Screams, combined with the deep beat of a drum set, could be heard blocks away from the stage at Bo Diddley Plaza.
Sound check.
Front-row fans leaned forward and pumped their fists to a guitarist’s forceful and high-pitched solo.
Music.
On Friday, people with black shirts and tattoo sleeves took to the streets of downtown Gainesville to attend the 15th annual Fest, a three-day punk music festival lasting from Friday to Sunday.
Curtis Grimstead, an accountant for the Fest, said fans from about 40 different countries come each year.
Bek Herbert, 26, traveled from Australia to see what she called “Australia’s most expensive music festival.”
“We all come here to hang out because this is where all the good bands are,” she said. “They don’t come to play in Australia because it’s too expensive.”
Herbert said she came to the festival in 2014, but was excited to meet other attendees this year, calling it "a really good vibe."
Grimstead said the Fest has grown from one or two venues and 20 bands the first year to 350 bands with venues all over Gainesville this year.
“People keep coming back,” he said, “because it’s a giant family reunion for punk rock.”
