Gainesville FESTival fiends, the time has come for you to grab your fanny pack, and prepare for FEST 2018.
For the 17th year in a row, FEST is coming to Gainesville and holding concerts from Friday through Sunday.
Starting on Friday, various Gainesville locations will be filled with local and out-of-town bands, comedians and wrestlers, performing for hundreds of people.
More than 300 bands, 20 comedians and 60 wrestlers will span across 18 different venues in Gainesville for the three-day event.
Local artists performing include Billy Reese Peters, Bitemarks, Coffee Project, DONKNG, Post Teens, Southpaw, Sunshine State and over 30 others.
Six of Gainesville’s own comedians will also take part in the comedy showcase during FEST weekend.
Some of the locations for the various performers include Bo Diddley Plaza, The Atlantic, The Wooly, Eight Seconds, CMC, Rockey’s Piano Bar, Boca Fiesta/Palomino, Big Lou’s, The Hippodrome, Durty Nelly’s, Hardback Cafe and Loosey’s, which are all within a nice four-block radius.
Access to the event is based on passes, which are sold online and on location as available.
The official FEST 17 three-day pass gets you access to all the shows officially associated with the event for the weekend. Passes are available as a last minute walk-up for $170 on Friday at the Holiday Inn in Gainesville.
Once purchased, attendees must go to registration from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday at the Holiday Inn University Center to pick up their passes and check in.
Attendees must also bring a photo ID or passport to pick up their wristband along with complimentary goodies, including guidebooks, schedules and Koozies.
FEST is an underground music festival held annually in Gainesville and was established in 2002. The event has grown exponentially over the years, and what started with 60 bands and two days has now expanded into the multi-day extravaganza we know today.
Passes are selling out soon, as the event plans to only sell 3,000 tickets.
For more information on pass availability and the lineup of bands, comedians and wrestlers check out the official website at theFESTfl.com.
