Positive Force DC is an activist collective that came from the 1980s DC punk and hardcore scene. We seek radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment.
We organize benefit shows, free concerts, art shows, film screenings, protests, and educational events while also doing direct work with people in need. We believe in building supportive, transformational community, where friendship, fun and mutual aid mix freely. We are not about dogma, but a spirit of flexible, creative rebellion that has room for many specific beliefs.
June 19th: Juneteenth racial justice rally: 1pm - 6:30pm - The Messthetics, Swing Kids, Head Roc, Soroche, Des Demonas, Lilo Gonzalez, Celebration Summer, little a. @ ** Now at ST. Stephens Church due to possible weather complications ** 1525 Newton Street NW.
June 20th: benefit concert for Ayuda and Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network: Girls Against Boys, Swiz, War On Women, Maafa, whitepicketfence (Special guest: Kevin Seconds) @ St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St. NW.
Now in St Stephens Sanctuary, Tickets can be ordered here
June 21st: benefit concert for Gaza Soup Kitchen and We Are Family DC: Soulside, Holy Rollers, Tsunami, No Man (Special guest: Pete Stahl & Enoch Thompson of Scream) @ St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St. NW.
Advance tickets can be ordered here
June 22nd: benefit concert for Defend DC Coalition and SMYAL: (Headliner - TBA), Bed Maker, Samuel S.C., Sensor Ghost, Special guest: Miri Tyler of Ekko Atral/Pretty Bitter @ St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St. NW.
SOLD OUT
As of Monday, March 17th Tickets are ON SALE. More information on these shows, as well as protests, service work and educational events planned for the PF 40th will be coming soon!
For more information, please write PF40th@gmail.com and/or message us at https://www.instagram.com/positiveforcedc/
or you can write Mark Andersen at positiveforceworld@gmail.com - for most current info check our Instagram page, we update that more regularly than here!
Be more than a witness! Contact us to find out how.
POSITIVE FORCE DC 40TH ANNIVERSARY GATHERING, JUNE 19-23, 2025 SCHEDULE
2. Thursday, June 19th: Juneteenth racial justice rally w/ The Messthetics, Head Roc, Swing Kids, Soroche, Des Demonas, Lilo Gonzalez, Celebration Summer, little a - 1pm-630pm ** Now at ST. Stephens Church due to possible weather complications ** with literature tables and speakers)
4. Friday, June 20th, Grocery box assembly for low-income seniors w/ We Are Family DC (Salvation Army parking lot, 1-3pm)
5. Friday, June 20th: Punk Percussion Protest at Russian Embassy (3:30-5pm) -- bring your anger about Russia's brutal invasion and Trump's betrayal of Ukraine and something to make noise with!
6. Friday, June 20th benefit concert for Ayuda and Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network: Girls Against Boys, Swiz, War On Women, Maafa, whitepicketfence (special guest: Kevin Seconds) 6-10pm, St. Stephen’s Church.
7. June 21st: We Are Family grocery delivery to low-income seniors in the Shaw neighborhood (9am-1pm, Salvation Army parking lot)
9. June 21st: Positive Force: Punk Politics Across the Decades panel: Flora Lucini of Maafa and 1865; Jenny Toomey of the Ford Foundation, Tsunami and Simple Machines Records; Katy Otto of Bald Rapunzel, Del Cielo, Trophy Wife and Exotic Fever Records; Kevin Mattson, author of several books, professor at Ohio University; Ryan Fletcher, founder and executive director of Movement Media and Wade Fletcher, professor at George Mason University. Moderator Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, Soulside and Girls Against Boys. (3-4:30pm, MLK Library)
10. June 21st: benefit concert for Gaza Soup Kitchen and We Are Family DC, w/ Soulside, Holy Rollers, Tsunami, No Man (Special guest: Pete Stahl & Enoch Thompson of Scream) 6-10pm, St. Stephen’s Church.
11. June 22nd: Punk Percussion Protest at the White House
12. June 22nd benefit concert for Defend DC Coalition and SMYAL w/ Bed Maker, Swiz, Samuel S.C., Sensor Ghost, (Special guest: Miri Tyler of Ekko Atral & Pretty Bitter) 6-10pm, St. Stephen’s Church.
13. June 23rd – Meeting the Moment, Building the Future – details tba
14. Vinyl re-issue of State Of The Union In honor of the PF 40th Anniversary Gathering, Dischord Records will be re-issuing this influential 1989 benefit compilation album which raised more than $20,000 for the Community for Creative Nonviolence (CCNV) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in its original iteration. Compiled by Positive Force co-founder Mark Andersen with help from many other PF members, this color vinyl re-issue will benefit We Are Family DC.
15. July 6–17 -- Positive Force DC and Revolution Summer at 40 (American Film Institute film series): Join us for a four-film series celebrating the 40th anniversary of DC punk's Revolution Summer and the birth — and continuing work — of punk activist collective Positive Force DC. During the summer of 1985, the DC punk scene underwent a sea change as a collective of musicians, artists and organizers — centered around Dischord Records and bands such as Rites of Spring, Embrace, Beefeater and Fire Party — came together to challenge the machismo, violence and nihilism that had come to characterize parts of the hardcore scene by the mid-1980s. Reorienting the movement towards social justice, protest and political change, with a broadened, emotionally honest sound in tow, the DC punk community harnessed the power of music to inspire, educate and activate, tackling local and global issues alike, and staging impromptu anti-apartheid “punk percussion protests” at the South African Embassy. Out of what became known as Revolution Summer sprung Positive Force DC, a collective founded by Mark Andersen and Kevin Mattson, which went on to organize hundreds of benefit concerts and protests, inspiring a new generation of punk-propelled activists. All tickets $8! Special thanks to Positive Force DC co-founder Mark Andersen and filmmakers Robin Bell, Paul Bishow, Scott Crawford, Joe Gross, Jeff Krulik, Sam Lavine, Joseph Pattisall and James June Schneider.
Showtimes @ the American Film Institute
PUNK THE CAPITAL: BUILDING A SOUND MOVEMENT
Sunday, July 06, 2025
06:00 PM, followed by Q&A with filmmaker James June Schneider, musician Alec MacKaye (the Faith, Hammered Hulls) and Matt Moffatt, member of Positive Force DC and owner of Smash Records
POSITIVE FORCE: MORE THAN A WITNESS
Thursday, July 10, 2025
7:00 PM, Preceded by the world premiere of the music video for Fidelity Jones’ “Stay the Hand” and followed by Q&A with filmmaker Robin Bell, artist/activist Nadine Bloch, musician Onam Emmet (Beefeater, Fidelity Jones) and artist/activist Kosmo Vinyl of The Clash
WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, DC
Sunday, July 13, 2025
6:00 PM followed by Q&A with curators Joe Gross and Jeff Krulik and curator/editor Joseph Pattisall
SALAD DAYS: A DECADE OF PUNK IN WASHINGTON, DC Thursday, July 17, 2025 6:45pm, followed by Q&A with filmmaker Scott Crawford, photographer/producer Jim Saah and musician J. Robbins (Jawbox)
Feel free to connect with us over email and/or social media!