A Day In the Life
By Olivia Lee
5/8/26
A Day in the Life (May 2026)
NYC hardcore band Ferment performing at the Asian American Unity Festival at Gold Sounds Bar in Brooklyn (Photo by Olivia Lee).
Hello mates, I’m currently writing this on a plane ride from New York to Seattle. Yes, that’s right...NEW YORK.
I spent the past weekend living out my biggest journalistic fantasy by traveling to Brooklyn and covering the Asian American Unity Festival. The opportunity arose after I covered the Real Asian Hate show back in March; after my interview with No Model, guitarist Chang-hwan spontaneously proposed the idea of The Paperblog Writers covering the Asian American Unity Festival in Brooklyn. And of course I enthusiastically agreed to it, who the hell turns down an invitation to New York?
After months of planning with the AAU team, my sister Lauren (our social media manager/creative director) and I were able to make it out to Brooklyn and covered the festival. Being in a room with so many talented, creative Asian people was such an honor and seeing the hardcore community advocate for our work reminded me why I love running this blog in the first place. The cycle of support that runs through hardcore is really special and it’s a mindset I want to implement in the Paperblog’s mission.
I’m exhausted after the trip, but also invigorated by the creativity I encountered over the weekend. It was truly the experience of a lifetime!
Oh New York...(Photo by Lauren Lee).
Anyways, enough about last weekend. Let’s talk about this upcoming month. It’s going to be quite an interview-heavy one, so brace yourselves. Indi has two: one with the Bay Area based group Solace and another with the indie darlings of SLC, Seeking the Sun. Serenna’s got an interview with a PNW label (despite being all the way in Oxford!) and I’m publishing two interviews from the Real Asian Hate show back in March (Cujo and Cherub Chains).
Also, we (finally) launched our Instagram! Give us a follow @thepaperblogwriters to keep up with what’s happening on the blog.
The Paperblog’s dedication has paid off the last 8 months, our hard work bringing us to NEW YORK CITY OF ALL PLACES. I’m so proud of everyone who has helped: whether you wrote an article, took photos, or helped vlog... thank you. Your contributions made our trip possible. Thank you to Ground Zero Radio, The Vera Project, and the AAU fest team for supporting us in New York! And of course, thanks to you dear reader! We hope you've enjoyed our content this past year.
And the trip wouldn’t be complete without my sister Lauren. My Lucy, my 아기, and my best friend, I had so much fun goofing around in NYC and couldn’t have done any of this without you!
Cheers, Olivia xx
Lauren and I outside The Meadows in Brooklyn after day 1 of AAU Fest (Photo by Olivia Lee).