Under the glow of red stage lighting, Karly Soto’s voice echoed throughout Beat Kitchen’s performance space as she screamed into the mic. Crowd members bob their heads in unison to a mix of electric guitar strums and sharp steady drumming that blend with Soto’s vocal range. 

Pasture, a hardcore punk band from Chicago, was the opening act of the “Cleveland Hardcore” event at Beat Kitchen on 2100 W. Belmont Ave. The 6 p.m. scheduled event included 5 bands; Pasture, Footballhead, Absolute Truth, Si Dios Quiere and the main event of the night, Last Gasp from Cleveland, Ohio. 

Among the various hardcore punk bands, Soto was the only lead female vocalist. She feels like female representation in the hardcore scene has grown and will continue to, Soto said. 

“I feel like it’s evolving a lot, especially when it comes to women or femmes and people of color. It’s really taken a turn. It’s not just like this white, male-dominated thing anymore,” Soto said. 

Known from her other band called Snuffed, Soto has always enjoyed the hardcore scene of Chicago, despite growing up in Chesterton, Indiana. Although she has always been a music lover, Soto said her first introduction to the hardcore scene was at the age of 19 when she started attending shows. 

“I kind of got more into the hardcore scene when I started going to DIY shows. It kind of started with like going to grind shows or basement shows,” Soto said. She eventually met her bandmates through these events which provided her a sense of community, Soto said. 

A major theme in Soto’s lyrics is conflict including her experiences faced due to her gender, relationships and mental health. 

Her favorite song, Lobotomy Dream, is inspired by mental health struggles and internal conflicts. This song was written for her other band, Snuffed. 

“I’ve honestly struggled with mental illness, kind of my entire life and I feel like as an adult now that I’m a lot older and I’m able to get more resources on my own, I’ve been able to improve a lot,” Soto said. “But I would say a lot of my lyrics are inspired by my struggles with that.” 

More recently, Soto’s writing process has been politically inspired, she said.

“It’s a little more politically inspired than some of my other stuff. You know, just kind of like anti-fascism,” Soto said. “The way the world is right now and the things that are happening just affect me and I know that a lot of other people feel that way also.”

Beyond current events, Soto is also inspired by women who have come before her in the hardcore industry. Bands such as Scowl, Gel and Thirdface have a special place in her heart, she said. 

“​​It’s really awesome to see not only just women and other femme people, [but also] LGBTQ people and just all different types of people coming together to enjoy something,” Soto said. “I think that the representation in hardcore with women has come a really long way.”

Soto’s band was scheduled to perform seven songs during their act which included fast-paced and energetic clashing of sounds that come together as hardcore. She invited the audience to “dance and move around,” which prompted a couple members of the crowd to begin two-stepping, an arm-waving movement with a kick that created a running-in-place motion.

Since their first show in May, Pasture has played at venues throughout Chicago. The band includes Karly Soto, Vince Guilano, Chris Guajardo, Eddy Garcia and Joey Marchese. 

While Soto never thought she would ever be in a band, the community of hardcore encouraged her to try something that she was interested in. 

”Don’t give up and follow what you want to do, because in the end, people are probably going to be about it, you know. So follow your dreams. As cliche as that may sound, just, you know, keep at it.”

For some audience members, witnessing Soto and other female creatives in the hardcore punk scene offers inspiration.

“It’s really cool to see women of color in positions that are creative and push the scene even further,” Calla Flanagan from Logan Square said. 

Having been involved in the scene as a fan and performance photographer for seven years, Flanagan feels like barriers in the scene continue to reduce, especially for Latinx communities in Chicago she said. 

“Like the South Side, that was more of a hardcore scene and then the North Side was more like indie rock [and] garage rock. But over time, I think the pandemic really helped break down the borders too,” Flanagan said. 

With a glass in hand, Grace Latzig from Humboldt Park talks about how hardcore is a niche form of art that brings people together. “I think it’s a really inclusive space,” Latzig said. 

As Soto twists, shouts and jumps on stage, Pasture fan Jonathan Rosenbaum enjoys the band’s tempo, nodding his head in rhythm to the heavy riffs. 

“I like when there’s a large dichotomy in speaking voice and demeanor. Their singing voice is really friendly and then it just goes crazy,” the Wicker Park resident said. “I like bands that produce a lot of noise, and they kind of have consistent noise within their beats.” 

Before Soto exits the stage, she announces to the crowd that her band plans to drop a demo within the next few months. While she continues to make more music, Soto also hopes more females become involved in the scene, she said. 

“The more femmes that start representing in the scene, the more other people are inspired to do the same thing and I think it’s just kind of like a chain reaction in a way,” Soto said.

Copy edited by Doreen Abril Albuerne-Rodriguez