VersoFest Visionary: Henry Rollins in Conversation w/Nabil Ayers

Henry Rollins — musician, spoken word artist, and one of the forerunners of the hardcore punk scene — will be the Verso Visionary conversation during Saturday night of VersoFest 2025, in conversation with fellow author and musician Nabil Ayers.

Rollins has held many titles in the past 45 years: singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, producer, radio host, and outspoken frontman for Black Flag and the Rollins Band. After achieving international renown with the seminal punk band Black Flag in the early 1980s, Rollins established his own record label and publishing company, 2.13.61, through which he released an array of books and his acclaimed spoken word albums.

Throughout his career, Rollins has offered an intimate look into his complex mind. His writing spans more than 25 titles, including Get in the Van, his memoir composed of journal entries from his time with Black Flag; the cathartic and brutally honest Solipsist; the raw psyche of Sic; his Black Coffee Blues trilogy, which serves as a cross between poetry anthology, memoir, and travel diary; and many more.

Rollins also has hosted a number of radio shows, including the weekly show he currently hosts on L.A.’s renowned NPR affiliate KCRW. He has also appeared as an actor in TV and movies, including a recurring role in Sons of Anarchy, and has been a columnist and essayist for Stereophile, Rolling Stone Australia, and LA Weekly.

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No stranger to the inner workings of the music industry, Ayers comes from a background of recording and touring globally as a drummer in several bands. He has held the position of president of record label Beggars Group US since 2022.

Ayers also hosts Identified, a podcast about exploring family dynamics, and has contributed to the New York Times, The Guardian, and GQ on topics of family, race, and music. In 2022, he published his memoir My Life in the Sunshine, which explores his journey to connect with his father, jazz musician Roy Ayers.

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VersoFest 2025 is The Westport Library’s four-day music and media festival and conference taking place Thursday, April 3, through Sunday, April 6. VersoFest provides a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge, including panels where experts share their perspective and vision, intimate workshops that provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft; and performances that entertain and inspire.

Past VersoFest guests include hip hop legend Chuck D, established hit-makers Spin Doctors and the Smithereens, up-and-coming bands Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs, rockers Lez Zeppelin, famed producers Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler, the Doors drummer John Densmore, Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway, hip hop originators Tony Crush and Grand Wizzard Theodore, Manic Panic’s Tish and Snooky, and a wide array of authors, photographers, artists, and thought leaders.

Host or Publisher The Westport Library