Along with the jazz scene that took place in and around the Lighthouse in the 50s and 60s, a Punk Rock scene in the 1970s was just as influential. As an underground scene, it took off when Greg Ginn and a few of his friends formed a band called Black Flag in 1976-77. Black Flag eventually moved into the old Baptist Church on Manhattan Avenue and began issuing albums on their own record label called SST.

Black Flag generated a strong local following and spawned a number of other bands including The Circle Jerks, Red Kross, and the Minutemen. The Descendants had several members that were Mira Costa High School graduates. Hermosa Beach was also the home of Media Arts; a studio where much of the punk rock music distributed around the country was recorded.

One of the biggest punk bands in the country these days is Pennywise, a bunch of local guys who recorded their first record on a small label based in Hermosa Beach in the early 1990s.  The music that started in Hermosa Beach still lives on for generations of musicians and fans