The Fest 21 – Reviewed
Music / Fest 21 • November 8, 2023
With a lineup of 300-ish bands playing throughout town over a 3-day period, there's a lot to discuss about The Fest, an annual celebration of punk rock that takes place in Gainesville, FL in late October. At FEST 21, the headliners included GWAR, Lucero, Dillinger Four, Thursday, Descendants, Tim Barry, Screaming Females...the list goes on. Yet, as I made the rounds and met people, a common question was who I was at Fest to see. It's a surprisingly hard question to answer, because my answer is that I was at FEST 21 for Fest, not any single band. It's an experience itself. Scene Point Blank has regularly attended over the years. I think this is probably my 12th visit, but it's hard to track. The overall experience is an abundance of music, seeing old friends and making new ones, while sneaking in some time to sleep, rest, and recover. The venues are all close together and the sets are often concise, meaning you will sometimes see 5 bands in 3 venues in 2 hours. How much you want to jump around is up to you, and most people will build their own adventure over the 3-day schedule. Having attended several times and having a personal preference for smaller venues, our coverage leans toward cramped, sweaty bars and clubs instead of the big, open Bo Diddley Plaza main stage. If you want to read my full itinerary, so to speak, that's at the bottom along with a photo gallery. Here are a … Read more
Fest 21 Preview
Music / Fest 21 • October 18, 2023
For most of the 21st century, The Fest has conquered Gainesville, FL for a long weekend near Halloween. With hundreds of bands playing each year, spread across multiple venues, there’s … Read more
The Guest List - The Fest 21
Music / Fest 21 • April 21, 2023
There is a place, once a year, where we can all come together, Fest with others who believe that only music has the answer, and then at the end, go back … Read more
