This was a weekend full of violent spectacle, and by that of course I mean that Sound And Fury went down in Los Angeles. The Sound And Fury fest, North America's biggest hardcore festival by far, moved to LA's Exposition Park a couple of years ago, and it was probably the single most important annual event on the hardcore calendar even before it started drawing gigantic post-pandemic crowds. Once again, those of us who were not there can look upon this year's footage and feel absolute despondence, which might be slightly lessened by the fact that we made it through the weekend without anyone kicking us in the jaw.
The biggest news from this year's Sound And Fury was the return of Have Heart, the Boston firebrands who broke up in 2009. Have Heart's legend as only grown since the band ended. In 2019, they played a series of reunion shows, and the one in Massachusetts drew nearly 10,000 people. By plenty of estimates, it was the biggest DIY hardcore show in American history. They also headlined that year's Sound And Fury, and videos from that set were incredible. This year, Have Heart announced another reunion. Before Sound And Fury, they already played Detroit's Tied Down and Manchester's Outbreak, and they've got more shows coming up. Still, Sound And Fury was probably the main event. Last night, they might've played to more people than at that 2019 Massachusetts show.
Have Heart headlined the second Sound And Fury night, and Fiddlehead, the current band from singer Pat Flynn and drummer Shawn Costa, headlined the first night. Have Heart didn't play any new songs or anything last night, but the sheer vision of them leading this massive crowd through those cathartic singalongs is absolutely stirring. Watch some videos from last night's set below.
Have Heart's California contemporaries Touché Amoré are past Sound And Fury headliners, and they played a surprise set at the festival on Saturday. (Fellow Sound And Fury legends Ceremony did the same thing last year.) It looks like people were ready.
Torture had a Pit Island pic.twitter.com/GCd8TsKwHH
— bo (@bosxe) July 14, 2024






