Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
The beloved Floridian punk rock music festival The Fest will not be taking place this year due to the current coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping the world at the moment.
Founder Tony Weinbender broke the unfortunate news yesterday in a lengthly post on the festival’s website. “I know this is hard for many of you and it’s very hard on all of us,” Weinbender wrote to fans. “Many of us have worked very hard to bring you a killer lineup this year and the hardest part is knowing that even with our best intentions there is just not a feasible way to make FEST 19 the safe, fun, and awesome time we have all become accustomed to.”
Weinbender did however announce the new dates for The Fest 19, now taking place from Friday, October 29 to Sunday, October 31, 2021. He also posted three important options for those who bought tickets/hotel rooms/merch for this year’s installment:
OPTION #1: You can REQUEST A REFUND
OPTION #2: You can KEEP YOUR PASS/HOTEL/MERCH AND USE IT FOR THE POSTPONED 2021 DATES
OPTION #3: You can CHANGE THE NAME ON YOUR ORDER AND GIVE THE PASS TO SOMEONE ELSE WITH NO CHANGE FEE APPLIED
These requests will be good for the next 30 days. After Thursday, August 6, anyone who hasn’t contacted the website for refunds will automatically have their purchases transferred over to the 2021 makeup dates.
Now for the important part. Since the festival’s getting postponed, will there be a new lineup? Yes and no. So far, over 230 bands have confirmed that they will be playing in 2021, such as Frank Turner, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Into It. Over It., Beach Slang, The Callous Daoboys, Red City Radio, Modern Life Is War, Gouge Away, Skatune Network, and The Lawrence Arms. For a full list of bands for 2021, click or tap here.
The Fest 19 will take place Friday, October 29 to Sunday, October 31, 2021 over the course of 18 venues in Gainesville, Fla.
The Fest started back in 2002 and has never missed a single year until now. Past bands and acts who’ve played the festival before include Mastodon, The Front Bottoms, Piebald, Jawbox, Off With Their Heads, AJJ, Direct Hit!, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, La Dispute, and Hum.