SFZF2026 Guest of Honor

V. Vale
Guest of Honor

We are thrilled to announce V. Vale as our 2026 Guest of Honor.



While working at City Lights Bookstore and witnessing the beginnings of the nascent Punk Rock scene in San Francisco, Vale was motivated to document the movement in a way he felt the “Hippie” scene had not been. In 1977 Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti funded V. Vale's Search & Destroy punk rock tabloid (which morphed into the RE/Search series in 1980). Goal: to document and catalyze underground and taboo-breaking artists and ideas. Vale continues dispersing countercultural ideas through publications, media, and personal appearances. He often sets up and vends his 48-year publishing output around town at events and music shows.