In Minnesota we fight for second chances, for renewal, and for built community… and for those willing to cross borders to obtain them.

On my drive to Fargo to shoot Rise Against’s show at the Fargo Civic Center my anxiety was gnawing at me. It’s been a heavy year, both personally and across Minnesota, where the weight of things has been hard to ignore. What started as a canceled show turned into something else entirely: a drive north, a border crossing, and a second attempt in a different country. That’s a whole-ass metaphor in case you missed it.

Music has always been a sort of spiritual cleanse for me.  A demarcation point where things are sorted into what was before, and now what exists after.  Inside dark venues large and small, music and energy mix into liminal crossings where reality is suspended just long enough to realign yourself before re-entering the world.

For a few hours, inside a packed room of people moving in the same direction, things felt lighter. More aligned. Reset.

Koyo

If you are to know anything about me, know that I will always Stan the opener.  Proudly, I can say that Winnipeg does too.  By the time Koyo took the stage, Burt Cummings Theatre was already well filled.  The audience showed a wide range of ages, from younger fans to those in their forties, all packed in tightly and fully engaged from the start.

In the month leading up to the concert, as per my usual, I put all three bands on my rotation, familiarizing myself with their catalogs.  It’s one of the joys of live music, and honestly a joy of writing about it… being pushed to learn and listen to a wider swath of bands and genres than someone of my hyperfixation tendencies tends to do on their own.

Formed on Long Island, New York, Koyo has quickly carved out a space with a sound blending hardcore, melodic emo, and pop punk. Following their 2023 debut, the band has been touring heavily, pausing briefly to record their second album, Barely There, in May 2026, just before heading back out on the road again.

Their set began with their drummer building the moment, quickly joined by bass and guitar and transitioning into their first song, “Moriches,” a mid tempo banger that set the stage to ramp into their second track, “Life’s a Pill.”

Joey Chiaramonte brought the expected intensity up front, moving between aggressive and melodic lines, but what stood out was how tight the band felt as a whole. I would have given a band this early in their career some grace—but none was needed here. Their focus on touring has clearly paid off, delivering a performance that outpaces their years together.

Destroy Boys

I’ll be a bit honest here, I often am not on the cutting edge of the punk scene, so you know a band is getting traction when they make it to this Metal Head’s table.  Every mention that I would be attending Rise Against’s show seemed to be coupled with “Destroy Boys are opening!”

Formed in Sacramento, California, Destroy Boys—led by Alexia Roditis and Violet Mayugba, and currently with Narsai Malik and David Orozco on bass and drums—have built their identity around raw energy and direct messaging, blending punk with themes of community, identity, and resistance. That came through clearly on stage with Alexia calling on the audience at least twice to not withstand abuse or general asshole-ery, but to band together to do something about it when it happens.

The band launched in full throttle, opening with “You Hear Yes,” and the crowd responded in kind by pushing toward the stage. Alexia and Violet shared vocal duties tonight, with Alexia opening on lead vocals and Violet on guitar and additional vocals.  Alexia took the stage with capital “F” Femme energy… a bit camp, if camp could punch a creep in the face in a dark alley.  Violet would later take over lead vocals, handing off her guitar for Alexia to take over.

One of the standout moments came when Alexia left the stage entirely, stepping onto a side partition near a seated box section and walking along it while performing—blurring the boundary between stage and crowd in a way that felt spontaneous and unfiltered.

Rise Against!

By the time Rise Against took the stage, the room was at capacity.  This is the first of their two sold out shows in Winnipeg.  That familiar energy began to rise, bringing the temperature of the room up with it.  The energy hits a cadence that seems to transfer from one body to the next. Well before the band took the stage I had to push and weave myself to the photo pit, not because people wouldn’t let me through, but because there was hardly any space to give.

Formed in 1999 in Chicago, Rise Against—Tim McIlrath, Joe Principe, Brandon Barnes, and Zach Blair—has spent over two decades building a catalog rooted in not only a signature sound but a dedication to honoring their beliefs. Their music has long carried themes of political resistance and community, and that presence extends beyond the stage. This year it extended to my home state of Minnesota.

As a Minnesota resident, it’s hard not to think about their recent appearance at First Avenue, where members of the band joined Tom Morello and Bruce Springsteen in support of local communities pushing back against federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The appreciation of that moment is beyond my writing capabilities, so I will let it speak for itself.

The stage filled with fog, blue and white lights cutting at different angles and the band began their set with “Re-Education (Through Labor).” The crowd found what little room was left, pushing forward to greet them. As the song concluded, McIlrath paused briefly to greet the crowd and introduce the band, noting their Chicago roots, before launching into “Under the Knife.”  By the third song, McIlrath stepped off the stage and climbed onto the barricade to connect with their crowd who reached up to greet him.

The density of the room made attempting to exit the photo pit difficult. Movement was nearly impossible. But there was an energy of unity rather than conflict that vibrated about the room. The first pushes of what would become the foundation later for crowd surfing and moshing.

Then, midway through the set, everything shifted.

The band stepped back, transitioning into an acoustic section. “Hero of War” was performed by McIlrath and guitarist Zach Blair, the room settling into a focused stillness. Then Blair stepped offstage, leaving McIlrath alone to perform “Swing Life Away.” The crowd lit up the room with the flashlights on the phones, singing along.  Hell, one guy even went old school with a lighter. A two song mini set that allowed for a pause before tying the set together with “Worth Dying for” and culminating in “Prayer of the Refugee,” before the band stepped off stage.

Returning for their encore, the band tied their set together with “Make It Stop,” “Behind Closed Doors,” and “Savior.” And with that, the band waved their crowd goodbye. The veil had lifted, and we would exit the venue and return to our daily lives. As we have done before and will do again. A reminder that life shifts and turns in ways we cannot control.  But in the chaos we continue to come together and create spaces we control collectively.  A space where we stand shoulder to shoulder, facing the same direction, unified in one experience.

What started as a canceled night in Fargo turned into a trip to a different city, a different country, a different venue, and a show that felt earned by sheer will. From Koyo’s steady rise, to Destroy Boys’ intensity, to Rise Against delivering exactly what the moment demanded, the night built into something of a cleansing

Not everything goes as planned. And not all moments will mend themselves.  Sometimes it takes collective will, and a willingness to work together to make something happen.  So with that I would like to thank Rise Against, Destroy Boys, Koyo, Winnipeg, and Burt Cummings Theatre.  And that one guy eating pizza at the Fargo Dome helped me along the way.