WUFT Morning Edition and WUFT Amplified host, Glenn Richards, recently spoke with Buddy Schaub, “trombonamaphoner” for the Gainesville band Less Than Jake. The hometown heroes return from a tour of the UK to host their annual Wake & Bake Weekend in Gainesville March 12*, 13 and 14. After an eight year hiatus, the event returned last year and was a great success by all accounts, so they're doing it again.
For 2026, Less Than Jake will once again headline two nights at Vivid Music Hall and this year's special guests include Voodoo Glow Skulls from Riverside, California and Teenage Bottlerocket from Laramie, Wyoming. Both nights start at 6:00 p.m. and fans can expect two totally different setlists by Less Than Jake for both nights celebrating the anniversaries of Losing Streak (1996) and Borders & Boundaries (2000).
Bite Me Bambi (Orange County, California) join the lineup on Friday the 13th and The Boy Detective (Michigan) and Joker’s Republic (New Jersey) play on Saturday the 14th.
The weekend festivities get underway Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. when bassist/vocalist Roger Lima’s side project, Rehasher, takes the stage at Loosey’s Downtown with Gainesville’s You Vandal who recently appeared on the first episode of the fifth season of WUFT Amplified.
On Saturday afternoon, March 14 at 12:00 p.m., Less Than Jake will perform an acoustic benefit set at First Magnitude Brewery (1220 SE Veitch St.) with special guest Joker’s Republic. Proceeds from the door will go to benefit GRACE Marketplace and Bread of the Mighty. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward and City Commissioner Bryan Eastman are scheduled to present Less Than Jake with a Key to the City during the event.
Less Than Jake’s Wake & Bake Weekend wraps up with the official all-ages goodbye show from 2 to 5 p.m. at GEEKS GNV with Eradicator, Orange Blossom Trail, and Chilled Monkey Brains.
Less Than Jake formed at the University of Florida in 1992 and have been entertaining fans around the world with their brand of ska-punk pop-rock ever since. Their latest release is the seven song EP, Uncharted, which was released in November 2024 by longtime label Pure Noise Records. The band recently recorded five new songs at Pulp Arts in Gainesville. They have some west coast dates planned, including their first ever appearances at Coachella April 12 and 19, before doing a European tour this summer.
More information at https://lessthanjake.com/.
