New Bedford's technical-punk lifers, stacking dizzying twin-guitar leads on top of full-throttle melodic hardcore. A Fest institution and one of its most reliable pits.
From New Bedford, MA · Sounds like Propagandhi, Strung Out, None More Black
The Fest 2026 Lineup
Three days, dozens of downtown venues, and hundreds of punk bands — Gainesville's DIY institution, 24 years running.
About The Fest 2026
The Fest — this year it's Fest 24 — is Gainesville, Florida's beloved punk institution, and unlike almost every other festival on this site it isn't a field with four stages. It's a three-day takeover of downtown Gainesville, spreading hundreds of bands across a dozen-plus bars, clubs, and theaters within walking distance of each other. One wristband, a printed schedule, and a weekend of running between rooms: that's the whole ritual.
The sound is punk in the widest sense — melodic and skate punk, gruff Hot Water Music-style anthems, twinkly Midwest emo, third-wave ska, crossover thrash, folk-punk, and the occasional sludge or post-hardcore curveball. The 2026 bill leans hard on reunions and heavy hitters (PUP, Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, The Flatliners, Sparta, Texas is the Reason, Samiam, A Wilhelm Scream) while giving huge chunks of the schedule to DIY bands, Gainesville locals, and the current ska and emo revivals.
With well over 300 acts, no single person can see it all — and that's the point. Fest rewards wandering: catching a band you've never heard in a half-full bar at 3pm is as much the experience as the marquee reunion at midnight. Use the finder below to point your weekend at the bands most worth your walking shoes.
Expect punk, alternative, rock and punk rock across 337 acts.
The Fest 2026 lineup: all 337 acts
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre — save anything straight to your schedule.Browse all 337 acts →
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre — save anything straight to your schedule.
Asbury Park's forever-young punk anthem factory — thirty-odd years of gang vocals and open-hearted singalongs. Few bands turn a room into a family faster.
From Asbury Park, NJ · Sounds like Descendents, Lagwagon, Hot Water Music
Fat Wreck royalty and skate-punk architects — Joey Cape's melodies over machine-gun drums. Three decades in, still one of the genre's tightest live acts.
From Goleta, CA · Sounds like NOFX, No Use for a Name, Strung Out
Toronto's chaos-pop-punk stars — self-lacerating lyrics, unhinged energy, choruses built to be screamed back until throats give out. As big a name as this fest books.
From Toronto, ON · Sounds like Jeff Rosenstock, The Menzingers, Joyce Manor
Berkeley's bridge between 90s melodic punk and emo — Jason Beebout's ache over big, rolling hooks. Aging beautifully and criminally underrated.
From Berkeley, CA · Sounds like Jawbreaker, Sense Field, J Church
Jim Ward's post-At the Drive-In vehicle, trading that band's spasms for soaring, melodic post-hardcore. A marquee draw and a rare Fest booking.
From El Paso · Sounds like At the Drive-In, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Sunny Day Real Estate
One of emo's foundational bands, gone almost as fast as they arrived — glassy guitars and yearning restraint. A reunion set that carries real historical weight.
From New York, NY · Sounds like Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, Jawbreaker
Toronto punks who grew out of ska into gravel-throated, big-hearted melodic punk. A modern Fest cornerstone with a knack for the last-song-of-the-night singalong.
From Toronto · Sounds like Hot Water Music, Iron Chic, The Lawrence Arms, The Menzingers
Miami's ska-punk agitators, welding horns to hardcore and unapologetically political lyrics. Loud, fast, and made for a downtown block that won't stay still.
From Miami, FL · Sounds like Leftover Crack, Choking Victim, Op Ivy
Beloved and long-dormant Philly emo pioneers back from reunion — noodly twinkling guitars, yelped vocals, and pure basement-show joy that a whole generation of Midwest-emo revivalists learned from.
From Philadelphia, PA · Sounds like Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Snowing, Glocca Morra
Detroit post-hardcore that lurches between whisper and full collapse. Long-dormant and much-mythologized, so a Fest set is a genuine event.
From Detroit, MI · Sounds like At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, Cursive
The Lawrence Arms' motormouth bassist-singer, solo and unfiltered — bar-stool wit and self-deprecation over rough acoustic punk, half gig and half stand-up set.
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, Dillinger Four
Philly's breakout ska-rocksteady crew, all vintage warmth and Brittany Luna's magnetic pipes. Leading the current ska revival and built for a dancing crowd.
From Philadelphia, PA · Sounds like The Interrupters, Hepcat, The Slackers
Seattle's beer-soaked everyman punks, turning bars and day-jobs into gruff singalong anthems — songs about showing up when life is mid. Deeply Fest-coded.
From Seattle, WA · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, Dillinger Four
Descartes a Kant
From Guadalajara, Mexico · Sounds like Deerhoof, Mr. Bungle, Melt-Banana
Gainesville's own noodly, sad-but-warm emo — a hometown highlight who helped define the modern wave, equal parts twinkle and gut-punch. Expect a partisan crowd.
From Gainesville, FL · Sounds like American Football, Into It. Over It., Dowsing
Fort Collins' punks-gone-country, led by ALL's Chad Price and Jon Snodgrass — whiskey-worn harmonies and heartland ache. Fest's morning-after soundtrack.
From FORT COLLINS, CO · Sounds like Lucero, Two Cow Garage, Chuck Ragan
Fort Collins gruff-melodic punks with a literate, self-aware streak and choruses made for arms around shoulders — Colorado's contribution to the whiskey-punk canon.
From Fort Collins, Colorado · Sounds like The Menzingers, Red City Radio, Hot Water Music
F.Y.P
From San Pedro,CA · Sounds like Descendents, The Queers
Houston's turn-of-the-millennium pop-punk hitmakers (of 'All My Fault' fame) — snotty, catchy, and pure late-'90s nostalgia from the blink-adjacent yearbook.
From Houston, Tx · Sounds like Blink-182, MxPx, The Ataris
Mississippi ska with a horn section and a big voice — part of the modern ska class packing Fest dance floors.
From Ocean Springs, MS · Sounds like Catbite, The Interrupters, Kill Lincoln
Orange County's warm, melodic post-punk mainstays — Jeff Caudill's earnest hooks over ringing guitars, underrated for decades and built to last.
From Orange County, CA · Sounds like Samiam, Sense Field, Jawbreaker
Gillian Carter
From Orlando, FL · Sounds like pg.99, City of Caterpillar, Orchid
Gully Boys
From Minneapolis, MN
Born from the ashes of Braid, Bob Nanna's hookier follow-up — sharp, wordy emo with real pop instincts. A reunion for the turn-of-the-millennium emo faithful.
From Milwaukee, WI · Sounds like Braid, The Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World
Edmonton duo splicing oi! stomp with synth-lit post-punk and anthemic 80s gloss. One of the more distinctive sounds on the bill.
From Edmonton, Canada · Sounds like The Wipers, Cold Cave, Rites of Spring
Vinnie Caruana's post-Movielife crew, trading in the kind of scarred, shout-along punk that lands hardest at 1am with your arm around a stranger.
From NEW YORK, NY · Sounds like The Movielife, Hot Water Music, Bouncing Souls
Richmond crossover-thrash featuring Municipal Waste members — blistering, funny, and violently fast, thirty-song sets over before you catch your breath. The bill's designated whiplash.
From RIchmond Virginia · Sounds like Municipal Waste, D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies
Asheville twinkle-emo with heart-on-sleeve delivery — part of the genre's newest wave, and one of its most promising.
From Asheville, NC · Sounds like Algernon Cadwallader, Camping in Alaska, Dikembe
DC's frantic, horn-driven ska-punk revivalists — technical, self-aware, and relentlessly fun. Core to the new ska class Fest has embraced.
From Washington, DC · Sounds like Streetlight Manifesto, Less Than Jake, Catbite
Birmingham's Lee Bains and the Glory Fires — sweat-soaked Southern rock with punk lungs and pointed politics. A cathartic, gospel-loud set.
From Birmingham, AL · Sounds like Drive-By Truckers, Hot Water Music, Lucero
Brooklyn gruff-melodic trio with big, aching choruses and an immigrant's-eye lyric sheet — made for the last-hour singalong slot, beers raised.
From Brooklyn, NY · Sounds like Iron Chic, The Menzingers, Red City Radio
Grand Rapids' third-wave ska lifers, built for skanking. Relentlessly upbeat, horns blazing, zero cynicism — exactly the palate-cleanser a punk weekend needs.
From Grand Rapids MI · Sounds like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Suicide Machines
The Goleta goofballs behind 'Van Halen' and the Buffy theme — power-pop-punk with a sitcom sense of humor. Reliably one of the weekend's most fun sets.
From Goleta, CA · Sounds like Weezer, The Ataris, MxPx
New Junk City
From Atlanta, GA · Sounds like The Menzingers, Red City Radio, Hot Water Music
Playboy Manbaby
From Phoenix AZ
Epitaph-era skate-punk vets with pro-baseball roots and gruff, fast-melodic conviction — a deep-catalog set for the '90s SoCal-punk crowd.
From Los Angeles · Sounds like Bad Religion, Ten Foot Pole, Strung Out
Pittsburgh pop-punk survivors with a knack for shiny, earworm choruses — longtime road-dogs who still bring it, twenty-plus years deep.
From Pittsburgh, PA · Sounds like Motion City Soundtrack, The Wonder Years, The Ataris
Cleveland's literate gruff-melodic band, threading emo warmth through punk drive — understated, quietly essential, and beloved by everyone who's caught them.
From Cleveland, OH · Sounds like The Menzingers, Hot Water Music, Into It. Over It.
sleepytime trio
From Harrisonburg, VA · Sounds like City of Caterpillar, Frodus, pg.99
Allentown drums-and-keys duo — huge, earnest emo-pop from a deceptively small setup, married-couple chemistry included, huge sound from two chairs.
From Allentown, PA · Sounds like Rainer Maria, Cayetana, Now, Now
Michigan's gruff, dynamic melodic-hardcore torchbearers — quiet-loud swells and a hoarse howl. Kindred spirits to the Hot Water Music lineage that runs through Fest.
From Marshall, MI · Sounds like Hot Water Music, The Casket Lottery, Cursive
Chicago melodic-hardcore vets fronted by ER doctor Daryl Wilson — fast, tuneful, and still ferocious decades on, scene service in every sense.
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Naked Raygun, Rise Against, The Lawrence Arms
Carbondale's Ramones-core standard-bearers — buzzsaw guitars, whoa-ohs, and airtight two-minute hits, pop-punk done exactly right, whoa-ohs guaranteed.
From Carbondale, IL · Sounds like Screeching Weasel, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Ergs!
The Eradicator
From The D-Squash Ladder
Austin's beloved late-'90s pop-punk/ska outfit, all sugar-rush hooks and horns — a nostalgia hit that still detonates live.
From Austin, TX · Sounds like Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, The Ataris
Richmond punk with an activist heart and huge, communal choruses — new-ish but already a natural Fest fit, solidarity as setlist.
From Richmond, VA · Sounds like The Bouncing Souls, Against Me!, The Interrupters, Rancid
Montreal's long-running traditional-ska party band. Horns, dance moves, and singalongs — a guaranteed good time on a sweaty Gainesville stage.
From Montreal, QC · Sounds like The Slackers, Mustard Plug, Reel Big Fish
Dayton's snotty, fast pop-punk workhorses — hooks first, attitude close behind, and a release schedule that never sleeps.
From Dayton, OH · Sounds like The Copyrights, Teenage Bottlerocket, Screeching Weasel
Another Todd C. vehicle — lo-fi, hyper-catchy, gone-in-90-seconds pop-punk, pure Recess Records energy and communal chant choruses.
From San Pedro · Sounds like Toys That Kill, F.Y.P, The Marked Men
Tiltwheel
From San diego · Sounds like Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads
The former Avail frontman turned gravel-road troubadour — punk conviction stripped down to an acoustic guitar and hollered truths, train-yard sincerity throughout.
From RICHMOND, VIRGINIA · Sounds like Avail, Chuck Ragan, Frank Turner, Lucero
Miami's masters of 'thunder-pop' — crushing, downtuned riffs that somehow float on major-key hooks. The heaviest, most physical set on the bill.
From Miami · Sounds like Melvins, Baroness, Big Business
Todd Congelliere's San Pedro melodic-punk institution (Recess Records) — off-kilter hooks and DIY-lifer charm, the scene's connective tissue.
From San Pedro,CA · Sounds like F.Y.P, The Marked Men, Underground Railroad to Candyland
Baltimore's co-ed feminist hardcore — Shawna Potter's righteous fury over pummeling riffs, confrontational, necessary, and a Fest force.
From Baltimore, MD · Sounds like Bikini Kill, Propagandhi, RVIVR
Gainesville country-punk led by a strong voice and a barroom heart — the Sunday-morning end of the Fest spectrum, hangover-friendly and lovely.
From Gainesville, FL · Sounds like Lucero, Drag the River, Two Cow Garage
St. Pete's horror-goofball pop-punk — fast, dumb-fun, and Ramones-simple, a Florida-scene good time in werewolf masks.
From St. Petersburg, Florida · Sounds like The Queers, Teenage Bottlerocket, Screeching Weasel
worlds greatest dad
From Atlanta, GA · Sounds like Mom Jeans., Oso Oso, Prince Daddy & The Hyena
Gainesville gruff-melodic punk — a hometown act primed for a hometown crowd, singalongs pre-loaded and Fest-family energy guaranteed.
From Gainesville, FL · Sounds like Red City Radio, MakeWar, The Flatliners
Zeta
From Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
0 Miles Per Hour
From Orlando, Florida
300 Usd
From New York City
Adjust the Sails
From Atlanta, GA
Age of Kid
From TOKYO, JAPAN
All I Hear Is Birds
From Atlanta, GA
ambretta
From Lake Havasu City, Az
American Dream Survivors
From Gainesville FL
Anchorite
From Austin, TX
Arcadia Grey
From Chicago
Arid Wave
From Southampton, UK
Awful Din
From Brooklyn, NY
Back East
From Bern
Bad DOG
From Gainesville, FL
Bad, Bad Things
From Tampa, FL
New Jersey gruff-melodic punk with earnest hooks and a road-worn heart — Menzingers-school singalongs for the beard-and-flannel faithful.
From New Jersey · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, Hot Water Music
Bashful
From Richmond, VA
Bat Boy
From Philadelphia, PA + Richmond, VA · Sounds like The Wonder Years, Neck Deep, Man Overboard
Beinn
From Brooklyn ,NY
Best Bear
From Philadelphia, PA
Big Sad
From Tampa, FL
Bike Tuff
From Kalamazoo, MI · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, The Sidekicks
Black Guy Fawkes
From Western Maryland
Blind Adam and The Federal League
From Chicago, IL
Blvck Hippie
From Memphis, TN · Sounds like Bloc Party, Bartees Strange, TV on the Radio
The voice of Braid and Hey Mercedes, solo and intimate — foundational Midwest emo delivered up close, with the stories between songs part of the draw.
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Braid, The Promise Ring, Hey Mercedes
Bobby Edge Band
From Newburgh, NY
Boss' Daughter
From Reno, NV · Sounds like Face to Face, Strung Out
Boston Marriage
From Orlando, FL
boy clothes
From Nashville, TN
Brave You
From Milwaukee, WI · Sounds like The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, Tigers Jaw
Brightr
From Newport, Wales, UK
Bronson Arm
From Kalamazoo, Michigan
Brook Pridemore
From Brooklyn, NY
Bumsy and The Moochers
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake
Burnt Tapes
From London, UK · Sounds like Hot Water Music, The Menzingers, Red City Radio
Caitlin Edwards
From Chicago, IL
Huntsville's twinkly, sometimes-screamed emo — intricate and emotionally maximal, a cult name in the genre's online canon.
From Huntsville, AL · Sounds like Algernon Cadwallader, Kerosene Heights, Snowing
Canadian Rifle
From Chicago · Sounds like Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads, Leatherface
Cape Crush
From Boston
Ceramicats
From Gainesville, Fl
Voice of ALL and Drag the River, going it alone — that unmistakable rasp over country-tinged punk, a songwriter's set from a scene lifer.
From Bloomington, IN · Sounds like ALL, Drag the River, Lucero
Chilled Monkey Brains
From Tallahassee, FL
Chimes
From Gainesville, FL
Choke Up
From Boston, MA
Christy Costello & The CC Club
From Minneapolis, Minnesota
Clearance Bongwater Revival
From Gainesville, FL
Cold Wrecks
From Brooklyn, NY
Common Sage
From Brooklyn, NY
Confession Kids
From Gainesville, FL
Cooper!
From Gainesville, FL
Crucial Fix
From Gainesville, Fl
Crush Fund
From Brooklyn, NY · Sounds like G.L.O.S.S., Screaming Females, Bikini Kill
Cuni
From Washington, DC
Cutman
From Gainesville, FL
Nashville's moody, melodic emo — hazy guitars, heavy hearts, and slow-burn dynamics in the Balance and Composure school. A mid-day set for the introspective.
From Nashville, TN · Sounds like Balance and Composure, Turnover, Mineral
Damage Done
From Gainesville FL
Days Spent
From Melbourne/Port St. Lucie, FL
Dead Sea Lords
From Gainesville, Fl
Dead Selves
From Atlanta, GA
Dear Cincinnati
From Tallahassee, FL
Dear Maryanne
From Scituate, MA
Orlando gruff-melodic punks with sharp, politically charged hooks — a Florida-scene stalwart with big-hearted songwriting and no patience for the powerful.
From Orlando, FL · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, Red City Radio
Dentist
From Asbury Park
DFMK
From Tijuana, Mexico
Direct Order'82
From Jersey Shore, NJ
Dirty Rotten Revenge
From Bloomington, IL
Sacramento sisters churning out bratty, hooky garage-punk — fun, fast, and tight, with Ramones economy and sibling-locked harmonies.
From Sacramento, CA · Sounds like The Muffs, Bleached, Ramones
Don't Panic
From Stroudsburg, PA
Doom Scroll
From Denver, CO
Double Jointed
From Lenoir City Tennessee
Drosera
From Gainesville, FL
Drought
From Bay Area, CA
Easy Money, Inc.
From Gainesville, FL
Chad Matheny's brainy, restless indie-folk project — science-teacher lyrics and lo-fi urgency, songs like field recordings from a collapsing future. A left-field Fest gem.
From Jacksonville, FL · Sounds like The Mountain Goats, Neutral Milk Hotel, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Equipment
From Toledo, OH
Evening Standards
From Evening Standards
Excuse Me, Who Are You?
From Madison, WI
Fat Heaven
From Brooklyn
Feeble Strength
From London
Feversleep
From Portland, OR
Five Hundred Bucks
From Philadelphia, PA
Flagman
From Seattle, WA
Flowers for Emily
From Orlando, FL
For Dear Life
From Ohio/New York
Freezing Cold
From New York City
Fresh Pots!!
From Rock n' Roll, USA
future forms
From Gainesville, FL
Gab De La Vega
From Brescia, Italy
Gazee
From Philadelphia
Ghost Chant
From Hudson Valley, NY
Ghost Rat
From Gainesville, FL
Glazed
From Jacksonville, FL
Good Teal
From New Jersey
Gottlieb
From Los Angeles, California
Gun Died Laughing
From Gainesville FL
Southern California ska with sunny keys and a charismatic frontperson — pure feel-good, third-wave optimism with real songcraft.
From Southern California · Sounds like Catbite, We Are the Union, The Interrupters
Hawgs
From Gainesville, FL
Heart & Lung
From Cleveland, OH
Heavy Lag
From Brooklyn, NY
Hell Beach
From Manchester NH
Her Head's On Fire
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, Braid
Hew
From Houston, TX
Hey! TV Boy!
From Gainesville, FL
Hit Like A Girl
From Philadelphia, PA
HLLLYH
From Oakland, California
Hoist the Colors
From Los Angeles, CA.
Home Boys
From Gainesville, FL
Long-running Chicago-via-Phoenix melodic punks — gruff, fast, and criminally slept-on, lifers with a record collection's worth of craft.
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Dillinger Four, Lagwagon, Jawbreaker
Horsewhip
From St Pete FL
Hospital Job
From Springfield, IL
Houseghost
From Dayton, OH
Human Issue
From Los Angeles
Hyperdog
From Linz, Austria
i.liedtomyself
From orlando
Ill Star
From Gainesville, FL
Bay Area hardcore with a metallic edge and a vocalist who does not let up — pit fuel from the scene's deep bench.
From Ventura, CA · Sounds like Sunami, Drain, Scowl, Gulch
Innerlove
From Long Island, New York
Jackie + The Mosquito Bites
From Gainesville, FL
Jared Knapik
From Granby, CT
Jen Pop
From Los Angeles
Joker's Republic
From Essex County, NJ
Jonathan Francis
From Neptune City, New Jersey
Jumpstarted Plowhards
From San Pedro · Sounds like Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Mike Watt
Kiss the Scientist
From Los Angeles, CA
Kitty Kitty Meow Meow
From Tampa, FL
La Versión Extendida de las Cosas
From San José, Costa Rica
Lamonta
From Sacramento, CA
Leg Biters
From Gainesville, FL
Legitimate Business
From New Jersey
Liquid Limbs
From St. Augustine/High Springs, FL
Little Low
From Boston MA
Lockslip
From Los Angeles, CA
Logan Greene
From Tucson, AZ
Loris
From Gainesville, FL
Madison Bloodbath
From Mentone Beach, CA
Makeup Remover
From Gainesville, Fl
Mass Panic
From Melbourne FL
Matt Pless
From Baltimore MD · Sounds like AJJ, Days N Daze, Ramshackle Glory
Maxwelltheband
From Southampton, UK
Measurement
From Savannah Ga
Medians
From Tallahassee, FL.
Mega Infinity
From Long Island, NY
Memory Entry
From New York, NY
Middle-Aged Queers
From Oakland, CA
Middle-Out
From Detroit, MI
Mike & The Nerve
From Gainesville, FL
The Ergs! drummer-turned-frontman, a walking encyclopedia of pop-punk hooks — prolific, beloved, and seemingly playing five sets everywhere at Fest.
From Old Bridge NJ · Sounds like The Ergs!, Descendents, The Copyrights
Miller Lowlifes
From Tampa, FL
Minorcan
From Jacksonville, FL
Model Martel
From Cleveland, OH
Molly McGuire
From Kansas City MO
MooseCreek Park
From Long Island NY
Moral Less Right
From Atlanta, Georgia
Myles Bullen
From Portland, MAINE
Mystery Band
From Newark, OH
New Eagles
From Orlando, FL
New Forms
From Boston
Nick and The Adversaries
From Boston, MA
Night Mayor
From Gainesville, FL
DC/Baltimore chaotic hardcore fronted by Maha Shami — searing, political, and cathartic, carrying the region's screamo lineage forward.
From Washington DC · Sounds like War On Women, Portrayal of Guilt, Pg. 99
Montreal's swaggering party-punk force — riff-first, cowbell-friendly, and built to blow the roof off. One of the weekend's most kinetic sets.
From Montreal · Sounds like Amyl and the Sniffers, The Distillers, L7, Destroy Boys
Nomore
From Gainesville, FL
Octopoulpe
From Seoul, South Korea
Off Day
From Gainesville, FL
Ogbert the Nerd
From New Brunswick, New Jersey · Sounds like Mom Jeans., Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Oso Oso, Origami Angel
Oh the Humanity!
From Salem, MA
Oh Ya and the You Betchas
From Gainesville, FL
One Fall
From Salem, MA
Orange Blossom Trail
From Orlando, FL
Orbiter
From Gainesville, FL
Orca
From Gainesville, FL
Paisley Fields
From Brooklyn, NY · Sounds like Orville Peck, Trixie Mattel, Lavender Country
Palette Knife
From Columbus, OH · Sounds like Tiny Moving Parts, Free Throw, Mom Jeans., Prince Daddy & The Hyena
Panthro U.K. United 13
From Gainesville, Florida
Pink Slip
From Boston, MA
Pinkish
From Charlottesville/ Richmond VA
Pity Party
From Portland, OR / Los Angeles, CA / Grand Rapids, MI
Pollyanna
From Old Bridge, NJ
Pony
From WINDSOR, ON
Porch Coffin
From Orlando, FL
Pressure Set
From Yorkshire, UK - Chicago, IL - Denver, CO
Pressure Wheel
From Philadelphia, PA
Pretty Bitter
From Washington, DC
Psychic Death
From Atlanta, GA
Pwrup
From Feeding Hills, MA
Quiet Fear
From Los Angeles
Reconciler
From Atlanta, GA
Rent Strike
From Lansing MI · Sounds like AJJ, Days N Daze, Ramshackle Glory
Rodeo Boys
From Lansing, MI
rubes
From Gainesville, FL
Ryan Cassata & The Top Surgeons
From Los Angeles, CA
Sad Snack
From San Francisco
English folk-punk troubadour with a big heart and a bigger singalong — solo, disarming, and beloved across the punk circuit.
From Norwich, England · Sounds like Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry
Sandcrawler
From Gainesville, FL
sawpaw
From Saint Augustine, FL
School Drugs
From Jersey Shore, NJ
Seagulls
From Atlanta
secondSELF
From Nashville, TN
Seeker
From Gainesville, FL
Athens, GA punk with fuzz, hooks, and dual vocals — high-energy, road-tested, and built for the late-night slot.
From Athens, GA · Sounds like The Distillers, NOBRO, The Marked Men
shitstorm
From Miami, FL · Sounds like Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Insect Warfare, Napalm Death
Shrug Dealer
From New York City, NY
Skeletizer
From Orlando, FL
Slackrr
From Southampton UK
Sleep Club
From Denver, CO
Sleep in.
From Jersadelphia · Sounds like The Hotelier, Sorority Noise, Modern Baseball
Smelter
From Fort Lauderdale, FL
Milwaukee third-wave ska vets, still skanking after all these years — horns up, irony nowhere in sight.
From Milwaukee, WI · Sounds like Mustard Plug, Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto
Sooza
From Gainesville, FL
Sorry Sweetheart
From Denver, CO
Buffalo hardcore with NYHC bounce and a frontwoman who commands the pit — Fest's dose of full-contact energy, delivered with a grin.
From Buffalo, NY · Sounds like Turnstile, Gorilla Biscuits, Madball
Spaceman Bob
From Space
Spare Kid
From Antwerp
Spells
From Denver, Co. · Sounds like Teenage Bottlerocket, Dillinger Four
Spoil
From Athens, GA
Star 99
From San Jose, CA · Sounds like illuminati hotties, Diet Cig, Slaughter Beach, Dog
Nashville ska-core with a political edge and hardcore muscle under the horns — skanking and moshing given equal time.
From Nashville · Sounds like Leftover Crack, Kill Lincoln, Mustard Plug
Stunner
From Gainesville, FL
Suck Brick Kid
From ORLANDO
Summerbruise
From Indianapolis, IN · Sounds like Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Origami Angel, Mom Jeans.
Sumo
From Miami, FL
Sunday Morning
From New Haven, CT
Supersonic (Oasis Cover Set)
From Manchester, England · Sounds like Oasis, The Verve, Stone Roses
Supertwin
From Gainesville, FL
Sweet Gloom
From Los Angeles
Swiss Army Wife
From Portland, OR
Sybris
From Chicago, IL
Teddy DuChamp's Army
From Pittsburgh, PA
Teen Agers
From Orlando, FL
The Albert Square
From San Jose, CA
The Bad Ups
From Philadelphia, PA
The Barbed Wires
From Richmond, Va
New Brunswick ska-core with crust in its veins — fast, dark, and rowdy, horns over hardcore drums.
From New Brunswick, NJ · Sounds like Leftover Crack, Kill Lincoln, Choking Victim
The Bomb That Will Bring Us Together
From Chicago, IL
The Boy Detective
From Southeastern Michigan
The Caution Children
From Jacksonville, Fl · Sounds like Pianos Become the Teeth, La Dispute, Touché Amoré
The Cherry Bombs
From Vista, CA
The Crosses
From Milwaukee WI
The Doomstompers
From Queens, NY
The Dreaded Laramie
From Nashville, TN
The Effigies
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Naked Raygun, Articles of Faith, Big Black
the feat
From Chicago, IL
The Ghost You Know
From Gainesville, FL
The Joytraders
From Gainesville, Fl
The Low Blow
From Nashville, TN
The Mermers
From Gainesville, FL
The Moms
From New Jersey
The Overjoyed
From Athens, Greece
The Slow Retreat
From Cedar Rapids, IA
The Strange Ones
From Oakland, CA
The Subjunctives
From Seattle, WA
Tampa gruff-punk vets — bar-band heart and worn-in singalongs, longtime Fest family with the crowd to prove it.
From Tampa, FL · Sounds like Hot Water Music, Tim Barry, Dillinger Four
The Valterra Dragons
From Gainesville, FL
The Wild
From Atlanta, GA · Sounds like Against Me!, Lucero, The Gaslight Anthem
the yaupon holly
From gainesville/ jacksonville
Thrull
From Orlando, FL
Thunderclap
From Gainesville, FL
Tides
From Jacksonville, Fl
Tightwire
From Minneapolis, MN · Sounds like Masked Intruder, Teenage Bottlerocket
Time Thieves
From Chicago
Tired Radio
From Brooklyn, NY / Philadelphia, PA · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, Latterman
Title Holder
From NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY
Tombstonehead
From West Virginia
Trash The Rental
From Gainesville, FL
TrashWorldFL
From Orlando, FL
trustfall
From Gainesville, FL
Punchy Atlanta garage-pop — singalong nihilism, clingy guitar hooks, and a swaggering lean into Aussie trash rock, made for sweaty rooms.
From Atlanta, GA · Sounds like The Strokes, Archers of Loaf, Royal Headache
Vic Bondi And His Issues
From Seattle WA · Sounds like Articles of Faith, Jawbreaker, Hüsker Dü
Watts
From Orlando, Florida
winded
From Miami, FL
Wired Up
From Gainesville, FL
Won't Stay Dead
From Chicago, IL
Woolbright
From Davie, FL
Wordplay
From Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Worlds Scariest Police Chases
From Pittsburgh, PA
Worse Off
From New York · Sounds like The Menzingers, Iron Chic, The Bouncing Souls
Worst Party Ever
From Tokyo, Japan · Sounds like Modern Baseball, The Front Bottoms, Prince Daddy & The Hyena
The headliners
- A Wilhelm Scream — New Bedford's technical-punk lifers, stacking dizzying twin-guitar leads on top of full-throttle melodic hardcore. A Fest institution and one of its most reliable pits.
- Bouncing Souls — Asbury Park's forever-young punk anthem factory — thirty-odd years of gang vocals and open-hearted singalongs. Few bands turn a room into a family faster.
- The Flatliners — Toronto punks who grew out of ska into gravel-throated, big-hearted melodic punk. A modern Fest cornerstone with a knack for the last-song-of-the-night singalong.
- Lagwagon — Fat Wreck royalty and skate-punk architects — Joey Cape's melodies over machine-gun drums. Three decades in, still one of the genre's tightest live acts.
- PUP — Toronto's chaos-pop-punk stars — self-lacerating lyrics, unhinged energy, choruses built to be screamed back until throats give out. As big a name as this fest books.
- Samiam — Berkeley's bridge between 90s melodic punk and emo — Jason Beebout's ache over big, rolling hooks. Aging beautifully and criminally underrated.
- Sparta — Jim Ward's post-At the Drive-In vehicle, trading that band's spasms for soaring, melodic post-hardcore. A marquee draw and a rare Fest booking.
- Texas is the Reason — One of emo's foundational bands, gone almost as fast as they arrived — glassy guitars and yearning restraint. A reunion set that carries real historical weight.
Up-and-comers to catch early
- Catbite — Philly's breakout ska-rocksteady crew leading the current revival — pure dance-floor joy.
- Kill Lincoln — DC's frantic, horn-driven ska-punk; core to the new ska class Fest has embraced.
- MakeWar — Brooklyn gruff-melodic trio built for the last-hour, arm-around-a-stranger singalong.
- NOBRO — Montreal's swaggering party-punk — one of the most kinetic sets you'll catch all weekend.
- Home Front — Edmonton duo splicing oi! stomp with synth-lit post-punk; one of the bill's most distinctive sounds.
- Spaced — Buffalo hardcore with NYHC bounce and a frontwoman who owns the pit.
- Kerosene Heights — Asheville twinkle-emo riding the genre's newest wave, heart fully on sleeve.
- Dead Bars — Seattle's beer-soaked everyman punks — about as Fest-coded as a band can get.
Other acts worth planning around
- PUP — About as big as Fest books — Toronto's chaos-pop-punk stars turn any room into a sweaty, screamed-back singalong.
- Bouncing Souls — Thirty years of forever-young punk anthems; few sets turn a crowd into a family faster.
- Lagwagon — Fat Wreck skate-punk architects, still one of the tightest live acts in the genre.
- Texas is the Reason — A foundational emo band reuniting — a set that carries real historical weight.
- Sparta — Jim Ward's post-At the Drive-In vehicle; a marquee draw and a rare Fest booking.
- Torche — Miami's 'thunder-pop' — the heaviest, most physical set on the whole bill.
- A Wilhelm Scream — Technical melodic-hardcore lifers and a Fest institution; reliably one of the wildest pits.
- Iron Reagan — Municipal Waste members playing blistering, funny crossover thrash — the weekend's whiplash.
- Tim Barry — Avail's frontman solo and acoustic; a quieter Fest ritual that still ends in full-throated singing.
The Fest 2026 lineup FAQ
When and where is The Fest 2026?
Fest 24 runs October 23–25, 2026, across venues in downtown Gainesville, Florida. It's a walkable, multi-venue festival rather than a single fairground — one pass gets you into shows at bars, clubs, and theaters throughout the weekend.
How many bands play The Fest?
Well over 300 acts across the three days — everything from reunited headliners to Gainesville locals and DIY bands on their first tour. The full lineup is listed below.
What kind of music is The Fest?
Punk in every dialect: melodic and skate punk, gruff/Hot Water Music-style anthems, Midwest emo, third-wave ska, crossover thrash, folk-punk, and some post-hardcore and sludge. If you like any corner of punk, there's a room for you.
Do I need a pass, or can I go to a single show?
The Fest is built around a weekend pass that gets you into all the venues (subject to room capacity — popular sets fill up, so arrive early). Some individual shows may sell single tickets, but the pass is how most people do Fest. Check the official site for current pass and ticketing details.
I've never been to The Fest — any tips?
Pick a handful of must-see bands, then leave room to wander; discovering an unknown band in a half-empty bar is the whole point. Venues are close together but the big sets fill up, so line up early for those and stay flexible for everything else.
Going to The Fest 2026? Get tickets ↗
More festival lineups
Lollapalooza lineup →Hopscotch lineup →Rebellion lineup →III Points lineup →Lost Lands lineup →Louder Than Life lineup →All Points East lineup →Aftershock lineup →End of the Road lineup →ARC lineup →Warped Tour Orlando lineup →Austin City Limits lineup →Reading & Leeds lineup →EDC Orlando lineup →Bourbon & Beyond lineup →Riot Fest lineup →Outside Lands lineup →Green Man lineup →HARD Summer lineup →Osheaga lineup →Bass Canyon lineup →Nocturnal Wonderland lineup →Hulaween lineup →Dreamstate SoCal lineup →Honcho Campout lineup →Portola lineup →Furnace Fest lineup →Shaky Knees lineup →Sick New World Texas lineup →Hinterland lineup →Wasteland lineup →BOO Seattle lineup →All Things Go DMV lineup →îLESONIQ lineup →Raleigh Wide Open lineup →Rock in Rio lineup →Oceans Calling lineup →Darker Waves lineup →Lights All Night lineup →Bumbershoot lineup →LASSO Montréal lineup →Ohana lineup →Sea.Hear.Now lineup →Country Calling lineup →Iron Blossom lineup →All Things Go NYC lineup →