Anything but a Quiet Night at Babefest 2025
June 14, 2025 - Tampa, FL
Josh Bradley of Creative Loafing stated it best when he warned “whiny bitch boys” to stay away from Love Your Rebellion’s Babefest. Babefest seeks to spread the mission of Love Your Rebellion through music, celebrating the diversity of marginalized groups through the arts. Spanning two dates, one in South Florida and one in Tampa, 2025’s Babefest lineup perfectly encapsulates this mission.
Vocalist/Bassist Collin Swayzer performs in hennin
As the show's first act, Cat Skratch, had a daunting mission in warming up the crowd. They took to the stage in full princess attire, an act of protest for No Kings Day. However, this isn’t a one-off occurrence as the band often themes their on-stage costumes. The four-piece act rocked the stage as they moved through a mixture of their nu metal-hardcore fusion works and three covers. Their covers included two Kittie songs and “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry, remixed to have the signature Cat Skratch edge. Admittedly, I was already a fan of the band before this show, having their song “I Hate Women” in several of my playlists. However, seeing them rock the stage this night makes it hard to believe that they have only been performing together since 2023.
Except You Vocalist and Love Your Rebellion founder, Angela Page
The following act was Except You, a South Florida thrash punk band formed in 2020. However, outside of performing, vocalist Angela Page played a very special role in this event. Page is actually the founder of Love Your Rebellion and has been putting on Babefest since 2016.
Except You was an absolute treat to see live, especially as someone unfamiliar with their music prior. Their sound is incredibly evocative of both riot grrrl acts of the 90s and old school thrash bands. Every moment of their set was just so full of energy, each song going louder and faster than the one that came before. At the time of writing this, they only have 122 monthly listeners, and I am happy to become #123.
Peace Cult, took to the stage as the third act of the night. The quartet is well-known if you’re tuned into the alternative music Tampa scene, with over 200K Spotify monthly listeners. Their sound skews more pop-rock and, in my opinion, evokes the sound of early Paramore.
Despite having seen their name in many Tampa lineups and even having a couple of songs in my playlist, I had never seen them perform live. Peace Cult absolutely rocks on studio recordings, but I think they may be even better live. Their energy on stage is contagious, and the crowd was absolutely in tune with every minute of their set. This energy uplifted the already energetic setlist they had. Standouts of their set included: “Liar, Liar” and “Brainwashed”.
The Crowbar is a 300-person capacity venue and provides an intimacy that makes it easy to see the frenetic energy as Babe Haven took to the stage with “Gas Pedal”.
The headlining act, Babe Haven, a North Carolina-based girl punk band, made sure that that did not happen. I’m going to be completely honest when I say that I’m a fan of Babe Haven, especially their sophomore album Nuisance. Babe Haven is are rightfully cementing their spot in punk music, fitting in with both modern bands like Mannequin Pussy and also older acts like Kittie. Despite being a big fan, I had never seen them live because of too many scheduling conflicts. Their music to me is bold, brash, aggressive, and empowering in all the best ways. Despite being the last act of the evening, energy was still high even as they closed with “Can’t Call This Cat”.
This may have been one of my favorite concerts I’ve ever been to. Every single band brought something different to the table, from nu metal to thrash to pop rock to hardcore. However, every single band did the work to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and create a safe space during turbulent times. All four bands will have more tour dates this year, and if you have the chance, I recommend going.
