AthFest Music Information

Outdoor Stages | Club Crawl Venues Lineup
| Performers List | CD

Music is an integral part of Athens, Georgia's history. Our town has been renowned internationally for the fertile music scene for quite some time. It has spawned a wealth of talent from the earlier well-knowns such as R.E.M., the B-52's, Love Tractor, Pylon and Dreams So Real to more recent breakouts such as Macha, Olivia Tremor Control, Jucifer, Dayroom, Little Red Rocket and Neutral Milk Hotel.

But there are still plenty of bands in Athens that you probably haven't heard of or heard. That's the reason AthFest was first started in 1997 by Flagpole founder and former 40 Watt Club and Engine Room guru Jared Bailey. The popular estimate around town is that there are approximately 400 bands or mutated versions of bands in Athens today.

On average, more than 100 bands - the majority of them from the Athens area - have played during each AthFest. While we've grown and added new segments such as an Artist Market and KidsFest, the music is what drives this festival and makes us want to share it with the community and visitors.

Here are some of the music segments of AthFest

  • Outdoor Stages - This free segment of AthFest features two stages on West Washington Street, at the intersection of Pulaski Street (outside the 40 Watt Club) and at the intersection of Hull Street. An electric stage and an acoustic stage provide continuous music during these times in the heart of downtown Athens. Music seminar panels, KidsFest, the Artist Market, other events and food and drinks are all conveniently located nearby.
  • Club Crawl - Athens has a thriving downtown scene at night and AthFest shows off this scene through the nightly Club Crawls. A wristband allows wearers unlimited access to participating venues all over downtown, subject to age and occupancy restrictions. Anywhere from two to five bands or artists will be performing at clubs around downtown each night, allowing AthFest-goers the opportunity to see as many or as few as they wish. It's a great glance to catch a glimpse of a number of bands you may have only heard of - and some that you haven't heard of at all.
  • AthFest Compilation CDs - AthFest - in conjunction with Ghostmeat Records - has produced a compilation CD to commemorate and promote AthFest and the bands of Athens since 1998. The discs have included songs from Vic Varney, Bluestring, Little Red Rocket, Japancakes, Vic Chesnutt, Dayroom, Man or Astroman?, Vigilantes of Love, Five-Eight, Planet Jive, the Star Room Boys and Hayride among tons of others.
  • Special Events - A number of special events each year have tie-ins to the music aspect of AthFest. Check out details of all these events at the section of the Web site as more details become available.