New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Disco Punk (a collaboration between
Disco Presents and Third String Entertainment) continues its partnership for a second year with the 2024 edition of the award-winning So What?!
Music Festival taking place June 1 & 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Recognized as "The best music festival" by the Dallas Observer in 2022 and 2023, So What?! will continue featuring one of the most robust and diverse lineups on any festival circuit, accentuated by unique presentations including Album Plays (fan favorites celebrating landmark LPs) and Special Reunion: The Secret Handshake.
Hailed by the likes of
Revolver for its "eclectic and all encompassing" lineups, the 16th edition of So What?! will feature EDM and Pop Punk stars including Norma Jean, P.O.D., and Skillet, past headliners Asking Alexandria,
Mayday Parade, The Devil Wears Prada, Attila, and Underoath, who will perform their acclaimed album 'They're Only Chasing Safety." Additional Album Plays include
Switchfoot (The Beautiful Letdown);
Emery (The Weak's End);
Saosin with Cove Reber (Self-titled): He Is Legend (I Am Hollywood); The
Amity Affliction (Let The Ocean Take Me); and The
Almost (Southern Weather). "To me, this is a very well-rounded lineup of up-and-coming and legacy acts that is very much on brand with our rock/metal/pop punk/emo core fanbase," says Mike Ziemer, co-founder of So What!?.
Elaborating on Album Plays, Mike adds, "The idea is that bands come out and perform their older albums or post-popular albums and a few crowd favorites. The 20-year anniversary of all these iconic albums is a reminder of a huge moment in our music scene where all of these bands were touring together and breaking out at the same time. It was like the emo/post-hardcore renaissance. Being that this is our 20th anniversary as a company, we wanted to celebrate a mix of the music that got us into doing what we do mixed with newer music that is the reason we still do what we do."
Another highlight of this year's So What?! Festival is Special Reunion: The Secret Handshake. "The Secret Handshake is originally from the DFW area and played a lot of our festivals and shows in the past. They stopped performing when the singer decided to pursue his other (current) project, Mystery Skulls," Mike explains. "When we approached him and his agent they were super stoked about the idea and the rest is history!"
Further deepening the festival's sense of history is the fact that So What?! is an all-ages event. "We have a long history of people growing up coming to our festival and continuing to show up year after year," Mike explains. "These attendees go from high school kids to college adults to married to parents, but the music goes with them and as time goes on, their ability to attend shows is limited. Being truly all ages means they can bring their kids, or that young kids who find music on video games or TikTok can attend and begin that cycle so many people have since 2004. These moments feel unique to our festival because this type of music (emo/metal/pop punk) is actually pretty niche compared to other more mainstream genres."
The unique approach to music festivals has won So What?! the Dallas Observer's Best Festival award two years in a row (2022 and 2023). Reflecting on the winning streak and the formula behind it, Mike renews his commitment to its vision. "There's a handful of new festivals and we definitely have competition, but we have the best fans and a loyal community here that loves what we do and appreciates the amount of support we show to local DFW and
Texas artists. Most festivals pop up and leave out all the local vendors, musicians, etc., we don't do that."
Fueling the optimism is the alliance between Third String Entertainment and
Disco Presents as
Disco Punk. "We've had a few different partners in the past, but none of them live and breathe the festival space the way
Disco does," Mike says. "Donnie and his team really believe in enhancing the fan and artists' experiences and making everyone that attends or performs a fan of the festival. There's a reason why a lot of these artists have worked with Donnie for so long, they create unforgettable moments and that's exactly what we want to do for our fans and bands."
Founded by Mike Ziemer and Orlando Mendoza, So What?! First launched in 2008, blending pop-punk, rock, and metal. Since their start, So What?! has grown to become Texas' fastest growing festival of this kind, with past headliners including superstars such as
Simple Plan, Trippie Redd, 100 Gecs, Rae Sremmurd, and Underoath. The partnership with
Disco Presents allows each to flex their own strengths in a way that complements the end goal - creating an immersive and inviting experience for fans headlined by top tier talent. For more information including ticket prices, payment plan options and more visit SoWhatMusicFestival.com
So What?! 2024 Lineup:
3OH!3
ASKING ALEXANDRIA
ATTILA
BAD WOLVES
BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT
BOYS LIKE GIRLS
BRAVE DAYS
CALVA LOUISE
CATCH YOUR BREATH
COLORBLIND
CURRENTS
DAISY GRENADE
DYING WISH
EMERY
FELICITY
FLY ABOVE FIRE
FROM THE TIDES
HE IS LEGEND
IANN DIOR
ICON FOR HIRE
ITISWHATITIS
JNNY
JOHNNY BOOTH
KNUCKLE PUCK
LOCKJAW
LØLØ
LOST IN SEPARATION
MAGGIE MILES
MAYDAY PARADE
MOONSTONE.
MUGSHOT
NORMA JEAN
NOT ENOUGH SPACE
NOTIONS
OCEANO
OH SLEEPER
P.O.D.
PEOPLE R UGLY
POINT NORTH
RELIENT K
SAID THE PEOPLE
SAOSIN
SILLY GOOSE
SILVERSTEIN
SKILLET
SLAY SQUAD
SLEEP THEORY
SLOW JOY
SOPHIE POWERS
SWITCHFOOT
THE ALMOST
THE AMITY AFFLICTION
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT
THE SECRET HANDSHAKE *reunion set*
THOUSAND BELOW
TX2
UNDER CURRENTS
UNDEROATH
VEIL OF MAYA
WAITING 4 APRIL
