Andy Pohl Fest! Say it again with me… FEST! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely quite familiar with the annual Punk Rock festival which takes place in Gainesville, Florida. Our guest this week, Tony Weinbender, is the founder and principle organizer of the event.
Coming up on its 19th year (well, 20th if you include the pandemic version of Fest At Home), Fest has become one of the most highly sought after tickets in the country within the Punk Rock community. What began with a handful of local venues over a one night period has turned into a three-night blowout featuring over 100 bands across upwards of 20 venues within the college town that spawned the likes of Less Than Jake, Hot Water Music, Against Me! among others.
Tony has had a life long love affair with the Punk scene, having grown up in a small town in Virginia following the likes of Avail and Fugazi. Weinbender cut his teeth on the road working with Less Than Jake as a roadie, and spent many years as a label employee for Fueled By Ramen and No Idea Records. After branching off from one of his earlier endeavors with MACROCK (Mid Atlantic College Radio Conference), Fest has truly become his job, where he spends the entire year curating the lineup, planning with city officials and local businesses to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
During this episode we dig into what he and the crew at Fest have been doing to ensure that this year’s planned (and postponed from last year) event goes smoothly and safely. We also dig into the history of the event, and where it’s going. He provides some pointers to bands that are interested in being part of the event, and of course, we dig into some bands he believes you should have on your radar, and his 5 desert island albums
To hear music from some of the bands mentioned on this episode, as well as our other episodes, checkout our official Spotify Playlist (and be sure to click that ‘Follow’ button).
Question The Answers Podcast is hosted by Andy Pohl, who is the founder of Sell The Heart Records and the guitar player for Tsunami Bomb. Every week we will be presenting a brand new episode featuring an individual that has made a contribution to the independent music scene in some way. Check back here on Wednesdays for a premiere of each episode, and you’ll also be able to find us on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher and other audio podcast streaming services in the days following the initial premiere.
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