Release the punk
Anarchy Brewing starts hosting live music with an edge

Drums drive a crowd to frenzy, distorted guitar fills the air creating an atmosphere for kooks and weirdos to thrive – Anarchy Brewing Co. is now hosting punk shows.

Since opening in 2021, owner and head brewer Matt “Sully” Sullivan and his staff have displayed their passion for punk, rock and alternative music. The brewery feels like home in your uncle’s garage – cozy, with an edge.

Now that Anarchy has ironed out most of the kinks after two years in operation, Sullivan wanted to add the element of live music to the brewery. This past December, Anarchy hosted a show with The Batteries (the group I play with), Acid Wrench and American Businessman. It went off without a hitch, and there has been a call for more live music at the brewery.

“I’ve been a punk since I was a kid,” Sullivan said. “Punk really always seemed to resonate with how I felt growing up. Since living in Durango, I’ve asked myself, ‘Why don’t we have a place to listen to good punk and rock music on a regular basis?’”

Though that’s a hard question to answer, Sullivan knew he wanted to help provide a venue with the opening of his brewery.

“It became a part of my whole goal opening this place to eventually have punk shows as often as we can,” he said. “But the first two years, I was so busy just keeping my head above water, brewing and trying to run the business, that I didn’t get the chance to explore (hosting music) like I wanted to. But now the ball is rolling, and I love the energy of how everyone is having fun and taking care of each other.”

Before starting a brewery, Sullivan was a firefighter/medic for 22 years in Albuquerque. Over the years, however, he always brewed batches of beer at home, fine-tuning his craft. All the while, his friends frequently encouraged him to take his passion for brewing beer further.

After retiring from Albuquerque Fire Rescue, Sullivan moved to Durango in 2015 to work as a critical care paramedic with Flight for Life and also as an ER paramedic. But after the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan made the leap to start brewing at a larger scale and full-time.

“I jumped all in, cashed in my 401K, quit the hospital and started working on a business plan,” he said.

Now, Sullivan’s punk-inspired brewery is ready to host shows on a more regular basis.

“Where we are now is more than I envisioned, and it keeps evolving and evolving,” he said. “I feel like the bands in this town are kind of like the breweries – we’re all in it together, and we’re all helping each other out. It’s a beautiful thing, and I think the brewery and the music – punk rock – really go hand-in-hand.”

Anarchy will host its next show at 7 p.m. Fri., Jan. 27, featuring The Master Debaters from Pagosa Springs and The Batteries. Support local kooks and weirdos by drinking small-batch, hand -crafted beer and paying a $5 cover to support alternative music in your town.