore scene more diverse and inclusive.
Soledad
Musicians Robert Dominguez and Eddie Tatum wanted to start a band that was different from other bands in the North Texas hardcore world. In 2020, they formed the metallic hardcore band Soledad with the idea of writing songs in both English and Spanish. They recruited more Latino musicians, including hardcore veteran Andy Zarate, who became one of the main lyricists. Their goal was to make music for a Latino audience that represented their Mexican background. Since 2021, Soledad has been releasing bilingual metalcore tracks about police brutality, racism, and other political issues in Mexico.
True Grit
True Grit is a country outlaw hardcore punk band fronted by vocalist Chris Victor. Victor is the founder of Bored Magazine, a local music blog that covers the hardcore scene. True Grit also features members of Ballista, including trans female vocalist River Elliott. True Grit combines a South Texas sound with an aggressive hardcore attitude. They are influenced by country singer-songwriters Linda Ronstadt and Hank Williams III, as well as hardcore bands such as Black Flag and Social Distortion.
Muñeca
Muñeca is one of the newest bands on the local hardcore scene, but they’re no stranger to the community. While its members come from other bands like Proxy and Godot, Muñeca is the first band that Nat Mares has been in. Mares, who is Latino, is the lead singer of Muneca and is also the mother of a 5-year-old daughter. Muñeca’s lyrics address sexual violence, harassment, and other women’s issues. Mares hopes that through Muñeca she can inspire other mothers and daughters to pursue a career in music.
Rising
Rising is a two-piece hardcore punk band from Fort Worth. The band is led by vocalist Jelani Boyette, who writes from the perspective of a black man in America. Incorporating elements of nu-metal, Rising addresses police brutality, systemic racism, and unjust laws that affect the lives of people of color. They draw inspiration from other rock and metal bands with black members, such as Bad Brains, Rage Against the Machine, and Jesus Peace.
Barista
River Elliot, a black transgender woman, formed Barista in 2017 to speak out about issues that were important to her. She began using the band’s music to fight for trans visibility and speak out against anti-transgender laws. In 2023, Barista released the Trans Day of Violence EP, a death metal track about police brutality and racism. The EP is a play on Trans Day of Visibility and a nod to the EP Trans Day of Revenge by trans feminist hardcore punk band GLOSS.
Out of sight
Out of Sight is a hardcore band “by queer women, for queer women,” according to frontwoman Josie Manichia. The majority of the band’s members are transgender women, and they speak about transgender issues through Out of Sight. Their music focuses on themes such as religious trauma, body dysphoria, post-traumatic stress disorder, and workers’ rights. Manichia said she wants to encourage queer people to live out and proud, and that pride is a big part of Out of Sight. Manichia formed Out of Sight in 2023 after seeing local hardcore bands with transgender members, such as Barista, Deep Incision, and Amnesia Garden.
Willpower
Force of Will is a metallic hardcore band formed last year, inspired by 80s and 90s hardcore music. The majority of the band members are queer and people of color. Frontwoman Chloe Hoffman explains that Force of Will is a female and queer band due to the lack of female and queer representation in the 90s. Force of Will’s lyrics focus on self-reflection and personal struggles, but are written primarily for a marginalized audience. They draw inspiration from bands such as Earth Crisis, Strife, Walls of Jericho, Hatebreed, and Bitter End.
Gag order
Gagging Order is a hardcore punk band made up of mostly musicians of color. Their music incorporates elements of death metal and power violence. Vocalist Robbie Clark formed the band during the pandemic as a creative escape from quarantine. Clark was inspired by members of Unity TX, a local hardcore band that was one of the few bands with members of people of color before 2020. This month, Gagging Order released their latest seven-track album, Violent Desires.
Crucifixion
Crucify is a metallic hardcore band formed in 2022. The band is made up of frontwoman Liv Martin, her brother Ian, and former members of hardcore band Kinky Bastards. Martin helped form the band after the death of her brother Olan, vocalist of Kinky Bastards. Crucify serves as a memorial to her brother and the hardcore community he was a part of. Their songs contain lyrics that Olan wrote before his death.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration run by The Dallas Morning News in partnership with KERA.
This community-funded journalism effort is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef, and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA will retain full editorial control of Arts Access journalism.
