Event: The Fest 23 (Oct 24-26, 2025)

The Fest 23
Bands: Numerous Bands
Date: October 24-26, 2025
Venue: Multiple Venues
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Website: thefestfl.com

Gainesville is just a little too far for me to drive to. On paper it’s about an hour and a half, but based on my previous travels, it’s probably closer to two hours for me to make the long drive. I did look into The Fest, it looks like an SXSE or CMJ style of music festival. That means there are numerous venues and about a million bands playing. I’m not sure how Gainesville is laid out, but part of what makes SXSW works is that all the venues are on the same two or three blocks. When I was covering NXNE (in Toronto) what sucked is that some bands were playing so far that I had to take the bus to see them… and that’s no fun.

Advertised lineup for 2025: