Semi

The night wasted no time finding its stride, launching into a rapid-fire barrage of sound. Early sets from Semi, Tall Mary, and Ghost Teeth hit with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it intensity, each delivering short, sharp shocks to the system. It felt like a collective release—a room full of artists and fans making up for lost time, quickly coalescing into a unified front.

Ghost Teeth

As the evening progressed, the mood took a darker, more cinematic turn with Crimson Funeral. Fitting for a band formed after a chance meeting in a graveyard, their set draped the crowd in atmospheric metal. Between the crushing weight of tracks like “Spill Your Blood” and the haunting precision of their riffs, the trio brought a gothic elegance that felt both ancient and urgently modern. By the finale, it was clear their presence wasn’t just about volume—it was about the heavy resonance of femme voices taking up space in the loudest way possible.

Crimson Funeral

While the festival celebrated a range of subgenres, mid-evening sets from Cherry Pick and Gadfly highlighted the scene’s breadth. Cherry Pick delivered a fever dream of whammy-bar unease and quiet-loud dynamics that held the room in a shoegaze trance. Gadfly shattered it just as quickly with their sludge-metal force. Their set was a masterclass in controlled aggression, fuelled by frontwoman Homa Khoshnavaz’s high-intensity performance, which anchored the festival’s defiant spirit.

Cherry Pick

As the marathon neared its final stretch, the atmosphere inside the Pearl shifted from a steady burn to a full boil. The crowd tightened—a collective realization that the night’s heaviest hitters were about to take the floor. This final run—Jisei, Down the Lees, Wait//Less, and Piss—marked the festival’s apex, where earlier experimentation fused into a singular, high-velocity roar. The anticipation was thick; the room felt braced for impact.

Jisei

If the night had a turning point, it was Jisei. Walking in with high expectations is one thing—being completely levelled by sheer kinetic energy is another. Their set was a frantic, beautiful collision of hardcore grit and grindcore structure that felt entirely fresh. “It feels really fucking amazing to be three trans women on this stage,” vocalist Leda Xo exclaimed. A personal highlight, Jisei blew out eardrums and drew laughs with tracks like “30 Seconds to Metrotown”—the kind of performance that stops you in your tracks and solidifies a band as essential viewing.

Down The Lees

The festival’s history came alive as Down the Lees and Wait//Less took the stage, both veterans of the original Vernon lineup. Fronted by festival co-founder Laura Lee Schultz, Down the Lees delivered a massive post-rock weight that felt both grounded and expansive. Their set gave way to the high-octane hardcore of Wait//Less, whose relentless energy proved why they’ve been a cornerstone of this movement. After a six-month break to record, they debuted three new, heavier-than-ever tracks. The crowd responded with stage diving and moshing, making it one of the night’s most explosive moments. Together, the two acts bridged Vernon and Vancouver—a reminder that this is more than a concert series, but a growing, fiercely loyal community.

WAIT//LESS

The finale belonged to PISS, whose uncompromising energy has made them a lightning rod in the local scene. Their set was a beautifully abrasive collision of noise-punk and spoken word—a raw, theatrical experience that pushed beyond the standard concert format. Watching Tay Zantingh shift from haunting whispers to deafening screams left the audience stunned. At one point, she thrust the mic into the crowd, urging fans to scream, “Women don’t cum!” The set closed with a surge of volume, inclusivity, and righteous anger that perfectly embodied the festival’s core values.

Piss — Read our interview here.

The patriarchy may still be out there, but for one night at the Pearl, it was drowned out by a movement that’s clearly only getting louder.