Greeting and salutations FESTers,
After a home stretch of sleepless nights, queasy nerves and glossy eyes, Fest weekend is finally here! People are rolling into town. Pre-shows are happening. The office is set up at the Holiday Inn. Networks are live. We’re in a hundred places at once, getting this wild ride to run without a hitch!
If you’re reading this, you’re most likely hanging with your bros, on your way and have a few questions. TO HELP US ALL OUT, PLEASE READ THE WEBSITE FIRST.
DON’T CALL NO IDEA RECORDS. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON.
READING THE WEBSITE:
REGISTRATION:
If you have any questions about registration: click here.
Keep an eye out for signs. We’ll be running two lines this year. One for general attendees, and another for bands/sponsors/press/guests. This should help clear up some confusion.
Registration on Thursday (tomorrow) is only for general attendees. If you ordered merch, you can get it either Friday or Saturday at registration.
If you have any other questions: click here.
If you have a question about walk up sales: check out the schedule, where prices and amounts are listed.
OTHER:
If you have a question about hotel confirmations: click here.
If you are a band and have no idea what’s going on, check your inbox. Sarah has been emailing the main contact for the band many times now.
WEEKEND PASSES:
Weekend passes will be available for sale at the merch stand on FRIDAY and SATURDAY only at registration. $125 cash only. You can still buy them online tonight and save a few bucks. Also – name changes are only going to be processed until noon on Thursday (tomorrow). Everyone needs a photo ID to do anything - to pick up your tickets, to get into venues, to exist in our world. Foreigners, this means you need to have your passport on hand. I know that’s nerve wracking, but your driver’s licenses won’t help you in our alligator fishing land.
All you need to get checked into Fest is your photo ID. Don't panic if you don't have your confirmation print out or credit card.
PRE-FEST SHOWS:
They’re happening!
FEST BANDCAMP COMPS:
FEST 11 ART SHOW:
PHONE APPS:
Droid: Thanks to John Flynn of Punknews.org for once again making a killer FEST 11 app for the Android. You can grab it here for FREE.
iPhone: Check this out! The Fest 11 by Rob McWhinnie. I still like the TARDIS though.
MYSTERY BANDS & POOL PARTY:
Look out for those to be revealed on the website tonight. It’s happening!
POOL PARTY:
You need your Fest wristband to get in. It’s BYOB, but no glass. Get ready to par-tay!
FEST PHOTO BOOTH:
The Photo Booth is bringing back the fun to Fest 11! Come see us during registration, get your photo taken, bring your friends, dress up (we’ve got props!), smile, frown, jump, drink, or do whatever – in front of a giant Fest backdrop! We’ll make sure to capture it on camera. Take a look at last year’s photos (you can find them on our website or on Facebook) to get an idea what this is all about.
The Photo Booth is TOTALLY FREE! It will cost you nothing, nada, rien, niente, nichts! (but please consider a small donation) Also: if you are impatient and want the image right away, it will just take 1 minute to print you a copy right there on location (those will be 3$). All photos will be posted on the website and Facebook after the Fest.
You can find us during Friday registration from noon till about 6pm at the Holiday Inn, in the same room as the registration. The line is probably right by us. So feel free to step aside for a minute and take a photo. We will also be at the Holiday Inn after party on Sunday night.
Hope to see a lot of you in the weekend!
Your Fest Photo Booth Team: Marc, Kendra, Robert
We’re all excited and want to send all the posi-vibes your way. We're looking to another great year. Safe travels, and see you in the Swamp soon!
- Tony/Fest 11 Crew
Hey FEST friends,
Check out our BIG update below. Lots going down in the weeks to come so make sure to follow us on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for updates. For now, check out what new we have cooking below.
- Tony
WEEKEND PASSES STILL FOR SALE!
ONLINE AND IN LOCAL GAINESVILLE OUTLETS:
We have a little over 400 weekend passes left for sale. After that they are all gone. Out of that 400 we have placed some in local Gainesville businesses. You can purchase them in CASH ONLY at the following joints while they last.
VIDEO RODEO
1119 West University Ave.
2pm-11pm 7 Days a Week
Hear Again Records
201 SE 1st St. Suite 105
Mon 11am-7pm
Tue-Thu 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
Sun 1pm-5pm
Arrow’s Aim Records
101 N. Main St.
12pm-8pm 7 Days a Week.
BIG SCHEUDLE CHANGES:
So, if you look at the schedule page you will see that there have been some crazy changes made. Biggest cause of this is that we are no longer going to be doing shows FEST weekend at STEREO. Nothing really bad happened. They just got in with a little capacity issues recently, so we decided that maybe this year would not be the best time to use them as a venue. We really hope they get everything worked out with the city so we can add them to the family of venues next year.
Luckily we were able to find a NEW space to cover those shows. We will be doing shows all weekend long at a new space owned by the folks who run THE TOP/ THE ATLANTIC. FEST will be their first weekend open and the space is coming along in great strides. On the schedule we will be listing it as THE NEW TOP SPOT (but is still listed as STEREO in the meantime). Until they come up with something better this will do. So, check out the schedule and take a look how things shifted. I hope the schedule will stay pretty strong on it’s legs and we do not have many more changes.
FEST VIP PASS UPGRADE:
On Monday Oct 15th at 7:00pm EST, we will sell 100 FEST VIP PASS UPGRADES. What are these you ask? Well, these are upgrades to your FEST 11 weekend pass. If you are one of the lucky 100 people to purchase this upgrade you will have the privilege to skip the lines and get into the venues even faster at all FEST 11 shows. However, if the venue is at capacity you will have to wait at the front of the line until space opens up at in the venue. You will NOT be able to escort and these passes will come with a special laminate and colored FEST wristband so they will NOT be transferable. Once again you MUST have or purchase a FEST 11 weekend pass to purchase the upgrade for your pass. This is NOT a weekend pass. Dig? If you are in a band/sponsor/volunteer and would like to purchase a VIP upgrade please note in your order what band or if you are a volunteer/sponsor. We can switch out your general pass for your VIP pass you have purchased.
These upgrades will be $100 each and we are only selling 100 of them starting Monday Oct 15th at 7:00pm EST on the TICKETS PAGE!!!
DOWNLOAD COMPS:
We once again will be giving you guys a series of 6 FREE download compilations of bands playing FEST 11. Check them out here. We will be adding the rest in the weeks leading up to FEST. A special thanks goes out to all the bands for donating a song and to our very own Sarah Goodwin for taking the time to compile these for you all to enjoy.
(click on the image)
DROID APP / iPhone App
Thanks to John Flynn of Punknews.org for once again making a killer FEST 11 app for the Android. You can grab it here for FREE.
FEST ART SHOW
With the curating help of Edie Snyder we will once again be having a wonderful FEST ART SHOW. If you find yourself in Gainesville early on Thursday swing by the opening or stop in at some point during the weekend. The gallery is located right next to CMC and in walking distance to all the venues.
@ Display Gallery: 439 S. Main Street- Gainesville
Opening reception: Thursday Oct 25th 7pm-10pm
The art show will remain open all weekend long Friday –Sunday (Oct 26th-28th) 12pm-8pm.
MORE INFO: http://thefestfl.com/fest11/
PRE-FEST SHOWS
Buy your tickets to the 1982 show here!
There are still a few tickets left for the official PRE-FEST shows at High Dive and Loosey’s. Check out the flyers and ticket links below.
FEST RADIO PODCASTS
Finally, check out the little blurb and link below.
This month The Top Shelf is yielding our spot to on Lead Us Down to Fest Radio, the great idea that never quite got off the ground to get it's own place to live. We will be back next month with more in depth album interviews.
This episode of Fest Radio features Tony and Dave drinking beer brewed in Gainesville listening to and chatting about the following bands: Static Radio / Broadcaster / Menzingers / Cheap Girls / Broadway Calls/ Dikembe / Titus Andronicus / Look Mexico / Glocca Morra / The Smith Street Band / Toys That Kill.
Fest Season is getting under way. Plans get made, and plans get scrapped. Over the summer, Tony and Dave started working on a Fest Radio podcast to highlight new bands, chat up history and share stories. The plan was ambitious, but only a couple episodes were made. Here's Episode 1. Episode 2 will be airing on WGOT-LP, 94.7 FM Saturday 6PM, EST during the Fest. Also streaming online at wgot.org
Check out these posters, buy your tickets, and start that countdown calendar!
Gainesville Shows!
Orlando Shows!
Fest Related show at the Social.
Facebook Event for the Peacock Room show.
St. Augustine Show!
Hey Everyone,
Fall is here, and with it the mad cap colorful world of Orange and Blue has once again invaded our town leaving me the only option of hiding away in my house or a dark bar and getting the final preparations for FEST 11 in order. We have the update that you all have been waiting for , THE FEST 11 SCHEDULE HAS BEEN POSTED.
So, take it all in. I look forward to hearing all your whimpering about said band playing against said band. I know it is hard but at least you get to see majority of them. Put yourself in my flops for once. I spend almost a year working on all this and spent months slaving over this schedule and when it comes down to it I honestly get to see maybe a song or two from a handful of bands. There are just too many damn good bands playing so when you do the math someone has to play against someone awesome right? Also, when we announce some of our planned pre-fest shows (hopefully soon) maybe you can catch someone early on and scratch them off your wish list. Also, you will noticed we are doing the MYSTERY BAND slots again this year. To save the rumors there will be no one that is not already playing FEST 11 playing this year. Or, so far. Those slots will be announced Friday morning of FEST and will be bands who are already playing doing a “special” set to look cool and get more free beer and grub. We have some lined up and will be asking a few more in the weeks to come. If you want a band to do it then BUG THEM! Not us about it.
We also added a few bands bands since our last update: New to FEST 11 will be:
Candy Hearts, Dads, GG King, The Ones to Blame, Hostage Calm, The World is a beautiful place & I am no longer afraid to die, Sauis La Lune, Citizen, Life Chain, The Joint Chiefs of Math and the return of High Voltage (Bon Scott-era AC/DC Tribute band)
In bad news Baroness had to bail from all their 2012 show dates. If you did not hear yet, the band was involved in a major tour bus accident in the UK where they were pretty banged up and spent a great deal of time in the hospital. As of Aug 27th all have been treated and released. For more info please visit the band’s site: http://baronessmusic.com/
These guys have been close friends of FEST since the early days of it’s inception. We are just glad they made it out of this tragic accident alive and hope to see them blowing our brains again soon.
Also, if you have not had the pleasure to view the 6 part documentary about an epic journey to FEST 10 by the Aussie folks over at D.I Wireless check them all out here:
The final episode culminates with their arrival in Gainesville for FEST 10 and honestly gave me goose bumps when I watched it. Check it out in our video player above and much love to them for all their heart and hard work that went into capturing the true essence of what FEST is all about!
I think that is about it for today. Look soon for PRE-FEST show announcements and the addition of FEST 11 COMEDY SHOWCASE!!!
Cheers,
Tony
Hey everybody,
