Punk and cult movie fans will get a rare combination of live music and cinema when Circle Jerks x Repo Man takes over the historic Redford Theatre on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
This isn’t simply a screening of the 1984 cult classic Repo Man, and it isn’t simply a Circle Jerks concert. The event brings the two together for a celebration of the movie and the Los Angeles punk scene that helped define it.
Doors open at 7 p.m., with the event beginning at 8 p.m. at the Redford Theatre, located at 17360 Lahser Road in Detroit.
Repo Man Meets Live Punk Rock
The event combines a theatrical screening of Repo Man with a live performance by legendary hardcore punk band Circle Jerks.
The pairing has a genuine historical connection. Circle Jerks were part of the punk culture surrounding Repo Man and actually appeared in the movie more than 40 years ago.
Other dates on the 2026 Circle Jerks x Repo Man tour have also advertised a Q&A with Repo Man director Alex Cox, adding another connection between the musicians and the cult film that helped immortalize the era.
Why Repo Man Became a Cult Classic
Released in 1984, Repo Man was directed by Alex Cox and stars Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton.
The movie is difficult to fit into any single genre. It’s part punk comedy, part science fiction movie, part crime story, part social satire and part UFO conspiracy adventure.
Estevez plays Otto, a frustrated young Los Angeles punk who quits his supermarket job and eventually finds himself recruited into the strange world of automobile repossession.
After becoming an apprentice repo man, Otto encounters an increasingly bizarre collection of criminals, conspiracy theorists, rival repo agents and other characters.
At the center of everything is a mysterious 1964 Chevrolet Malibu carrying some extremely unusual Top Secret cargo in its trunk. A massive repossession bounty on the vehicle sends Otto and the other repo men scrambling to find it.
The strange combination of punk culture, dark humor, science fiction and social commentary eventually turned Repo Man into one of the great cult movies of the 1980s.
Its soundtrack became nearly as famous as the movie itself, featuring music from several important bands from the American punk scene.
Circle Jerks Are Actually in the Movie
That’s what makes this event considerably more interesting than an ordinary movie screening followed by a concert.
Circle Jerks actually appear in Repo Man.
During one memorable scene, the hardcore punk band performs an intentionally ridiculous lounge-style rendition of its own song “When the Shit Hits the Fan.”
More than four decades later, audiences can now see the band perform live alongside the movie in which they appeared.
Who Are Circle Jerks?
Formed in Los Angeles in 1979, Circle Jerks became one of the foundational bands of the American hardcore punk movement.
Frontman Keith Morris was already an important figure in punk history before the band even existed. Morris was a co-founder and original lead vocalist of Black Flag, performing on the band’s influential Nervous Breakdown EP.
After leaving Black Flag, Morris joined guitarist Greg Hetson, bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer to form Circle Jerks.
The band quickly became known for short, aggressive songs, relentless live performances and a confrontational sound that helped establish the template for American hardcore.
Their 1980 debut album, Group Sex, became a landmark hardcore punk record. Circle Jerks followed it with albums including Wild in the Streets in 1982, Golden Shower of Hits in 1983, Wonderful in 1985 and IV in 1987.
The band also appeared in several important documents of early punk culture, including The Decline of Western Civilization, New Wave Theatre, The Slog Movie and, of course, Repo Man.
The current lineup includes Morris alongside longtime bassist Zander Schloss and veteran drummer Joey Castillo, whose résumé includes Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig and The Bronx.
A Connection to Detroit Hardcore
The event should have particular appeal in Detroit, a city with its own significant hardcore punk history.
Detroit’s Negative Approach emerged during roughly the same early American hardcore era and became one of the most influential Midwestern hardcore bands. Circle Jerks and Negative Approach continue to share stages decades later, with several 2026 dates featuring the two bands together immediately following the Repo Man tour.
That makes the Redford Theatre event an unusual opportunity to revisit an important period in American underground music culture while seeing one of its surviving bands perform live.
Tickets
Current ticket prices, including listed fees, are:
Balcony General Admission: $32.90
Floor or Loge General Admission: $44.04
Gold Circle: $74.87
There is a limit of six tickets per customer.
The event takes place Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at Detroit’s historic Redford Theatre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.
For fans of punk rock, cult movies or strange pieces of 1980s pop culture, Circle Jerks x Repo Man offers something considerably different from a normal repertory movie screening: the opportunity to watch a punk cinema classic and then experience one of the bands permanently connected to it live and in person more than 40 years later.
What: Repo Man x Circle Jerks
When: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Where: Redford Theatre (17360 Lahser Rd, Detroit, MI)
Time: 7:00 p.m. doors/ Circle Jerks 8pm/ Q&A 845pm/ Repo Man screening 930pm
Buy tix
https://redfordtheatre.com/events/circle-jerks-x-repo-man/