I had been to ACL Live at the Moody Theater a few times but was always curious about the smaller room located right outside of it, 3TEN at ACL Live. The 350-capacity room is known for hosting emerging artists and bands, and it was my perfect opportunity to check out Winona Fighter. 

This Nashville-based punk outfit consisting of singer and multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon, lead guitarist Dan Fuson, and bassist/producer Austin Luther had just released its brand new album, My Apologies to the Chef.

This was one of the first stops on their “Yes, Chef Tour,” and they brought along Austin post-hardcore band Die Mart to join them. This band had a great punk energy and a great Austin energy. It was perfect for warming the crowd up for Winona Fighter, and for a few fans in attendance, it was actually their main reason for coming.

I chatted with a group of friends active in Austin’s local music scene who came to support their fellow locals in Die Mart. They were gushing over how proud they were of the band and happy that it showed how far the local scene had come.

“It was just beautiful seeing a band that we fuck with, locally … so many people [that] had no idea who Die Mart was were moshing and having a good time”, said Alex. “And I feel like that’s Austin, you come to see someone that you do know and you also learn [about] other bands that you don’t know.”

With the crowd properly warmed up, Winona Fighter took the stage and launched right into tracks off their new record. Every song they played just brought out raw punk energy from all the bandmates and everyone in the crowd, such as “You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers” and “Swear to God That I’m (FINE).”

Their stage presence, especially from Coco, was absolutely top-tier. I can’t recall a single instance during their set when she wasn’t moving around on stage, jumping, screaming, or falling to the floor, completely full of passion. She took great command of that stage, and her bandmates played perfectly alongside her, matching that same intensity with every one of their catchy songs.

She was also a terrific frontwoman, interacting with the crowd, joking with her bandmates, and showing so much appreciation for the Austin crowd coming out.

“Thank you, guys, for showing up and showing out on a Tuesday, it means the world to us,” said Coco.

“In this weather too — it’s kinda shitty out there,” Austin chimed in. 

The best audience interaction moment might have been when the band wanted to pick the energy up with some moshpits. 

They looked for an audience member to help get them started and pointed to a man named Scott, who definitely had a moshpit energy about him. Once “Wlbrn St Tvrn” started, Scott understood the assignment, starting an explosive wave of pushing and shoving that resulted in what was later told by the security guard to Coco to be the first-ever moshpit inside 3TEN.

Unfortunately, I was unable to track down the moshpit legend after the show, but I did talk to a fan named Pallas. She was one of their biggest fans there, with her favorite part of the show being how close and personal Coco got with the crowd.

“There were a couple of times where she got right up in my face and we were singing to each other, and it was just like ‘Ahh!’ I loved it.”

The group of friends I spoke with earlier also shared their favorite moments.

Kiana: I liked when she gave her pick to the sweet little girl that was jamming out in the crowd.

Raaz: I like that there was a very diverse crowd here, ‘cause there was a kid or two, there was some [older] people here … I like that everyone in Austin is pulling together to see this.

Alex: The bitches moshing!

Their set ended with a cover, and when teasing it before playing, fans had hoped it was a Creed song serving as a tribute to Scott. As fun as I’m sure that would have been, we got something even better as they played “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys, igniting one last moshpit in the crowd before Winona Fighter left the stage.

The passion, the energy, and the chemistry these bandmates share were so much fun to watch and as they continue the rest of their national tour, I’m sure the rest of the country is gonna be more than happy to witness the rise of this next big punk band.