Ska-punk band Joker's Republic performs with support from Sad Snack and Friends With Salad at Starday Tavern.
Joker's Republic play Starday Tavern on Monday, October 12, with Sad Snack and Friends With Salad opening. It's a ska-punk bill on a Monday night, so if you're usually in for the weekend and out by Sunday, this one asks you to push your night out by a day.
Joker's Republic are a New Jersey ska-punk band from Belleville, and they play as a power trio: Pat Elwood on drums and vocals, Austen Gray on guitar and vocals, and Billy Smolen on bass and vocals. With all three singing, the vocals are spread across the stage rather than coming from a single front person. They call their fans the 'Citizens of the Joker's Republic,' and the whole thing is built around that community. They've been on the road throughout 2026, so this is one of the stops on a long run.
Their album The Hand You've Been Dealt is out on Punkerton Records. It was produced by Roger Lima of Less Than Jake and Rehasher, and mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Eric Taft. Having a Less Than Jake member behind the boards puts the record in the same lineage as the ska-punk that defined the 90s, and the power trio format keeps the live sound lean.
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The show starts at 7 PM at Starday Tavern, 6517 SE Foster Rd, Portland, OR 97206. Sad Snack and Friends With Salad open for Joker's Republic.
