CBGB Fest Reboots With Morrissey, Patti Smith

After a rockin’ debut incarnation in 2025 headlined by Jack White and Iggy Pop, the CBGB Festival will set up shop again Sept. 26 at Under the K Bridge Park, the open-air venue literally underneath the Kosciuszko Bridge roadway in Brooklyn.

Also booked for the event are hometown indie heroes Interpol, the new Frank Carter-fronted version of the Sex Pistols, Bikini Kill, the Sleater-Kinney/Fred Armisen Ramones cover band the Return of Jackie and Judy, Violet Grohl, Mannequin Pussy, Buzzcocks, Bad Nerves, High Vis, Agnostic Front and Circle Jerks. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (April 24).

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Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the CBGB-fueled New York rock explosion led by artists such as Smith, Talking Heads, Television and the Ramones. “Building on last year’s CBGB Festival, we’ve worked hard to create an even stronger experience for fans this year,” says CBGB’s Phil Sandhaus. “For decades, CBGB defined the punk scene and helped shape a generation of music lovers in New York and beyond. This year’s lineup honors that legacy while celebrating the past, present and future of punk and alternative music. No other festival on the East Coast offers that.”

The selection of Morrissey as a headliner is bound to raise eyebrows following a spotty track record of canceling or postponing some 200 headlining appearances in the past decade-plus. The CBGB appearance will come ahead of another rare U.S. festival appearance for the former Smiths frontman at Darker Waves on Nov. 14 in Huntington Beach, Ca.

CBGB closed its doors on the Bowery in 2006 after a farewell concert by Smith. Its building is now occupied by a John Varvatos store, although the CBGB name has since been licensed for a restaurant at Newark International Airport.

In 2018, Target provoked the ire of New York music lovers by tweaking CBGB’s famous awning to celebrate the opening of a new retail location in Astor Place. The four-lettered acronym was swapped out for “TRGT” and “BANDS,” which referred not to music but complimentary Band-Aids and exercise bands with Target logos on them.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

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