55 total search results — Page 1 of 3
Music / Fest 23: Fest 23 – The Wrap
Feature — November 15, 2025
Pure Joy The 23rd FEST in Gainesville, Florida recently wrapped up. Scene Point Blank has been to the majority of them over the past two decades, beginning at FEST 5. I've personally attended roughly half of them. And at FEST 23, I saw 44 bands in 3 days (an …
Interviews / Fest 23: Fest 23: Artist Interviews
Feature — October 18, 2025
FEST 23 takes place later this month, from Oct. 24-26 in Gainesville, FL. Something like a billion bands are driving, flying, canoeing, and snowshoeing to the festival from across the country -- many of them for the first time and many come back to play nearly every year. …
Music / Fest 23: Bo Diddley Plaza: Behind the Scenes at Fest
Feature — October 6, 2025
For close to a quarter-century punk fans have flocked to Florida for The Fest. Boasting a lineup of 300+ bands and roughly a dozen venues these days, the festival has grown, shifted and evolved. For several years the main stage has been in a large downtown park called Bo …
Music / Fest 22: The Fest 22 – Reviewed
Feature — November 6, 2024
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 …
Music / Fest 21: The Guest List - The Fest 21
Feature — 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 to our homes reveling in another amazing Fest and hoping that feeling of belonging can last to the next …
Music / Fest 21: Fest 21 Preview
Feature — 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 something for anybody interested in punk-leaning, independent music from headlining main stage acts outdoors to up-and-comers playing in small bars …
Music / Fest 21: The Fest 21 – Reviewed
Feature — 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 …
Music / Fest 22: Fest 22: Artist Interviews
Feature — October 22, 2024
While I want to say that Scene Point Blank went big this year with so many interviews in this feature, the truth is that it's barely a fraction of the bands that play at FEST 22, taking place in Gainesville, FL from Oct. 25-27. The artists featured are just …
Music: The Fest 18: Making FESTory
Feature — October 28, 2019
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 …
Music: The Fest 17
Feature — November 12, 2018
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 …
Music: The Fest 18
Feature — November 12, 2019
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 …
Music / The Set List: Top Ten Acts We're Excited About at Riot Fest 2017
Feature — September 14, 2017
Multi-day music festival Riot Fest returns to Douglas Park in Chicago for its twelfth year, September 15-17th. The independent music festival specializes in punk, rock, alternative, metal, and hip-hop. Not to mention, there will be carnival rides, sideshow performers, and top-notch food vendors added to the mix of performers. If …
One Question Interviews: Damaged City Fest
Feature — April 8, 2016
Damaged City Fest SPB: Festivals are a continually popular concept, though varying in formulas. What do you think is best about a festival versus a “regular” line-up of 3-5 bands? Nick and Chris: We don't see festivals as an "alternative" to normal shows and prefer to view the …
Music / Fest 23: FEST LIBS 23 & Fest Moments
Feature — October 18, 2025
Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, FL, we’ve got some Fest games for you to play, including a few samples from this year’s performers. Click here to play FEST LIBS -- like a …
Music / Fest 11: The Fest 11
Feature — December 2, 2012
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 …
Music / Fest 16: Looking Forward to The Fest 16
Feature — October 22, 2017
It’s been three very long years since SPB hit The Fest. Well, it all changes this year – we’re also getting our first taste of Pre-Fest, already in its fifth iteration. With a lineup of something like a million of our favorite bands (Iron Chic, Hot Water Music, …
Music / Fest 20: The Fest 20
Feature — August 5, 2022
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 …
Music / Fest 20: The Fest 20: Dead Bars, Catbite and more
Feature — October 17, 2022
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. …
Music / Fest 20: The Fest 20 – Reviewed
Feature — November 7, 2022
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 …
