Punktastic has been a platform for underground music for over fifteen years. Though the staff has changed, the mission hasn’t. We’re a committed and dedicated group of passionate music fans that enjoy talking about punk, rock, metal, and hardcore. We’re real music fans talking about real music, and Punktastic is our labour of love.
Thanks to a whole host of contributors and staff who have dedicated their time, we’re now hugely proud to sponsor stages at major festivals, organise exclusive shows in the UK, Europe and the US, and to provide up-to-date, honest and interesting coverage for a whole host of bands.
We try to help you discover music you wouldn’t find anywhere else. We do that by giving bands exposure we think they deserve, telling the truth about what’s going on, and sometimes by getting our hands dirty and changing the scene ourselves.
Paul Savage founded the site back in 2000, leaving in 2010. New owner/publisher James Brown took over and worked with editor Tom Aylott until mid-2014 when Ben Tipple succeeded him as editor. In October 2016, Glen Bushell became our new editor in chief. And in July 2017, Penny Bennett took on the mantle as our new editor.
Many people make Punktastic possible:
James Brown – MD and Publisher
Penny Bennett – Editor-in-chief
Mark Johnson – Deputy Editor
Chris Hilson – Reviews Editor
James Davenport – Deputy News Editor
Eloise Bulmer – Deputy News Editor
Olly Hanks – Deputy Live Editor
Sam Smith – London Events Promoter
Christopher Lee – Staff Writer
Conor Mackie – Staff Writer
James Lee – Staff Writer
Jay Hampshire – Staff Writer
Rhian Wilkinson – Staff Writer
Steven Haddock – Staff Photographer
Will Whitby – Staff Writer
Our team also includes a gang of brilliant columnists, contributors, photographers and other creatives, including:
Adam Graver, Alec Evans, Alex Volonte, Andreas Yiasoumi, Andy Leddington, Ashwin Bhandari, Chris Robinson, Conor Walker, Dave Bull, David Jackson, Derek Bremner, Emma Greveson, Emma Stone, Fay Cranham, Graham Berry, Hayley Fearnley, James Lee, Jay Hampshire, Jess Tagliani, Leo Troy, Liam Knowles, Louis Kerry, Marcel Le Bachelet, Matt Borucki, Matthew Wilson, Paul Silver, Paul Storr, Sandra Sorensen, Sarah Tsang, Sean Littlewood, Susannah Bennett, Tom Daniel and William Scott.
If you’re interested in joining the team, send an email with some of your best, recent work to james at punktastic.com