An Evening with Black Flag

An Evening with Black Flag lands at The Starlite Room, 10030 102 Street Northwest, Edmonton, T5J 0V6, Canada, on May 5, 2026. Formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, Black Flag set the tone for West Coast hardcore with a fast, pared-down sound built around Greg Ginn’s guitar. Around him, the lineup moved through vocalists like Keith Morris and Henry Rollins, and a rhythm section that saw Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Kira Roessler and Bill Stevenson pass through. A strict DIY approach, relentless touring and the SST Records network launched by Ginn helped shape an independent circuit that defined a broader American hardcore aesthetic.

On record, Damaged (1981) and My War (1984) opened a shift from breakneck bursts to slower, heavier tempos and stretched structures, a path extended on Family Man, Slip It In and In My Head, where instrumentals and free-leaning detours took hold. After a first split in 1986, Black Flag returned in different forms, notably in the early 2010s around Ginn, leading to the album What The... in 2013.

On stage, the band keeps a direct, tense approach that links punk, hardcore and alternative currents. This date offers a dive into a catalog spanning several eras, played with the wiry, dissonant edge that still defines their sound.