“You can’t buy community. So that’s what punk is to me,” said Maria Cree, 36, a central organizer of DIY punk shows for the present-day Minot scene and drummer for the punk band, MAWTHS.

Cree is also a member of the Red Willow Collective, an Indigenous run, volunteer-based music and arts collective centered around booking diverse acts at accessible venues for all ages.

“It’s DIY. It’s affordable. It’s accessible. It’s safe. It’s accountable,” Cree said. “I think that’s the beauty of (punk) and I think that’s why it has survived for so many years.”

Lynda Slorby, 64, has been supporting the scene for years and views the DIY scene as the pulse of Minot’s art community. She said the music often changes as the artists grow and change; old songs are retired and new songs are written to better express the feelings of the artists in the present moment.

Audin Rhodes/MDN Chris Brown of Clutterpiles bows his head as he entrances the audience with an experimental and exploratory electronic noise set.

“Earlier it was always angry punk. Here it doesn’t have to be a protest song. It doesn’t have to be an angry song. They don’t have to follow any rules. We can say whatever we want, however we want, because we’re not trying to sell it on the radio,” Slorby said.

“When you look at the origins of punk, it was never something built off of sponsorships or big name bands or huge amphitheaters to play in,” said local tattoo artist and show supporter Maggie De La Torre, 29. “It was just a bunch of crusty little kids who had some instruments and now the crusty little kids have grown up and are playing in bakeries.”

“Punk is community-oriented, social cause-oriented, and is a scene that gets people in touch with each other. Even if the music isn’t necessarily punk rock,” Lindsay Bertsch, 26, show supporter and member of a local punk band, said. In addition to punk music, Minot’s DIY shows also feature folk, hip-hop and experimental electronica.

“I feel like it’s punk to be in an inclusive space where you’re sharing materials and resources with each other,” Bertsch said.

Bertsch played White Stripes covers with her first band on a drum kit Maria Cree had salvaged.

Audin Rhodes/MDN Crowd members throw their hands in the air during an energetic performance from hip-hop musician and former Minot local Ryan Tetzloff also know as Cold Sweat.

“That’s punk,” Bertsch said about the experience.

Cree’s goal in booking shows is to get more black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) bands and LGBTQ+ bands to Minot.

Making sure the scene is not only representing but is accepting of women, BIPOC people, trans people, other LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people struggling with substance abuse, people in recovery, and people of all ages is important to Cree.

“I think, unfortunately, people don’t realize there are North Dakotans here who are that (marginalized) embodiment. We’ve always been here. It’s just that you’ve never seen us,” Cree said.

Alisha Shepard, 35, is a mom in Minot who brought her teenager to an all-ages show.

“You know sometimes when (children) get a little older, it’s harder to find things to go and do. So it’s really cool when you find something you connect with your child over,” Shepard said.

Ryan Tetzloff, 32, a hip hop performer with the stage name Cold Sweat, said he got his start playing with punks in the Minot scene.

“My first show ever was in Minot. I went to UND for college and that’s when I started doing music. So I’d come home and do shows and Zach and Jazmine (Schultz), who own this place (Prairie Sky Breads), used to run the Pangea House. It only makes sense they’re still doing DIY shows here,” Tetzloff said.

The Pangea House was a music and arts collective rooted in Minot’s DIY punk scene and was a venue for all-ages entertainment and grassroots music acts.

During Tetzloff’s recent Minot performance, a young boy danced with his mom and improvised break dance moves as the crowd cheered him on.

“I think that is a perfect example why all-ages shows are important. Because that kid has probably never seen a local, hip hop show in the corner of a bakery,” Tetzloff said.

Cree said it’s important to allow both youth and adults access to sober spaces, and especially people who are recovering from addiction and alcoholism and people who don’t feel comfortable around alcohol.

Cree also said all-ages shows are critical because the youth of a community are the ones who will help sustain the arts and music of said community.

“We have to make sure we’re allowing space for younger generations to have their voices heard and have their music and art heard,” Cree said.