This Saturday, just a month before Fest returns to Gainesville and punk rock rears its madcap head once again, Curia on the Drag is hosting AM/PM, a celebration of Fest’s 15th anniversary with the perfect ingredients: local music, local coffee and local beer.
One of the local coffee joints bringing the joe is the Sweetwater Organic Coffee Company. Sweetwater production manager Mike Weaver is the main organizer of the AM/PM event, and he said he’s excited to bring this sort of event to Gainesville.
Weaver approached all the local spots in Gainesville for the event and recruited — along with Sweetwater — Flagship Coffee Roasters and Opus Coffee, as well as Swamp Head Brewery, First Magnitude Brewing Company, Rainstorm Brewing Company and Alligator Brewing Co.
Weaver said he hopes for an even wider range of roasters and breweries for a future AM/PM event, reaching out to other Florida establishments in Tampa and St. Augustine and possibly hosting at a larger venue like the Alachua County Fairgrounds.
Two Gainesville bands playing this event, Edmonton and Heat Rash, will be performing at Fest later this year.
UF student Claudia Acosta said she is anticipating this event.
She fuels up at all the local coffee shops, whether it’s a mocha at Coffee Culture or a latte at Volta or Curia. Acosta is no stranger to Curia’s non-coffee happenings, too, like its Fine Print music shows and Sunday yoga classes, the 20-year-old English junior said.
She enjoys the coziness, well-decorated interior and “the light silence combined with the good music they play,” as it’s “conducive for studying.” Acosta said she would be looking forward to AM/PM if for the Fest hype alone, as she plans on seeing Pup, a band she missed at last year’s Fest, and local bands like Dikembe, Soda and UV-TV.
Admission is free and open to the public. There will be food for purchase from Curia and Humble Wood Fire. AM/PM will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
