From Thursday to Sunday, Gainesville was filled with bearded men, cut-off jean shorts and empty beer cans as Fest 12 attendees hopped venues.
Fans from across the country are drawn to this beacon of punk-rock culture, bringing with them travel stories and fond memories of past events along the way to Title Town.
Taylor Wingfield said she braved the one-and-a-half day journey from Richmond, Va., to Gainesville in her boyfriend’s band’s van.
While the members of Hold Tight! sat huddled in the back, Wingfield claimed the much-more-comfortable front seat for the trip. The group stopped over at a South Carolina hotel on the way.
“I’m a diva, and we needed a bed,” Wingfield said.
Others used a combination of methods to reach Gainesville, though the transitions complicated the journey.
Sean Lachut, a freelancer for the Center for Inquiry, said he flew from Chicago into Tampa before driving north to Gainesville for Fest.
Lachut said he missed his connection in Atlanta, leaving him with a full day of waiting in an airport hotel. Then, when he boarded his plane, it experienced technical difficulties before takeoff.
“There was something wrong with the wing,” he said. “This dude was working on it with what looked like a paperclip, and I just thought ‘Is this where I die?’”
Jon Pearce, who traveled from Detroit to attend Fest, said his journey was an exhausting one.
“I ended up knocking out for two hours in an Orlando baggage claim,” Pearce said.
But the trip to a punk-rock mecca was well worth it. Pearce, who has come to Fest for three years in a row, said the shows were incredible.
On the way to see a show at the Florida Theater of Gainesville, Pearce ran into the lead singer of BoySetsFire, Nathan Gray. The two shook hands while Pearce praised Gray for his performance.
“You guys played a f****** awesome set,” he said.
Pearce said the punk community is extremely tight-knit. Most fans have met performers or know them personally.
New Yorker Barrie Cohn has been coming to Fest every year since its sixth iteration. It’s that sense of community that keeps the 32-year-old coming back every year.
Cohn stood next to Will Romeo, who’s been a friend for more than a decade.
Romeo, a band member of Gameday Regulars, said he followed the punk scene in New York City when he was 16, but it has declined along with music in general.
“That’s why I come to Fest,” he said. “It’s just the Super Bowl of punk rock.”
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/4/2013 under the headline "Faraway fans flock to Fest"
A member of the audience crowd surfs during a performance by 1994! as part of Fest 12 at The Atlantic on Saturday. The four-day Gainesville music festival brought many underground rock bands to downtown.
