On a typical night, Cheyenne’s downtown streets are largely empty. On some nights, though, the sound of alternative music cranks from a hole in the wall, a secret music venue.
The Thrash Zone markets itself as an intimate, “extremely loud" venue featuring music acts you wouldn’t expect to see in a town where cowboys and country music reign supreme.
The show promoter, Benjamin Duran, 35, keeps the location undisclosed. To attend a show, you have to know the right people and be one of the first 60 people to enter the venue.
Duran occasionally promotes bluegrass or rap acts, but the Thrash Zone’s bread and butter is punk, alternative and metal bands.
“It’s usually pretty dead down here [in Cheyenne.] So this is actually bringing some life down here and what not,” Duran said. “... Just give something to do for the kids.”
Fans and other band members listen to Stay While at the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand) 
Benjamin Duran takes a video of Stay Awhile’s performance on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand) 
Stay Awhile’s Austin Scott sings and plays guitar at the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand)
On March 7, The Thrash Zone hosted local Wyoming bands that characterized themselves as indie, garage rock, or Rocky Mountain emo. About 35 people bounced, danced and jumped around in the small room that looks like a grungy closet.
“The Thrash Zone represents a little area where people who are [in] these fringe communities, can come together and for an evening, kind of forget about all of your worries in the outside world.
Disregard politics and all that stuff and just enjoy raw, intimate music,” said Seneca Flowers, the guitarist for the band Angelus Errare.
Punk music lyrics and chords may sound loud, aggressive, or even depressing to the unfamiliar ear. However, according to Duran and the bands who performed that Friday night, the Thrash Zone is really about connection, community and leaving divisiveness, like politics, at the door.
Fringe Community
At most other shows, attendees are a speck in the crowd. At the Thrash Zone, fans are just a foot away from bands. While some fans were in their teens or college years, there were people of all ages rocking out.
The crowd was speckled with a teacher, a warehouse worker, a state employee, parents with and without their kids (wearing ear protection), and even a person or two with gray hair.
“The venue is a good place to experience different cultures that you can’t see in this town or state period… [The bands] play honestly. They play to their hearts like you see in any other large venue… That’s why people come here, including me, to watch the music. Essentially, it’s something you can’t see at like Cheyenne Frontier Days or Red Rocks.” said Luy Luong, who goes to Thrash Zone shows to take videos of the bands for fun.
Luy Luong takes a video of the Calico Boys on March 7, 2025. Luong takes videos of Thrash Zone bands for fun. (Reilly Strand) 
Luy Luong steps outside the Thrash Zone to talk for a few moments between sets on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand)
While Duran has run the Thrash Zone for about a year, the punk scene has been part of Cheyenne for at least the last 20 years. Duran started going to shows when he was 15 years old.
“It goes in waves because a lot of the young kids will start coming, and they go out to college,” Duran said. “There’s nothing to do here for young people, so they get bored with the town and just disperse off.”
To keep the flame going, the cost to enter a show is a donation, usually $15 to $20. Duran gives all the money to the bands and pockets nothing for himself.
Benjamin Duran, the Thrash Zone’s show promoter, sits for an interview. (Reilly Strand and Hannah Brock) 
Benjamin Duran sits for an interview at the Thrash Zone, a hidden music venue in downtown Cheyenne. Duran runs the zone’s shows. (Reilly Strand and Hannah Brock)
Growing up in Wyoming has its benefits, but for the youngest band, The Calico Boys hailing from the University of Wyoming, it’s also “boring,” they said. The trio went to high school together in Casper.
“[As] an individual, it can be challenging at times,” said Cael Yeigh, the band’s bass player.
The Cowboy State is known to have an issue with brain drain, a term used for trained or college-educated young people leaving the state.
It’s a topic on the minds of politicians and evidenced by University of Wyoming’s statistics, which show 63% of UW alumni who graduated between 2007 and 2024 have left the state.
Being a young musician also comes with a few misconceptions.
“Just because we play guitars does not mean we do drugs,” Yeigh said. “... I'm not a parent, but I could imagine like, if my child got into what I considered extreme music, even though I don't think we play extreme music at all, I think just go at it with an open mind.”
The Calico Boys talk about what it’s like to be young in Wyoming on March 7, 2025. Cael Yeigh (center), Kyson Miller (left) and Hawkins Kopp (right) went to high school together in Casper. Now, the trio attends the University of Wyoming. (Reilly Strand) 
The Calico Boys play at the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. Cael Yeigh (left) and Kyson Miller (right) are students at the University of Wyoming. (Hannah Brock)
Wyoming Through A Punk Lens
“Wyoming is a great place, and it's a cold, desolate plain, and it's not for everybody. The mountains are jagged,” Stay Awhile’s drummer Madison Marquer said. “It's a huge state with so little people. So I think there is a hint of loneliness here, pretty much in every town, no matter what you do.”
Wyoming has its own flavor of punk, which singer and guitar player Jenni Marks called Rocky Mountain emo.
Marks was smiling for a lot of the night, but she sang a song about wanting to disappear. Punk music often references anger or sadness.
“Even if it has depressing lyrics and stuff, it’s kind of like telling your story and getting something heavy off of your chest,” Marks said. “If somebody is able to relate to that… that ability to relate is kind of what makes it fun… It cheers you up and makes you not be depressed.”
Wyoming is ranked last for adult mental health in the United States, according to Mental Health America. The ranking is based on the prevalence of mental illness and access to care.
Angelus Errare’s music deals with a lot of mental health as well, Flowers said.
“Everybody has their own way. For us, the catharsis of punk rock music is something that’s just pure, immediate and expressive,” Flowers said.
Stay Awhile’s Madison Marquer pauses for an interview after the show ended on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand) 
Stay Awhile’s Madison Marquer plays the drums during his band’s set at the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. (Reilly Strand) 
Jenni Marks of Red Painted Black sings and plays guitar at the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. (Hannah Brock) 
Seneca Flowers of Angelus Errare talks about the meaning of the Thrash Zone on March 7, 2025. (Hannah Brock)
Punk music is usually associated with small communities and connections. Hopefully, the Thrash Zone is a reminder to reconnect with your neighbors, Flowers said.
“It doesn't matter if you're square dancing in a barn with your local community or if you're rocking out in the Thrash Zone, as long as you have your people in your community at the end of the day, it's kind of the same thing,” Flowers said.
Even if punk is not for everyone, everyone is welcome to come and try it out. If you don’t like it? Just walk by, Duran said.
“Don’t be so negative. Just come have fun. If you don’t like it, just walk by. You don’t have to say anything. We’re all weirdos, let’s try and be weirdos together,” Duran said.
Hannah Brock can be reached at Hannah@CowboyStateDaily.com
Reilly Strand can be reached at Reilly@CowboyStateDaily.com
