Nothing properly encapsulates the holiday spirit quite like punk rock- at least that’s what the lineup of the 2025 Punk Rock Christmas expressed in Chandler last week. A rowdy array of classic punk acts tore up Wild Horse Pass Festival Grounds on Saturday, drawing a solid crowd of all ages who braved the cold for an evening of loud guitars, crowd surfing and plenty of Christmas cheer.
The sun was rapidly disappearing as local legends Authority Zero took the stage, ablaze in a halo of yellow light and ready to chop it up with the eager crowd. They had only 30 minutes to make their mark on the day and they used every moment to deliver fan favorite songs and warm up the audience in the evening’s chilly temperatures. Arizona fans always ride hard for Authority Zero and they showed the rest of the lineup just how much this band is beloved by their hometown crowd. There was more sweating than shivering when the band exited the stage and the night continued with even more energy with the forthcoming acts.
The Vandals leaned into the Christmas theme, decking the stage with a full tree and plenty of festive baubles before bathing the crowd in red and green lights for the duration of their set. The audience loved every minute of their cheeky performance, including the band’s own original holiday song- one of several that were performed over the course of the festival.
One of the evening’s most anticipated sets came from Face to Face and they gave Arizona everything they had despite the very cold weather moving into the night. Crowd surfers launched over the barricade during “Walk the Walk” and “Blind”, keeping the band on their toes as they too made the most of a rapidfire performance. They closed a high octane set with “Merry Christmas” and “Disconnected”, wishing Arizona the best during this very punk rock holiday season.
The winter chill was seeping into the crowd but everyone warmed right up with MXPX’s intense bass pulsed through the festival grounds. The band had an hour to melt some faces and they absolutely blew the doors off of the event center as diehard fans shouted along to “Secret Weapon” and “The Wonder Years”. Even though everyone was ready to “Stay Up All Night”, the show ended at a perfectly respectable hour- who says it’s not punk rock to get a good night’s sleep? MXPX ended another successful installment of this festival with ‘Responsibility” and “Punk Rawk Show”, a very on the nose way to close out one of Arizona’s final fests of 2025.
