Cowtown Counterculture: A Historical Analysis of the Punk Scene of the Colorado Front Range in the late 1970s

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Keira Richards

Abstract or Description

Cowtown Counterculture is a historical analysis of the Punk Movement of the Colorado Front Range in the late 1970s. “Punk” is the self-prescribed moniker for a counterculture movement that began in the mid 1970s. The movement concentrated the disillusionment amongst adolescents with capitalism and the resurgence of conservatism. into social activism and Do-It-Yourself expressionism. The Colorado Front Range was home to a small but vibrant Punk scene which appears to have lacked some of the discrimination and violence present in larger scenes like Los Angeles New York, and the UK. Instead, The Front Range scene supported and allied with other marginalized groups like the LGBTQ and Latino communities. This entanglement of fringe groups is likely due the isolation, values, and limited population of Colorado at the time. This project, and its accompanying website, offers a new perspective on the local cultural heritage as well as the wider Punk movement.