Blood for Blood headline This Is Hardcore at Reading's Reverb on Dec. 19

The reunited Boston hardcore band tops an all-day bill on North Ninth Street, and it's the closest they've come to Lancaster and Harrisburg since getting back together.

Reverb on North Ninth Street in Reading is going to be loud on the Saturday before Christmas. The doors open at noon, the bill runs all day, and at the top of it is a Boston hardcore band that didn't exist two years ago and has been around since 1994.

Blood for Blood headline This Is Hardcore Fest at Reverb, Reading, on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2026. The day starts at 12 p.m., and tickets were $60 in our listing data, sold through DICE. The lineup announced on Oct. 15 also includes Wisdom In Chains, Missing Link and Big Ass Truck I.E., according to ThePRP, and tickets went on sale Oct. 16. Reverb holds about 1,300, so for a festival with this kind of draw, the room will be full.

This Is Hardcore is a long-running fest that has spent most of its life in summer, so a December edition in Reading is a change. Organizers first set the event for Dec. 19–20 at Club Reverb, per ThePRP's August report and Punknews; the October lineup announcement covered Dec. 19 only. If you were holding out for a second day, check DICE for the latest.

The headliner is the draw. Blood for Blood came out of Boston in 1994 and, after a long stretch away, announced a reunion in late 2025. Roadrunner Records signed them that December, and they released "You're Gonna Have to Kill Me," their first new song in 21 years, according to Knotfest and Stereogum. The revived band is led by founder Rob Lind and original bassist Ian McFarland, with Pete Morcey singing; former vocalist Erick "Buddha" Medina is not part of it. He was removed from the band in 2012 after being accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, per Wikipedia's account.

This year the band has been working its way back through the scene. The spring "Return From Exile" run with Skinhead hit Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Cambridge in April before heading west, and they headlined Detroit's Tied Down festival in May, according to BrooklynVegan. Reading in December is the end-of-year stop, and for readers in Lancaster and Harrisburg, it's under an hour and a half away.

Reverb fits this kind of show. It is a big general-admission room that books heavy music year-round, and an all-day hardcore bill is what it does best. Pace yourself: a noon start means a long day on your feet before the headliner.

A noon start, a full room, and a Boston band that waited two decades to come back.

Get tickets on DICE, eat something before you go, and leave room on the floor for the people who have been waiting since the '90s.

Sources: ThePRP: Blood For Blood, Wisdom In Chains, Missing Link, Etc. Booked For 2026 'This Is Hardcore' Fest (theprp.com); ThePRP: 2026 'This Is Hardcore' Festival Set For December (theprp.com); Punknews: This is Hardcore Fest announces 2026 installment (punknews.org); Knotfest: Roadrunner Records Enlists Boston Hardcore Lifers, Blood for Blood (knotfest.com); Stereogum: Blood For Blood announce reunion tour, share first new song in 21 years (stereogum.com); BrooklynVegan: Tied Down 2026 – Blood For Blood reunion, Negative Approach, Nails, Bane, End It & more (brooklynvegan.com); Wikipedia: Blood for Blood (en.wikipedia.org); DICE: tickets (link.dice.fm); Reading, PA Hard Rock / Metal Concerts - Concertfix (concertfix.com); How far is Reading, PA from Harrisburg, PA? (mapsof.net)