Downtown Gainesville will come alive with punk rock music this weekend as The Fest 24 returns Oct. 23-25, bringing together hundreds of bands and music fans from around the world for three days of live performances.
The annual festival will feature performances across multiple downtown venues, including Bo Diddley Plaza, Heartwood Soundstage and Vivid Music Hall. This year's lineup includes well-known punk and alternative rock bands The Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, PUP and Small Brown Bike, according to the festival's official website.
The festival is much more than a weekend of live music for Adam Gecking, an administrator of the Fest Friends Facebook group and owner of Say-10 Records.
"I often refer to Fest as the closest thing to a religious experience that I'll ever have," Gecking said. "Everyone there is super nice. It's like the biggest group of friends that have been coming together year after year that you'll ever see."
Gecking, who has attended the festival on and off since 2007, described the event as a "punk rock family reunion" that brings together a community of music lovers who return to Gainesville year after year.
In 2014, Gecking and several friends created the Fest Friends Facebook group after a previous group dissolved. Although the group is not officially affiliated with the festival, it has continued to serve as an online community for attendees.
Gecking also operates Say-10 Records, an independent record label that he said originally brought him to the festival after one of its bands, The Riot Before, performed there.
This weekend, Gecking will be selling merchandise during festival registration, giving him another opportunity to interact with the music community he has been part of for nearly two decades.
As fans prepare for the festival, volunteers have been working behind the scenes to transform downtown Gainesville into a space capable of hosting thousands of music lovers.
Montgomery Mercer, a second-year festival volunteer, spent Thursday helping prepare Bo Diddley Plaza for the weekend's performances.
"With Bo Diddley, it's a whole bunch of volunteers in the morning," Mercer said. "You have people setting up the backstage, and you have people setting up all the fencing around, all of the signage, everything, all the bar stuff, all the merchandise."
Unlike the festival's established indoor venues, Bo Diddley Plaza requires additional preparation by volunteers to accommodate the performances and large crowds expected throughout the weekend.
Mercer said he anticipates a larger turnout than last year, largely because of the festival's lineup.
"I actually think it's going to be a bigger crowd this year," Mercer said. "There's some bands that I think are much more appealing to a general audience."
Among the performers Mercer believes will attract additional fans are Texas Is the Reason, PUP and Algernon Cadwallader.
One performance Gecking is particularly excited about is the return of Small Brown Bike, a Michigan punk rock band scheduled to perform Saturday at Vivid Music Hall. Gecking said the performance will mark the band's first show since the death of one of its members several years ago.
According to the official festival schedule, Small Brown Bike will perform Saturday from 6:50 to 8 p.m.
The festival also attracts visitors from across the United States and internationally, bringing people together through their shared interest in punk rock.
Gecking, who travels to Gainesville from Virginia, said he has friends attending from Denver and knows people making the trip from Australia.
"I know it brings in people from all over the world," Gecking said. "People come from everywhere."
Mercer reiterated those comments, emphasizing the festival's importance to tourism in Gainesville and the surrounding area.
"I think this is probably one of the biggest things for tourism for Alachua County," Mercer said. "You have people traveling from across the U.S., across the entire globe, just to come to Gainesville."
Liz Reyes, a representative for Visit Gainesville, said the festival attracts more than 10,000 attendees annually and generates millions of dollars in economic impact for local businesses.
Reyes estimated that The Fest generates approximately $3.2 million in direct spending by visitors, including for hotel stays, restaurant establishments and other expenses associated with attending the event.
Visit Gainesville also estimates approximately $5 million in additional economic impact as visitor spending increases demand for goods and services throughout the community.
Reyes said Visit Gainesville has supported the festival for years, contributing approximately $170,000 in sponsorships since 2017. She mentioned that the festival consistently sells out, although she could not confirm whether attendance would increase this year.
Beyond its economic impact, Reyes said Gainesville's musical history and welcoming community have helped establish the city as a destination for music lovers.
"We have a renewing audience of music lovers every year," Reyes said.
Reyes pointed to musicians such as Tom Petty, Bo Diddley and Stephen Stills as examples of the area's musical history. She also credited the community's support for helping the festival remain in Gainesville year after year.
"We're very welcoming of our creative community," Reyes said.
Beyond the music, the weekend offers opportunities for independent record labels, vendors and fans to connect. Festival registration will take place Friday from noon to 7 p.m. at First Magnitude Brewing Company, 1220 SE Veitch St., where attendees can collect their wristbands and visit flea market vendors.
Late registration will be available Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at Bo Diddley Plaza.
Three-day festival passes were listed at $300 through Thursday, with walk-up passes priced at $330 if available. Individual show tickets are also offered for select performances, with prices varying by venue.
For Gainesville residents who do not purchase tickets, the festival also includes several free performances. Friday's performances at First Magnitude Brewing Company and select shows at other venues are open to the general public.
Gecking said people can also experience some of the festival's atmosphere without attending a ticketed performance by listening to music from outside Bo Diddley Plaza.
For Mercer, one of the most anticipated moments of the weekend will be the performance by Algernon Cadwallader, a band he has wanted to see live for years.
"I'm so incredibly excited for Algernon tomorrow," Mercer said. "They're probably the ones that I've been waiting to see for a very long time."
As the weekend approaches, volunteers like Mercer are completing preparations while returning attendees like Gecking look forward to reconnecting with the music community that brings them back to Gainesville each year.
"It's my favorite weekend every year," Gecking said. "If people aren't going, I tell everyone that they have to go at least once."
For the complete lineup, performance schedule and ticket information, visitthefestfl.com