Review: Rockstar Energy Open 2026, Portland, O.R., Where Skateboarding and Music Collided

Leo Martinez
4 hours ago
5 min read

Rockstar Energy Open has now wrapped up its third year at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon. The event was reminiscent of events in the early 2000s such as the Vans Warped Tour, when skating contests happened alongside live punk bands that were popular at the time. There was definitely something nostalgic about this event, as skating and punk have seemed to evolve in separate directions over the last 20 years. It was fun to see both together in full swing again.

Growing up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s I was introduced to punk music through the neighborhood skaters in my low-income apartment building. Those were the same kids that taught me how to get into trouble as well as the same kids that led me to some of my first experiences growing up as s a young teenager in Southern California. Skating was the first subculture I was ever exposed to which was followed up by punk music and everything that came with it. The attitude and spirit of punk, hardcore and skateboarding were always linked together in their history going back to the 70’s and although I didn’t come into the scene until about halfway through, it's been beautiful seeing how these street subcultures have evolved.

“I had a skate park near my house. I'd go there, and I would be too intimidated to do anything because people were fucking dicks in the late '90s, early 2000s,” said Stefan Babcock, 38, vocalist for Toronto punk band PUP.

“There was a hierarchy. It was clique-y. To me skateboarding then, from my perspective, was not a safe, fun sport to be a part of. Part of me falling in love with it again at 35 is how incredibly supportive and welcoming I found the whole skate community now. You can't gatekeep it anymore. And I've really found the community everywhere I go to be so kind and supportive. Strangers don’t care about your skill level, they just care about being encouraging, like happy that people are involved in a sport that they love.”

On top of having world class musicians and some of the best skaters on the planet duking it out, one of the best things about RSEO is that’s it's completely free to attend and the community in Portland is very grateful to have an event like this in its own backyard to bring the skate community together for the weekend. Open is the perfect name for an event like this.

Rockstar Energy Open had a great mix of people. There were casual fans just looking for something cool to do for the weekend, young kids holding a skateboard who showed up with the elder skater parents, knucklehead teenagers skipping lines and hopping fences then getting chased down by security.

Portland is also home to the real-life DIY Burnside Skatepark which you may know from one of the competition levels in the legendary Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game series. The skatepark was built in 1990 by local skaters under the Burnside Bridge in Portland. It started as an unauthorized DIY project and later approved as a public park.

You can say Portland did its part into helping shape skating into what it is today and it could also be a great metaphor for the evolution of skating as whole in general. Maybe that’s why Portland was chosen for this event three years in a row.

"The similarities between skateboarding culture and the hardcore home crowd culture, where like the personality type, the desire for extremism, it just mixes so easily, so easy to smush together.” Justice Tripp said of Angel Du$t playing the RSEO. Angel Du$t is another great example of a hardcore band who just wants to be authentic and true to their roots while trying to push the boundaries of what hardcore means.

“I think hardcore and skateboarding are so popular because of the demand for authenticity. You know, it's like young people especially aren't easy to fool, and they can see when they're being sold a product, an idea, an image versus something very authentic. It's like you go jump down some steps and get fucked up and break something. It's real. It's dangerous. Just like jumping oﬀ stage is dangerous, you know, but it's real. People want to feel something.” Tripp added.

Punk and Skating is for the youth and it always has been. That’s why events like this are important to get those kids back to the root and to give them something authentic in the real world outside of a screen. Rockstar Energy Open is made up of music, subculture and human interaction in a city that has always honored the spirit of DIY culture, and you don’t have to spend $185 to experience it.

Other bands booked to play this year were Hot Mulligan, who had recently performed Lollapalooza; and veteran UK melodic hardcore band Basement. During their set, Basement front man Andrew Fisher noted the crowd gathering outside the fence of the event and said something on stage along the line of it being on-brand for Portland. “Even when its free, you keep it anti-corporate”.

Yes, Rockstar and action sports digital media company Platfrm provided finances and logistics for the RSEO, but they still made space for most of the experience to be curated by Portland’s skate, art and music community.

Found right in the middle of the event was a mini ramp for a community DIY skate zone which was a collaborative eﬀort put together by Portland’s Rip’s Co Skateshop and 10 Barrel Brewing, two Portland staples. Feet away from that was a small stage where local bands curated by Cal Skate played throughout the day. Furthermore, the art featured on the RSEO park course was all done by Portland’s Burnside Skatepark muralist Jaymeer.

Portland was very much part of the event rather than just a backdrop for a branded event.

“Skateboarding is a creative outlet to express yourself in any way you want,” said Andrew Fisher of Basement in between songs during their closing set Saturday night. “Music is also a creative outlet to express yourself in any way you want”

These are some of the subcultures that helped save me, whether it was from ruining my life or just simply from being bored at home. It does the same for so many other kids around the world and it helps them find an outlet to express themselves. It's beautiful to see things like hardcore, punk, skateboarding or art it being kept alive and continue to get the respect it deserves through events like the Rockstar Energy Open.

‘Long Live the Wildcards, Misfits & Dabblers”