Features / Music

Sometimes I wonder how I will look back at the time I am living in. Like right now, as the world is opening up again, how will I think of this spring in 10 or 20 years’ time? I know right now I think it is one of the weirdest … Read more

July is a month I really enjoy. It is too hot to really do that much, which makes it a good time for reflecting on the past half year. Our year so far lists are a good point for me to look at what I missed. This is also a … Read more

Richmond, Virginia has a rich history in the punk and hardcore world. And as the years have passed by, the city remains a hotbed for new and exciting bands to emerge from. The Catalyst is a perfect example. Throughout the past seven years, they have unleashed a slew of recordings … Read more

By attending Fest 10, I’ve now officially attended 50% of them. Each Fest is similar, yet each has been significantly different. While many bands remain the same, the general feel and the ever-changing venues make it a new event every year. Many go to The Fest for the headliners—and who … Read more

Fest 11 had a hell of a lot of big names: Propagandhi, Frank Turner, Titus Andronicus, Good Riddance, Dwarves. It’s tempting to push your way up front in the sweaty, spacious floor area of The Florida Theater, 8 Seconds, or The New Top Spot, but Fest isn’t just about those … Read more

If you count last year’s Pre-Fest only trip, Fest 17 marks my tenth trip to Florida for the annual event. The Fest is a monster of an event to cover. It boasts more than 400 bands in total and, including Pre-Fest in Tampa beforehand, it spans five days. Fest proper … Read more

The Fest is a massive undertaking. It's 400+ bands over 3+ days. It's summer in October, as a certain band said. This year may have mostly trended around 70 degrees -- apparently cold by Florida standards, but that's still way warmer than the snowfall I see out the window at … Read more

The Fest 18 begins this Friday, running November 1-3. Which means that the punk party has overtaken Gainesville 18 times, with literally hundreds of bands playing across dozens of venues in town each year. Some are regular music venues, while others are pop-ups that only do it for a few … Read more

It’s hard to believe that The Fest is in its 20th iteration. The festival always had ambition, but it’s a real testament to still be going 20+ years later. And not just because of pandemic challenges, but because punk bands tend to come and go. It would be impossible to … Read more

A lot has changed since The Fest began, way back in 2002. And while The Fest has evolved in that time, it remains focused on an independent, community experience as much as a showcase for live music. And, naturally, it's going to be impossible to express the comprehensive experience of … Read more

Scene Point Blank has covered The Fest thoroughly since its inception in 2002. The site has personally sent attendees to Fests 6-13, then 17-18 in varied capacity, and we’ve back for The Fest 20. Oh, and we shared some remote memories when shutdowns kept it from happening in 2020, too. … Read more

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, … Read more

How do you sum up a 3-day weekend where you’ve spent approximately 36 hours watching live music and seen nearly 50 bands -- and also missed another 300? The Fest is a wonderful beast where you venue hop to catch up-and-comers, watch headliners outside on the big stage, and stumble … Read more

Normally the weekend nearest to Halloween is known for lots of parties and dressing up in costume (or attempting to dress in as little as possible). But this year Halloween took on a whole other demeanor with The Fest 7 once again taking place in Gainesville, Florida. Scene Point Blank … Read more

In nine years, Fest has grown into a pilgrimage, a verb, and something of a lifestyle. Besides the 200-300 bands in town, annual activities include excessive drinking, a lot of walking, sporadic meals, counting Mikey Erg bands, and seeing how many times Dave Decker will run onstage. Once again I … Read more

19 Things We Miss About The Fest 2020 has been hard. You’ve all read that a million times. But you’ve lived it too. In most years, for many of us, The Fest offers an outlet to get away from those doldrums. But a socially distant Fest is simply inconceivable. The … Read more

Here are the highlights, and a few lowlights as experienced by SPB at easily the best shows of the year: The Fest 6. The first band to leave me agape was Planes Mistaken for Stars. Priming the audience for the rest of the evening, they burned every calorie of energy … Read more

Felix Hagan & the Family play grandiose pop songs tinged with hints of musical theatre, classic rock, and jazz. Hagan's shows have been described as a whirlwind of show-off nonsense (in a good way!) with Hagan playing ringleader to a seven-piece backing band of highly theatrical, immaculately dressed, misfits. The … Read more

Earlier this year folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner released his sixth studio album, Positive Songs for Negative People. Recorded in Nashville with producer Butch Walker, the record is an attempt to capture the live sound of Frank and his band The Sleeping Souls while covering themes of longing, friendship, and resilience. … Read more

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 to our homes reveling in another amazing Fest and hoping that feeling of belonging can last to the next … Read more