The AM/FM Festival is ‘by Gainesville, for Gainesville’ — and proud of it

For those who haven't already gotten a taste of the Gainesville music scene, the AM/FM Festival is an all-you-can-eat buffet. 

The AM/FM Festival returned for its second consecutive year on Feb. 22 and took over The Bull, The How Bazar and Loosey’s downtown. 

Initially formed in 2010, the free event featured 28 local artists, over double the number it hosted in its first year. About 700 people attended the festival, an increase from last year’s estimated 600.  

While AM/FM is “about music, for music,” the festival’s director Brandon Telg said it's also “by Gainesville, for Gainesville.”

With only two bands having returned from last year’s lineup — indie rock bands The Nancys and Trustfall — Telg said the festival aims to minimize rebooking artists. 

Telg, the 36-year-old director of MusicGNV, said the event strives to highlight the diversity of the local scene. Regardless of what time people show up to the festival, they are bound to have a great experience, he added ahead of Sunday.  

“The whole day is curated with a mindset of discovery, which is what we found to be really successful last year, and what we hope continues to be true this year,” Telg said. 

The festival is curated by 13 local groups — to ensure a wide range of performers — from venues like Baby J’s Bar to booking organizations like Roadhouse. Each curator chose three bands and three solo artists they wanted to see on the bill, but the total number of acts was narrowed down to 28. 

Among the bands MusicGNV invited to the festival were Sir Flame and My Favorite Animal, both recipients of the organization’s Loosey’s Quarterly Recording Grant.

The quarterly grant provides one Gainesville-based musician with a weekend of studio time, during which the artist professionally records and mixes at least one song. They also receive photo and video content of the process. 

Telg was at the festival early, eager to see a metal band uncharacteristically play in the middle of the day. 

Middle schoolers and mosh pits

Opening the festival at 1 p.m., which Telg called an “unenviable” time slot, was Ghost Rat. In contrast to the sunny, calm, 69-degree weather outside, the duo was loud, thrashy and dark. And 13 years old. 

Guitarist Lux Pelkey and drummer Ryder Garcia, donning their black band tees and black hats — one facing forward, the other backward — kicked off the festival at The How Bazar with a set of short and speedy instrumental originals, as well as Death and D.R.I. covers. The miniature James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich could be heard shredding from Loosey’s. 

As far as how they ended up on the AM/FM bill, they had to ask their parents. 

Though only having started playing in August, the pair of punks has already gotten around the local metal scene, playing shows curated by Respite Events, the event promotion organization that invited them to AM/FM. 

The boys agreed the festival is a great opportunity for the community to discover new music. Pelkey added their set served to prove “little people can jam out hard.”

Over at The Bull, a mosh pit began forming at 2 p.m. as The Afghan Hounds set took off. 

“If you ain’t movin’ you better start motherf*ckers!” frontman of the hardcore band Leo Graham shouted. 

Among the rowdiest of the moshers was Brody Whiteside. Though only a college freshman, Whiteside jumped right into the Gainesville music scene, a scene he heard was “evil hardcore land.”

The 19-year-old UF mathematics freshman was surprised to learn of Gainesville’s diverse music community. Without it, he said he wouldn’t have met so many people he now calls friends. 

“Most of my friends in Gainesville … I met through going to shows here,” he said. “Shows, especially what type of show you go to, is definitely an indicator of who you are. And most people who go to these sorts of events are chill people.”

Though chill doesn’t describe Whiteside and his friends, it could describe Wesli Avidan, who strummed away peacefully to a calm crowd inside at Loosey’s during The Afghan Hounds’ set. 

Beyond strings

Hardcore thrash metal and soft acoustic music weren’t the only genres on display at AM/FM. There was also jazz-rap. 

Having only started playing together in June 2025, trumpeter Julian Manu and trombonist Jayven Cromwell got their first gig by busking on the sidewalk outside of Loosey’s. Manu, a 19-year-old Florida A&M University jazz studies sophomore, grew up in Gainesville and said he’s grateful to be a part of such a big event in his hometown. 

Him and Cromwell, also a jazz studies student, are aware of indie rock’s dominance in Gainesville. But they’ve found their own crowd, at AM/FM and elsewhere. 

“Being able to showcase a different type of music and have people actually kind of get what we're trying to say, and trying to connect with it, that's so rewarding to us,” he said. “Because, in all honesty, jazz is pretty niche.”

The festival also gave artists an opportunity to showcase some new material. Ash Foira, otherwise known as Ash Shadow, performed two songs off her brand new EP, “Freezer Burn,” which was released that same morning.

The UF digital arts and sciences junior has been involved in the Gainesville music scene since she was 19 years old, getting her start playing folk music at house shows. Now, the musician’s sound is heavily electronic, working with analog synthesizers and digital workstations like Logic Pro. 

As her music evolved, so has the sound of the city. Shadow said in recent years, Gainesville has found its own electronic niche. And while these niches help sounds develop, festivals serve the important function of getting artists out of their comfort zones.

“[Musicians] can often end up in little bubbles, and it’s important for creative people to remember to embrace all of our bubbles,” she said.

‘It’s a point of pride’

By the end of the night, the temperature dropped 20 degrees, and fans bundled together at The Bull’s outside stage for The Nancys. Having played midday at the festival last year, the indie rock favorites headlined this year’s event.

Whiteside and his friends were still moshing and dancing away. 

Festival organizers have ambitions to expand the event, but it will always be for the local bands, said 48-year-old AM/FM co-founder Marshal Patrick. He said future festivals could include new venues, an additional day of music and applications for city grants to aid in its expansion.

Despite plans for evolution, AM/FM at its core is an independent and local show, Patrick said. He called the event a gift from the community. 

“It’s a point of pride,” Patrick said. “I helped make a little mark on this town.”

Contact Isabel Kraby at ikraby@alligator.org and Christopher Rodriguez at crodriguez@alligator.org. Follow Isabel on X @isabelgkraby and Chris @chrisrodri29386. 

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