How is it that Virginia has less claim to its own state bird than its singular contributions to D.I.Y. punk and hardcore music? While seven neighboring states all share the Northern cardinal as their chosen winged emblem, a precious few have cultivated as fertile and self-sustaining an underground musical microcosm as Virginia in the 21st century.

If the commonwealth of the late-’90s to early-aughts had an underground state band, Pageninetynine, Majority Rule and City of Caterpillar all could have been likely honorees.

Largely informed and inspired by that local flock, Dark Days, Bright Nights is a three-day music festival launching this weekend at the Broadberry. Presented by Persistent Vision Records in partnership with Yr. Screaming Youth, it highlights some of the most formative and impactful bands that have come to shape and define a sound (insert reductive genre tag here: screamo or later scramz) that spread to reach a larger and younger audience, who, come to find out, all started bands of their own.

In recent years, Paul Hansbarger has championed this expanding musical evolution with each new generation on his Richmond-based record label, Persistent Vision. “Initially, I wanted to do something special to get together bands from my label for a big show (or two) in a positive, inclusive, community-focused setting,” Hansbarger says.

Then Mike Taylor got involved—first as a member of Pageninetynine (which recently reformed and had its back catalog reissued by Hansbarger), and then as a collaborator—and soon the show became a fest. “It unraveled and grew quickly into something more than the initial idea,” Taylor says. “We would keep trading off band names, back and forth, being like ‘Oh yeah! That’d be amazing if we could have them play.’”

With Pageninetynine as a nexus, the bill grew to include bands that had either influenced Taylor or that he had formed long-lasting working relationships and friendships with, or both. “Kilara was a huge thing for me personally, because I literally know Brandon who plays in Pageninetynine, because of seeing and playing with Kilara,” Taylor explains. “They were larger than life to us when we were younger, so that’s something I feel is pretty special. I also think they are a band unique to Richmond with what feels like a regional time and place.”

Reunions aplenty

No fest is complete without an against-all-odds reunion and this one has several. Cue Richmond sludge-punk pioneers Kilara, who will be making their first appearance in nearly 25 years. Featuring members of Avail, City of Caterpillar and Ghastly City Sleep (plus a myriad others) the ripples of Kilara’s influence are vast, while their past output permeates the city and scene clear into the present.

“I find myself endlessly mesmerized at how this music thread continues so strong,” Kilara and Pageninetynine member Brandon Evans says, “and at the reality that sound itself has a unique enough soul to be recognized as being Virginian.” When asked how preparation for the big gig is going, Brandon says that he loves it: “I appreciate it every time, and I live for it, honestly. My favorite part is the routine of a consistent weekly practice, just friends being there to have weekly experiences to look forward to.”

Not to be outdone, Knoxville, Tennessee’s the Red Scare is also reuniting to perform a set of chaotic post-hardcore for the first time in 23 years. Hopefully their experience has been as pleasant as Kilara’s given theirs is a considerably longer drive to the show and back.

Richmond is not shy when it comes to throwing a fest for something—anything (case in point: watermelons). But music fests rank among our most numerous and impactful for the city. Richmond Folk Festival will celebrate its 20th go-at-it this season, while past touchstones like Best Friends Day and GwarBQ, though missed, have become the stuff of legend. Even if it’s common for fests, in general, to feel like cash grabs, bloated with questionable corporate sponsorships and prohibitive costs for fans, those familiar with the ethics of all involved in DDBD would never expect to find that brand of commodification here. For those not familiar, I’d point to Pageninetynine and Majority Rules’ reunion tours in 2017 and 2019, where the bands raised north of $60,000 for charities; an anomaly even in punk rock.

“As a Palestinian in punk during a time when this country has stepped up its support exponentially enabling a mass slaughter, I’m personally feeling very connected to friends in this counter-culture community not staying silent,” says Maha Shami, who fronts NØ MAN, the ferocious post-Majority Rule project now on its third album. “I’m also energized by our scene and stages not living in the past and evolving; ranging from pals playing in different lineups to the next generation of bands who joined our family of beautiful weirdos. There’s more race and gender inclusion across the board,” Maha says, adding, “with plenty of work still left to do.”

That spirit of inclusion characterizes DDBD in essence more than any niche subgenre. Sonically the bill is diverse, ranging from the crushing metal of Baton Rouge’s Thou to the dulcet folk of Virginia’s Pygmy Lush, which recently reformed for the first time in seven years with a set at NPR’s Tiny Desk, and Philadelphia’s Soul Glo, whose members have achieved the most mainstream success with their hardcore-punk-meets-hardcore-rap cocktail. It’s also a stellar representation of Richmond’s current talent considering Inter Arma, Prisoner, and Private Hell are all scheduled to appear.

“My biggest hopes are that the bands and folks coming to the shows enjoy themselves,” Taylor says about this inaugural festival. “That kids see a band they’ve never heard of and fall in love with them, or it inspires them to do their own band, fest or label.”

This is a continuation of the work Taylor and Hansbarger have long been engaged in through their own contributions to music, where inspiration and expression mirror each other in a feedback loop. Take, for instance, guitarist and vocalist Chris Rodriguez’s band Massa Nera from New Jersey, whose members are a generation removed from Pageninetynine, but have been active for almost a decade. “If you were to tell the version of me that first started playing in Massa Nera that I’d be part of a fest lineup like this,” Rodriguez says, “I’d say you’re out of your mind!” He adds that “it’s not everyday a person can say they get to share the stage with a couple of their favorite artists and friends.”

The trick to sustaining musical traditions is balancing the past and present with an eye toward the future and Dark Days, Bright Nights is poised to do just that.

“If all goes well, we hope to bring it back next year and make it an annual thing,” Hansbarger says. “We’ve already been brainstorming and dreaming up bands to ask for next year. We wanted to create something truly special, that locals look forward to each year, and out-of-towners come to town for. We’d like to be able to share a little bit of that Richmond experience with them—our favorite food and coffee spots, record stores, the river, et cetera.”

And just like that, a new local music fest has taken shape in our mother of states, and embarks into the unknown.

Dark Days, Bright Nights will be held Sept. 13 – 15 at the Broadberry. Doors open at 7 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the fest is all ages. Individual tickets are available at thebroadberry.com and Plan 9 Music in Carytown (UPDATE: three-day passes have sold out).