12 Top Libertarian Bands You’ve Never Heard Of

Look, I know. 

Obviously everyone’s already heard of Rush (who famously dedicated their album, 2112, to Ayn Rand), and we all know of bands like Muse, and NOFX, who have released a couple libertarian songs over the years.

But beyond those few table crumbs and scraps, where can a libertarian audiophile go to get really good songs about freedom?

How can you, an intellectual, fill your headholes with hard rock songs about praxeology?

In short, are there any actual, explicitly libertarian bands out there?

Well, to answer that question yer ‘umble author here has done some digging (ok, a lot of digging) and it turns out that, yes.

Yes there are.

Top Libertarian Bands

The libertarian bands I’ve listed here have a couple things in common. 

First, the artists themselves are all explicitly libertarian. That means no country bands that may have a gun rights song but are actually pro-war Republicans, and no punk bands that may have an anti-government song but are actually socialists (looking at you, Anti-Flag).

And second, their songs actually promote or defend some element of political libertarianism (individual rights, free markets, self defense etc.) so that their music, and not just their personal political beliefs, is also explicitly libertarian.

All that being said, I’ve ordered the list of libertarian bands below alphabetically by band name or artist last name.

1. BackWordz

These guys are the real deal. Frontman Eric July describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, and has written for places like The Libertarian Republic. Just about every song of this rap/metal band is as explicitly libertarian as you can get.

The song list on their debut album, Veracity (incidentally a top recommendation in our article of the best gifts for libertarians), reads like a greatest hits tour through libertarian philosophy:

• Self Ownership
• Statism
• Utopias Don’t Exist
• Individualism
• Democracy Sucks!

Oh, and that hard rock song about praxeology?

Yeah, they’ve got that too.

2. Freenauts

This libertarian rap band is a collaboration between some well-known libertarian hip hop artists—including Alex Vidal, Silver Stax, Keybeaux, and CTRAFFIK—and their first album, Beats, Rhymes & Liberty, does not disappoint. The track list is as varied as the artists creating it, but all the songs are united with a libertarian (and often anarcho-capitalist) theme. 

From the Eminem-sounding “Crazy Sexy Rebel,” to “Great Idea” which samples an Adam Kokesh speech, and “1nce Again 1nce Again” which is dedicated to (and clearly inspired by) A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, Freenaut’s songs run the gamut of hip hop styles.

But their lyrics are all liberty.

Take “1nce Again 1nce Again” for instance:

Don’t play me close, 2nd amendment teaches quick lessons

My shit’s encrypted simply meaning that I got the keys

Anonymous ID’s, blockchain baller steez

Sometimes I might catch apologists for legal plunder

But at the end of the day, tax is theft brotha

Some other great songs from them:

• Crazy Sexy Rebel
• Fuck The State
• 1nce Again 1nce Again
• What if Nobody Showed Up to Vote?

3. Galt Aureus

Technically more Objectivist than libertarian, Galt Aureus nevertheless is an incredible pro-freedom band. With the haunting vocals of Saher Galt and a melodic rock sound, Galt Aureus serves up some incredibly catchy tunes you’ll find stuck in your head days later.

And their lyrics are all liberty, baby. Take the uber-Randian tune “STRIKE” from their album “Treason,” for instance:

No indenture bears my name,

yet the state arrogates my labor

all the same.

Let a little blood upon the wheel,

shed a little more upon the gears,

lay your hands upon the levers and now,

shut the machine down.

I recognize no right of state

to dictate what of my life is mine

and what they’ll take.

And they’ve got lots more where that came from:

• STRIKE
• Revive the Light
• Soliloquy of Slaves
• Burn Down the Stage

4. The Gitmos

With a decidedly tongue-in-cheek political punk sound, it can be hard to tell when The Gitmos are being serious, and when the band is instead trading on satire. But despite the conspiracy-laced tinge of some of their lyrics (Alex Jones-type libertarians will feel right at home) The Gitmos hit all the right notes that a libertarian band should.

Their energetic, cheerful sound goes perfectly with lyrics like:

Privatize the profit

“I think that’s a great idea!”

Socialize the debt

“Well that means you pay!”

From their upbeat song “Bailout.”

And the rest of their oeuvre is no less libertarian:

• Your Government Is Lying
• Buy A Gun
• I Wanna Grow Weed
• The Future Cops of America

5. The Interrupters

This libertarian band is fronted by Aimee Allen, who wrote Ron Paul’s official song for his 2008 campaign. The Interrupters are a punk/ska band with a lot of great libertarian songs, including hits like “Liberty,” whose lyrics and catchy rhythm will warm the cold, dark heart of even the most curmudgeonly freedom-lover:

Drones in the sky

Government lies

Keeping an eye out

Tell me why they violate rights

Blue and red lights

Billyclub fights on my street at night

Where did my liberty go?

Other awesome songs of theirs include:

• Take Back The Power
• Can’t Be Trusted
• Divide Us
• Babylon

6. Tatiana Moroz

Moroz is a singer-songwriter active in the libertarian community. She runs a podcast covering all sorts of libertarian topics where she hosts libertarian guests like Julie Borowski (who wrote a libertarian children’s book), Bob Murphy (whose free libertarian novel, Minerva, we’ve covered here at AFL), and libertarian actor Robert Anthony Peters.

She’s also a passionate cryptocurrency enthusiast, and created her own “TatianaCoin” to successfully fund a new album. As a talented musician her warm vocals lend heart to the pro-liberty messages in her songs.

• The Bitcoin Song
• Evolution to Revolution
• The Silk Road – A Tribute Song to Ross Ulbricht
• Make A YouTube Video

7. Remy Munasifi

While most of rapper/comedian Remy’s recent songs are parody covers, he’s also written and performed a large number of original libertarian tunes. Initially having gone viral with his “Arlington Rap” song, “GoRemy” has since opened for Ron Paul, performed at Students for Liberty conferences, and worked with the Tax Foundation to record anti-taxation songs.

He’s got scores of songs to pick from, but some of his best original libertarian ones include:

• Tax Freedom Day
• People Will Die!
• Nanny Tax Rap
• If You Like Your Plan You Can Keep It

8. Jordan Page

Another singer-songwriter, Page’s velvety voice and libertarian bonafides (he’s opened for Ron Paul dozens of times) have appeared on AFL before, and for good reason. Not only is he a passionate libertarian activist who uses his music to bring attention to important causes (see “The Persecution of Schaeffer Cox“), but he’s an extremely gifted artist with a talent for memorable lyrics and haunting vocals.

As an example from his popular song, “Liberty“:

When is the right time to stand up for freedom?

Could it be when you start to fear creating children

Who’ll inherit the pain and the debt of this nation

And be slaves to the banks that cause hyper-inflation

Who are masters of commerce, lies, and bad legislation?

And all of his songs are this good:

• Message of Freedom
• The Light of the Revolution
• Arm Yourselves
• War Machine

9. Poker Face

Similar to The Gitmos above, the guys of Poker Face—a self-described “truth/freedom band”—are a hard rock band firmly on the Alex Jones spectrum of libertarian bands (as illustrated by songs like “Illuminati”). But that doesn’t mean their pro-freedom, anti-authoritarian tracks don’t rock. Because with rich guitar riffs and great vocal harmonies, they definitely do.

From defending gun rights, to decrying the welfare state, and even a tribute to marijuana, Poker Face has got a ton of songs that will resonate with libertarians of every stripe.

• I’d Rather Die Than Be Your Slave
• Calling For A Revolution
• Grassoline
• Kontrol

10. Post Freedom

This anarcho-capitalist punk band is, unfortunately, currently on hiatus. The good news is they’ve released their debut album, The Decentralization of Thought, online for free download. 

With a sound similar to Dropkick Murphys (owing largely to Matt Bergman’s throaty vocals) and lyrics like “Statism’s footprint is the blood that is shed/drenching the flags of the tax farms in red,” anyone who likes passion-filled punk will love this ancap band.

• Smash the State!
• You Own Your Own Damn Body!
• Statist Thugs
• The War Machine

11. Rothbard

Another libertarian band that is sadly on hiatus, Rothbard was led by David White of Burnt Records. With a name like “Rothbard” it’s no surprise that this rock band is composed of individualist anarchists and that their songs are incredibly libertarian.

With the band’s roots in the 2008 financial crisis, songs like “Too Big to Fail” and “Helicopter Ben” skewer government interventions, while “Ron Paul” and “Freedom” offer a more hopeful view of the future of personal liberty.

• Helicopter Ben
• Freedom
• Too Big to Fail
• Ron Paul

12. Sons of Liberty

The personal side-project of Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer, Sons of Liberty is an unapologetically pro-freedom band. With a similar heavy metal sound to Iced Earth, Sons of Liberty’s track list focuses largely on the radical ideas of America’s Founding Fathers (and their website links to Cato and the Mises Institute).

Sons of Liberty’s lyrics practically drip defiance and rebellion. For instance:

We look to the Founders

Who inspire the cause when hope is but lost

To be free

We’ll bring down the tyrants

Forcing their hand, bringing them down to their knees

If you’re feeling a little revolution, you could do worse this band’s songs:

• Don’t Tread on Me
• We The People
• Our Dying Republic
• The Tree of Liberty

Honorable mentions

Some other awesome libertarian and libertarian-adjacent bands include:

• Rebel, Inc. (like a libertarian Rage Against the Machine)
• Steve Lee (folksy pro-gun songs with a charming Australian accent, what’s not to like?)
• Sleep Labs
• Sleep Rebellion

Any other great libertarian bands?

Despite our deep digging, it’s entirely possible AFL missed some awesome libertarian musicians out there.

Any others you know of that are both explicitly libertarian in their personal beliefs and their lyrics?

Add ’em in the comments!

(And don’t say Rush. Everyone already knows about Rush, guys.)