The Hippodrome’s Art Gallery offers artists a space to showcase their talent, often engaging with the themes of the current mainstage production.

Now Displaying

ONLY MUSIC HAS THE ANSWER.

Once a year, like migratory birds, FESTies descend on Gainesville for a magical weekend in October. We come together with others who believe that only music has the answer. We sing along, reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and feel that we belong. When the weekend ends, we scatter back to our homes, exhausted and happy, carrying a little FEST magic with us—hopefully sharing it with others along the way and keeping it alive until we return.

These photographs offer glimpses of that shared experience across the years: the joy of a familiar face, the connection between a band and a room full of people who know every word, and the moments that become part of our collective memory. Some of the artists pictured here return to FEST stages this year, ready to give us new memories alongside the ones on these walls. Together with the “Why Do You Fest?” portraits, these images invite us to consider our own reasons for returning.

Behind each image is a photographer who is part of this community, too. The FEST Photo Team volunteers its time, talent, and energy through long days of shooting and many more hours of editing. Moving through crowded rooms with cameras in hand, we aim to capture the moment rather than be the moment. The kindness of the people who make room for us makes that work possible.

This exhibition at The Hippodrome celebrates the photographers represented here and the many FEST photographers who have contributed over the years. Their individual perspectives have helped create a shared visual history of the bands, the crowds, and the friendships that bring us back.

We hope you find a memory here, discover a moment you missed, or recognize something of yourself in the faces looking back. Take a little of that feeling home with you. That’s how the FEST magic travels.

— Nicole Kibert Basler

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS

Andy Stern • Cullen Milligan • Daniel Simmons • Dave Decker • Jake Cunningham • Jeramie Bailey • Joanna Moreno • John Oakes • Jonathan Botkin • Katie Leslie • Lindsy Carrasquillo • Lorien Lamarr • Marc Gärtner • Matthew Wickham • Miranda Jayne • Nicole Kibert Basler • Todd Fixler • Tommy Calderon