The Fest is an annual music festival in Gainesville, Florida, United States, which takes place on the weekend of the FloridaâÂÂGeorgia football game (around Halloween). Originally organized by Tony Weinbender, formerly of No Idea Records, it predominantly features punk rock, hardcore punk, and pop-punk artists, though there are also numerous indie rock, metalcore, metal, and ska bands.
The first The Fest festival took place on May 24âÂÂ25, 2002, but starting with The Fest II, it was moved to the weekend of October 17âÂÂ18, 2003.
It 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.
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.