Punk OC: From the Streets of Suburbia

The Fullerton Museum Center is turning up the volume with Punk OC: From the Streets of Suburbia, an electrifying new exhibition that dives deep into Orange County’s legendary punk rock roots. Opening Saturday, April 5, this dynamic showcase celebrates the bands, venues, and voices that defined a movement and inspired generations. Orange County, and Fullerton in particular—has produced far more than its share of bands that made a difference, many with a sound that’s as rooted in OC as surf music was. Most of the 1970s punk scene originated in metropolises suffering from urban decay, poverty, and other issues that justified the anger and nihilism of the music it spawned. But what about suburban Orange County, with its manicured lawns, blue skies and beaches? One didn’t have to dig too deep beneath the turf to find that OC, too, had an underside of outcasts and disaffected youth, for whom this new homebrewed music meant the world. Fullerton lacked that (urban) backdrop, but what it did have was a number of youths who had grown up feeling like outsiders, their hearts unmoved by manicured lawns, discotheques, sports, corporate rock, and the adult world in general. But in this small, quiet town, they managed to find each other. - Jim Washburn, co-curator of Punk OC Punk OC highlights Fullerton's influential punk scene—home to rebellious energy, fearless expression, and groundbreaking sounds. Visitors will experience the evolution of punk in Orange County and see how the local scene helped shape the national and global punk culture. From iconic venues to rare memorabilia, Punk OC captures the raw, unfiltered spirit of a community that made its own rules.