Happy Campers: A Camp Punksylvania Interview with Laura Rose, Co-Founder & CEO

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Grab your s'mores, your bug spray, a shot of Malort and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is returning to Northeast Pennsylvania to take over the West End Fairgrounds in Gilbert, PA with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like 7 Seconds, The Bronx, Less Than Jake, will take place from 5 July until 7 July tickets are available here. Laura Rose, Co-Founder & CEO of Riot Squad Media and Camp Punksylvania joined TGEFM to discuss this year's festival for the first installment of our Camp-centric interview series: Happy Campers. Check it out below and I'll see you at the campfire!

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! You are gearing up for this year's Camp Punksylvania in July, and the lineup is AMAZING!  What has the planning process looked like for your team this year?  Have you begun stockpiling Malort?

Thanks so much for having me and for the kind words! We're so stoked on this year for so many reasons. Camp has always been in September, but it's in July this year! We're pumped for warmer nights, but chopping 2 months off our normal planning schedule has been a whirlwind. Our team has been crushing it, like always. And don't worry, we've got plenty of Malort. 

What extracurricular activities do you have planned for campers this year?

This is punk rock summer camp, there's tons to do! Campers (and non campers too!) can enjoy our interactive scavenger hunt, a bunch of different games, arts & crafts, yoga workshops, therapy sessions, tattoo shops, nature trails, vendor market & more. We even have a round trip Summer Camp shuttle bus from/to Philly, fully equipped with a Camp Counselor!

One of the things I was most impressed with at the previous Camps was the care put into making everyone feel safe.  What are some of the steps you are taking to help ensure mentally and physically healthy campers?

This is super important to us. As mentioned above, we're really excited to bring some licensed therapists & resources of all kinds to Camp. If you need to talk, sit down & cool off, or even report something that's not sitting right with you, we're here to help you out, at whatever level you need us. Festivals can be overwhelming for a number of reasons and we're really excited to have people like The Hardcore Therapist, The Punk Rock Therapist, C.R.I.E.S. and The Vent Tent (just to name a few!) joining us. 

Last year, you told us you'd perform “Manthem” at the end of the season Camp talent show;  and the entire Riot Squad family performed it with Working Class Stiffs. Let's see if we can manifest again.. what song are you performing around the campfire this year?

Man, that was one of the best times of my life! It was so cool that it actually happened! This year, I'm gonna have to say “Quit Bitchin!” by our dear friends Fat Chance. That band has brought so many beautiful people together. I hope they realize how important they are to so many of us. 

Many of the Camp Punx artists have not been afraid to get political.  If you had told me a decade ago we'd be looking at a campaign trail made up of a pair of clueless octogenarians, Russian disinformation and a laptop of dickpics  I'd have told you there's no way things could get so bleak…but here we are and it turns out you'd have been underselling theshitshow happening inside the dumpster fire of American government. How is the already absurd presidential race and performative legislation playing into your booking, the live experience and your mental health?

For us, it's always been about unity. I think this shitshow that we are all living in together makes us crave that even more. It's important for us to showcase artists who share the same ethos we do and who stand for the same things we do. We're all different, and that should be celebrated. Giving these artists a platform to use their voices is exactly what we are here to do. Punk has always been political, and I think we've got more of a reason now to be fucking louder than ever. Let's be real, my mental health is in the shitter just like damn near everyone else's, but bringing these people together…artists, attendees, crew & everyone involved…even if it's just for a few days, makes me realize there really is good in this world. 

Last year alone, there was an engagement and an invasion by flea market dirt merchants. What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with Camp so far? What's been the most unexpected? The weirdest?

Dude, every single year we've had some wild things go down that we'll just never forget. Year 1, I'll never forget waking up in the morning seeing all of our crew's vehicles wrapped in neon pink tape. I'm talking like….thousands of feet of pink tape. Definitely one of the weirdest memories. Year 2, we got rained out on the last day and moved everything into an old banquet room of a shitty hotel across the street so the show could go on. Guttermouth played shirtless in the basement of a Days Inn. I don't think there are too many people on this planet that can say they witnessed that shit. And last year it was the Flea Market Invasion of the century. For sure our most unexpected, especially after a damn near perfect event. We decided to make the move to Gilbert after that fiasco. That engagement was amazing, though! They got engaged during The What Nows?! set…and now The What Nows?! are playing their wedding. That's just so cool. 

Camp is changing locations this year. How do you expect the new venue at the Fairgrounds in 2024 to be different than last year?

We knew we needed to move and we had a hefty list of requirements to do so. We really take our attendee's feedback into consideration each year, so finding West End was a big game changer for us. The terrain is much flatter than previous years, so our guests who require ADA accommodations are able to enjoy the property with much more ease. There's tons of trees to provide shady spaces to hang, a grassy area in front of the stage…because moshing on gravel is not the best, built in bathroom & shower facilities, tons of power, water stations & so much more. 

We've all got a few, what is your biggest regret? An act you turned down, advice you didn't take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently in the booking/promoting role?

I don't have any regrets, and that's the truth. I feel like everything really does happen for a reason, no matter how shitty or hard it may be. There are so many things I have learned from and that I am still learning from, but I don't regret anything. I guess looking back if I could change anything, it would be to put my foot down sooner than I did. I kind of let people walk all over me for a long time, because I just wanted to be a people pleaser and not make anyone upset. I let a lot of agents kind of boss me around at the beginning because I really didn't know any better. I am forever grateful to people like Ron Martinez, Brent Friedman & Katie Perry who have been constant sources of support and always honest with me while I learn and navigate this industry. 

One of the coolest things about last year's Camp was the community, or cultish togetherness may be more accurate (laughs).  Everyone seems to truly love one another and jump for the chance to celebrate each other, like during last year's “Manthem” moment.  How does the team build that comradery?

To be honest, it's natural. This is home for us and our door is always open. We love watching each other succeed. We love watching each other laugh and smile and do things we love to do. I think that shit is contagious and it feels really great to celebrate each other. We're also not afraid to be raw, and real and vulnerable either and that is important. We give a shit, we truly do. That's how you build trust. People want to be part of something that feels good, that feels real. This is as real as it gets.

The punk and ska scenes have almost always been at the forefront of inclusion and diversity within the music scenes. The flipside of course is that the gatekeeping in the scene is also very prevalent?  Why do you think the genre brings in such a welcoming community and is so happy to let everyone in and also seems to shut the doors so quickly behind themselves?

The punk police are always hard at work, you know? These scenes are really quick to gate-keep and just shut people out, but at the same time, the whole world is this way now. I think people are confused. I think people are quick to call shots and not actually put in the work to learn about the things they are standing up (or not standing up) for. It's important to have conversations and try to see other perspectives. We found a common ground with a love of this music, there's got to be a common ground elsewhere too. On the other hand, I think we're at a point where a lot of us don't give a fuck anymore about trying to find a common ground with people who very clearly stand against our beliefs or who we are.  It's a really weird time to be alive. 

What do you want the campers to say about the weekend when they write home from camp this year?

I want people to write about their home away from home. I want people to write about the new friends they've made, the new bands they've fallen in love with and the new crazy cult tattoo they got at this weird summer camp festival. I want them to talk about the friendship bracelets they made with strangers who are now coming over for Christmas break this year, I want them to talk about the moment they swelled up with tears in the pit with their friends to a song that means the world to them. I want people to feel all the wonderful things they should feel when going away for a much deserved break from the world. 

Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands, artists or vendors are you most excited to see this year?

What a loaded question. I'm excited for so much! The lineup this year is absolutely ridiculous. Bad Cop Bad Cop is a band that has saved my life on a couple occasions, so to finally have them grace our stage is going to be a pretty religious experience for me, I know it. The Bronx and The Dirty Nil are 2 of my all time favorite bands to catch live and I can't wait. I'm always so excited to see my best friends, the RSM bands, Working Class Stiffs, The What Nows?! and The Chemical Imbalance. They work so hard and seeing them up there makes my heart beat faster. Super stoked to catch Beef and Soji as well. Philly has been dishing out some amazing bands lately and I'm excited to showcase them. 
For vendors, I cannot wait to party with our pals at Stupid Rad Merch Co and Punk Rock Saves Lives. They are truly staples at Camp! Jared Gaines is coming back for another year and he is one of my favorite artists, so I'm excited to check out what he's got for us! Misfits Market is one of the coolest parts of Camp. I love checking out all the art, homemade wares and oddities.

Was there anything I missed that you'd like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?

Camp is so much more than just a festival. Those late night singalongs around a fire with your idols, scavenger hunts & craft stations, pop up ‘meat & greets' (because the bands serve you hot dogs!) and building friendships & making memories are really what Camp is all about for us.