Wonk Unit Play The Fest

Wonk Unit + 330 others!!

YES!  WONK play the USA!

Loosey’s

120 SW 1st Ave, Gainesville, FL

18+ FEST 14 PASS HOLDERS ONLY

Background

THE FEST is an independent multiple-day, multiple-venue underground music festival held annually in Gainesville, FL with support from the fine folks at No Idea Records and now THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE, FL.

For a dose of recent history, in 2013, THE FEST celebrated 12 years and expanded to four days in Gainesville, FL and added two days for the first annual BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR in the historic Ybor City, FL (TAMPA). FEST 12 hosted 400 bands in four days while BIG PRE-FEST gave 100 of those bands and close to 1,000 attendees another two days to enjoy the party in a new city.

Last year, THE FEST 13  hosted 373 musical acts over three days at 20 venues in the heart of Gainesville — including THE FEST taking over downtown Gainesville’s Bo Diddley Plaza, THE FEST’s first open air main stage! Adding Bo Diddley Plaza enabled FEST to step up production levels as well as enabled attendees to avoid lines and enjoy headliners in an amazing new atmosphere run solely in every way by FEST STAFF and FEST VOLUNTEERS. Plus, we finally had a venue large enough to have the fucking DESCENDENTS play!!! At it’s most packed, Bo Diddley Plaza enabled 5,500 people to watch a band together. 5 times the amount of people a band had previously played in front of in FEST history! The total three day impact on Gainesville was 21,888 FEST 13 wristband holders. 20% of attendees were non-US residents. a 5% increas from the previous year. 69% of attendees were not from Florida.

2015 brings FEST to our 14th year and we expect our attendance to grow even more. Over 10,000 music lovers will converge on Florida to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and some of the best underground punk, hardcore, indie and alt-country bands from all over the world. FEST will once again expand into Ybor City for BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 3 (Oct 28th & 29th)  and going back to the standard three days in Gainesville for FEST 14 (Oct 30th, Oct 31st & Nov 1st). 2015 will also find FEST working even closer with the City of Gainesville to add LOT 10 (located in the heart of downtown Gainesville, FL) into their roster of venues. This additional venue will allow more attendees to enjoy the headliners and give FEST organizers an opportunity to utilize a larger open air space to grow the festival.

Established in 2002  with only 60 bands, four stages, and two days, THE FEST has experienced a massive growth rate, now finding the festival outgrowing the amazing city it was birthed in.

What should I bring?

EVERYONE ATTENDING FEST 14 and PRE-FEST 3 in YBOR MUST HAVE A VALID ID WITH BIRTH DATE TO GET INTO ANY OF THE VENUES. NO EXCEPTIONS! IF YOU ARE FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY, PLEASE BRING YOUR PASSPORT TO EACH VENUE. OTHER COUNTRIES’ DRIVERS LICENSES WILL NOT WORK AT THE VENUES. If you don’t have a driver’s license, then you must have a legal ID or Passport. College IDs will not work. This is not the ’70s.

What are the venues? And how far are the venues?

GAINESVILLE: All of the venues are in walking distance. LOT 10 , The Atlantic, The Wooly,  8 Seconds, CMC, Rockey’s Piano Bar, Boca Fiesta/Palomino, and Loosey’s are all in a four block radius. 1982 is about 11 blocks from The Atlantic and 8 blocks from 8 Seconds. These are all walking blocks. Gainesville has a very small downtown.

YBOR (TAMPA): YBOR is a thriving historic district and has many clubs/venues all in walking distance right off of one strip (E 7th Ave). The venues are all within a 6 walking block stretch. Super easy to find and plenty of bars, eats and shops in between.

What’s the deal with the charter bus to get me to Gainesville from Tampa?

We have secured a charter bus company to help you FEST folk get from TAMPA to GAINESVILLE and back. You can go to the PRE-FEST 3 PAGE for more info and to the TICKETS PAGE (UP JUNE 1st)  to purchase a ticket on the PORK CHOP FEST EXPRESS! We are trying to make this as easy as possible for you to enjoy both cities. Attendees who rode the PCFE the last two years loved it, so I am sure it will be a popular and easy form of transportation again this year.

How do I get there? Rental cars? Flights? Greyhound?

GAINESVILLE: The Gainesville Regional Airport is a quick cab ride to downtown. They mainly use Atlanta as a hub. Check there, but Jacksonville, Tampa, or Orlando is usually cheaper. Also, check out: www.megabus.com. It runs from Atlanta and Orlando to Gainesville now! Super cheap, clean and they have Wi-Fi. Gainesville also has a Greyhound station that is in walking distance from downtown or a short cab ride. There is also a Hertz Rental Car right at the Holiday Inn University Center and an Enterprise Rental Car office nearby on University Ave.

YBOR (TAMPA): The Tampa International Airport has several ground transportation options for you that can be found here. TAMPA also has a Greyhound station that is a half mile from Ybor. There is a rad street car that boards right near both Ybor hotels that will take you to downtown if you want to see more of Tampa in the daytime. Fairs are $2.50 or you can purchase an all day pass for $5. You can find more info here about fairs, stops and running times.

Can I buy a FEST 14 PASS or BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 3 PASS for just one day?

Nope. However, we do offer single day ADVANCE TICKETS and walk up individual ticket sales (if not sold out in advance). These tickets will go onsale later this summer once the schedule has been posted for each city.

Can I buy tickets for an individual show in advance?

Depends. See above! When we do, we sell 10% of the venues capacity, but for the smaller venues we don’t pre-sell individual tickets or walk up tickets for. Check back when the schedule of showcases are announced later this summer.

Are you full? Can my band play?

WE ARE FULL!!!! Please do not ask us to play.

What are the drinking laws?

GAINESVILLE: 21 and up can drink at the venues. Package liquor can be purchased between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., and beer, wine and drinks at a bar can be purchased between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m.

YBOR/TAMPA: 21 and up can drink at the venues. Venues drinking hours varies by location, but all are allowed to be open until 3 a.m. and serve if they choose. The Seminole Hard Rock Casino is open even later since it’s on Native American owned land and not subject to the county’s drinking laws.  Their nightclub is open until 6 a.m. and grabbing a drink is possible 24/7 on the hotel’s premises. Package liquor can be purchased in stores. They tend to stay open until 11 or 12, but are allowed to stay open until 3 a.m., just like the bars in Tampa/Ybor.

Where do I eat? Drink? Buy my favorite…?

All that info will be stashed in your official FEST 14  guidebook. We will also be updating the LOCAL EATS section of the site as information becomes available.