The Fest

American music festival

Hardcore punk
emotional hardcore
melodic hardcore
post-hardcore
punk rock
indie rock
metalcore

DatesMay, October, NovemberLocation(s)Gainesville, Florida, U.S.Years active2002–presentFounded by

Tony Weinbender

Attendance~4,000Organised by

No Idea Records

Websitethefestfl.com

The Fest is an annual music festival in Gainesville, Florida, United States, organized by Tony Weinbender, formerly of No Idea Records. It is a predominantly punk rock and pop-punk festival, though there are also a good number of indie rock, hardcore punk, metal, and ska acts.^[1]

The Fest takes place each year on the weekend of the Florida–Georgia football game (around Halloween) held in Jacksonville.^[2]

History

The Fest first took place May 24 and 25, 2002, and has since attracted a large turnout throughout the years. Bands perform across a variety of venues (varying from small bars to large concert halls) in the downtown Gainesville area.^[3]

Fest 20, held October 28-30, 2022, featured headlining acts such as Hot Water Music, The Menzingers, Anti-Flag, The Flatliners, Avail, and Samiam, as well as hundreds of other bands including Algernon Cadwallader, The Bollweevils, Celebration Summer, SPELLS, The Dopamines, Kali Masi, Heavy Seas, School Drugs and more.

References

^ Levine, David (May 18, 2015). "The Fest 14 adds bands (Title Fight, The Progress, Modern Life Is War, As Friends Rust, Smoke or Fire, PBTT, Bigwig, more)". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
^ Francischine, Tyler (October 24, 2012). "The punk-rock infusion of Fest 11". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
^ Bradford, Levi (October 26, 2016). "Fifteen years of FEST". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved May 4, 2017.