Fest 23: Day 1 in Gainesville, FL

Woah! Just like that it has already been a year and suddenly it was once again time for Fest 23. Last year was my first time attending this amazing festival (after way too many of telling myself I’ll make it out there eventually), and I could not wait to do it all over again. However, plans were going to be a bit different this year as I will also be taking everything on solo for Bad Copy!

After first meeting Kendra through my good bud and Broke-Ass Stuart writer Curtis (while covering Riot Fest a few years back) I was finally convinced and motivated by her to make it out to Fest 22 last year when the stars (and finances) aligned. It was such a unique and amazing experience compared to the many other festivals I’ve attended over the past 15 years. Kendra was so amazing at showing me around Gainesville, telling me stories, introducing me to new people and bands, and overall making sure my first experience was a hell of a time. It was then time to take everything I quickly saw and learned from last year to prep up for new experiences with Fest 23!

Thursday Arrival

On top of having a pretty crazy year with my full-time gig, I’m guilty of quickly losing track and/or planning things myself. I waited pretty late to jump on getting a hotel and everything set up for the weekend stay, but thankfully also had some awesome friends I met from last year offer up a spot they had. Things all came together last minute, PTO was approved, and I was on a flight to Jacksonville Thursday afternoon! By the time I landed I saw plenty of stories and videos of pre-fest kicking off and the excitement and FOMO was hitting me hard. I got my rental and booked it straight to Gainesville Rock City. As I drove down University Ave, I could already hear Direct Hit! playing in Bo Diddley Plaza!

My buddy Rich, who I actually met from Fest 22 and would be sharing a hotel with, flew in from San Diego and we timed everything out nicely getting into the city. We caught up a bit and dropped our things off at the first hotel of the weekend, then made our way out for some food and drinks. We stopped by The TOP, which I quickly realized was the first stop of the trip the previous year as well. Had some great food and could hear Motion City Soundtrack off in the distance back at Bo Plaza. I was bummed I wouldn’t get to catch them at all this weekend after that day, but still had a lot of other great bands to look forward to. We cashed out, and decided to head back to rest up for the marathon of a weekend.

Friday

I had to snag some things I forgot to pack, so Rich and I kicked off our morning walking over to the Publix. We stopped by the Foxtail Coffee Co. after that, then prepped to pack up and head over to the next hotel. For the rest of the weekend we’d be staying at the Hampton right outside of Bo Diddley Plaza, and I was pumped to be so close to everything. We were able to check in early (which was great because that meant I wouldn’t be missing Direct Hit! playing when we were originally supposed to), dropped off our things in the room, and made our way out to Boxcar Beer and Wine Garden to snag our credentials.

I felt that same sense of excitement as last year when getting in line. I started seeing familiar faces, both from bands I was excited to see and people I recognized from last year. Just seeing all of the Fest community pouring out into the market and all over the place hugging, chatting, and catching up really made me happy. There was so much great music to look forward to all weekend and the energy and coffee were really hitting me. I was absolutely ready to start seeing and photographing some great bands… in like 3-4 more hours when things started to kick off. Until then Rich and I grabbed some food, chilled in our hotel, and planned out the day of like 10+ bands we were going to try and see.

I was off to Heartwood to see Direct Hit!, my first band of the weekend. I’ve been a long time listener of them, and finally a first time witness… er? I can’t remember where I first came across Brainless God, but I still remember how much it ripped with great sounds and catchy lyrics. They really kicked things off and set the mood for the rest of the day, and the crowd loved it all too. Fuck you! Get pumped!

Next was Vivid Music Hall to catch Wolf-Face. I saw so many fun videos and great photos from when they played last and knew it was something I couldn’t miss. I wasn’t there in time for the proper kickoff at 4:20 because of that Heartwood trek back to the main area (IYKYK), but still made it in time for one hell of a party and some absolute craziness. I stuck around for a good portion of their set before making my way back to the hotel and switch up some of my camera gear. Before I knew it, it was time to head back out to catch Piebald, and then became quite a blur of bands from here on out!

I made my way over to Palomino to catch Tiny Stills and Sweet Gloom back-to-back. It was exciting to see Tiny Stills again after they came through Detroit earlier this year (with Devon Kay & The Solutions AND Dollar Signs, what a lineup!). I was especially excited to finally catch Sweet Gloom as well, after first being introduced to them seeing Jaake do his acoustic set last year and following ever since. Both bands rocked it out, and the crowd was full of so many energized people and other bands supporting as Jaake took to the floor to sing and dance with them all. I need more Sweet Gloom in my life and hope they make it out to the Midwest sometime soon for some shows.

Next was one of my most anticipated bands on the lineup. I was finally going to see one of my absolute favorites, Dead to Me. Similar to the feeling of getting to see and photograph American Steel last year, this was another band I have grown up with listening to on repeat. Living in Detroit, it doesn’t feel like there are many chances to see these bands so I’m thankful for moments like this at Fest and Riot Fest to finally make it happen. I ended up running into Maria, a new friend from Riot Fest this year, and also some of The Hammerbombs were all catching up and hanging out. It was one of the only sets I managed to be able to sit entirely through without needing to move onto the next band I was excited to see. After that we had another killer set from Iron Chic, and then I made some moves back out to Heartwood again.

Suzie True was playing out there next. I admit I did not know much about them until recently, but thanks to other great artists/friends/bands sharing their music and touring with them I knew it was a set I had to be at. I ran into Castle from Devon Kay and caught up a bit, and saw some many other great artists from earlier today out supporting and having a great time. I love festivals so much for giving myself, as well as so many others, such a great opportunity to discover new and amazing music. Not only that, but to see that energy live with so many others singing and dancing along gives those new songs so much more meaning and memories to have. To add to all of the excitement, Sweet Gloom and Randy Moore from Bones Shredder (who I also forgot to mention played with Sweet Gloom for their set earlier) joined Suzie True on stage to cover “Where Eagles Dare” by The Misfits, and the crowd (and stage) went nuts.

I also caught up with my summer festival dude Jan for a bit, who I got to know well because we were at many of the same festivals the past few months (Buddies Fest, Riot Fest, and now here at Fest 23). He was there catching some of the same bands with Zach from The Dreaded Laramie, who I was very excited to finally see tomorrow. We parted ways knowing we’d be seeing each other at a lot of the same sets all weekend and I made my way back to the front of Heartwood stage. I think it was a little after 10pm at this point. I was starting to hit a wall between lack of sleep and all the running around. However we were not done yet, and had some important bands to still catch tonight. Chris Farren came out after Suzie True and played a killer set, but I had to cut out after a few songs and make my way to Dollar Signs.

This was going to be not only one of their final Fest sets ever, but also one of their FINAL shows ever leading into their official final three shows in December. It was a bittersweet feeling for me. I literally had no idea who they were until Fest 22, where I met Erik with Kendra while waiting in the credentials line. We saw them play Vivid shortly after that and it quickly became one of my favorite sets of last year overall. I’ve been hooked ever since and it was a shame to only get to see such a fun band live a handful of times. I got to Vivid and snagged a usual spot with a few other photographers to the right of the stage. I saw Matt again from Hammerbombs right up front and ready to rock. Dollar Signs were joined by some of Devon Kay & The Solutions, so you know it was about to get crazy. The bands were good to go and started playing, and if this was officially the last time I’ll get to see them it will be a set to remember for many Fests to come. Erik jumped out onto the crowd, as well as others starting to crowd surf all over. I even saw Chris from Tiny Stills/Sweet Gloom pop onto and then off the stage over everyone. The energy was wild, and everyone was singing a loudly as possible as if it may be their last time doing so.

I was definitely ready to call it a night after that, but I had one more set that was a must see before crashing. Fellow Michiganders the 84 Tigers were up next at The Wooly. I managed to catch them come through Detroit a few weeks ago (along with Signals Midwest and Five Hundred Bucks also playing Fest 23 the next day!), and was excited to get more of that energy, especially fresh off their new album “Nothing Ends” out just a week ago. It was on repeat during my flight over to Florida. I chatted quickly with Jono before he hopped on the drums, and then the band started jamming out.

This is where I am once again so happy that we had a hotel close to all of the venues for the rest of the weekend. I was beat, and couldn’t imagine going much further at that point. I was ready for a shower, air conditioning, and to be off my feet immediately after managing to see 11 bands the first day. I got to the room and caught up with Rich a little bit about who all we saw after we split up between some sets. I did my best to start sorting through so many of the 2k plus photos I took while we watched Water Boy on the few channels the TV had to offer, then was snoozing by 2am.