This weekend, the 27th annual three-day AthFest Music & Arts Festival takes place June 20–22 across several blocks of downtown. With more than 100 performers of various genres and styles filling three outdoor stages and 13 club crawl venues, the free festival also features an artist market, vendors, food trucks, kids activities and more.
Proceeds of the festival benefit the nonprofit AthFest Educates, which raised more than $100,000 for arts and music education last year through AthFest and the AthHalf half-marathon (see p. # for more info about fundraising and grant recipients). Last year a crowdfunding initiative was launched that allowed donations to be made to AthFest Educates as votes for participating performers, with the highest fundraising performer securing an evening main stage slot at AthFest. Donations for this year’s participating bands can be made at givebutter.com/AthFest2025.
Affiliated AthFest events begin Thursday, June 19 and continue through the weekend, including a screening of the Five Eight documentary Weirdo, Nateball’s Little Funny Bone, Neighborhood Books’ Voices of Athens and the Athens Art Book Fair. Find out what you need to know for all things AthFest below, and see “AthFest Schedule and Performer Listings” for Flagpole’s comprehensive performance schedule.
Club Crawl
When headliners on the outdoor stages close out their sets Friday and Saturday evening, the doors of 13 different venues will open for those wishing to keep the music going late night. The easiest way to get the full experience of show-hopping is to purchase a club crawl wristband. For $35 in advance or $40 after the festival begins on June 20, wristbands grant access (subject to capacity and age restrictions) to shows at Buvez, Ciné, Clarke’s Collective, Flicker Theatre & Bar, the 40 Watt Club, The Foundry, Georgia Theatre, The Globe, Hendershot’s, Live Wire Athens, Nowhere Bar, Paloma Park and The Roadhouse. A VIP Day Pass ($100) includes access to all Club Crawl venues, a stainless steel keepsake water bottle, three beer vouchers and access to VIP areas near the outdoor main stage, as well as at the Georgia Theatre and 40 Watt Club. A full VIP Weekend Pass ($175) will throw in a commemorative T-shirt and an extra three pours. This year the VIP Pass also includes access to the Morton Theatre during the hottest parts of Saturday and Sunday to cool off in the air conditioning and use the restroom, including handicapped-accessible facilities. The Volume.com livestream of the main stage will play on the theater’s projection screen so you don’t miss the action. Wristbands and VIP passes can be purchased in advance at athfest.com or in person at the festival merch tent.
AthFest Artist Market
Creativity and craftsmanship will be on full display at the annual AthFest Artist Market. An integral part of the festival, this year’s bustling open-air market will feature over 70 booths lining Washington Street between Hull and Lumpkin streets. Ranging from fine art to hand-crafted items, original works will vary among paintings, drawings, mixed media, photography, digital art, fiber art, clothing, accessories, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, glass, woodwork, furniture and more. As a juried market, awards and cash prizes will be distributed to Best in Show, second place and five honorable mentions. The artist market will be open Friday from 5–10 p.m., Saturday from 12–10 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30–8 p.m.
AthFest Theme Artist
Every year a different local artist is selected to create the festival’s artwork that appears all over town from merchandise, banners, posters, advertisements, billboards and even the cover of Flagpole. This year’s theme artist is Will Eskridge, a well-known, full-time artist who has found his groove balancing exhibitions, artist markets and festivals, commissions and other creative endeavors. At 4 years old Eskridge fell in love with paint, and in 1999 he graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a BFA in interdisciplinary arts. A multifaceted artist and musician, in recent years Eskridge’s focus has been on the relationship between nature and technology. His one-of-a-kind style of “animal art with a pop art twist” is on full display in this year’s AthFest artwork, featuring animals that are often misunderstood, feared or outcast—racoons, armadillos, opossums, etc.—but also has a more personal connection for him. “Growing up in a small Southern town, I felt a bit like a black sheep being a skate punk artist and musician,” he says. “There were only a handful of kids like me, and we were regularly picked on and picked last. Moving through this over the years, I have always had an affinity for the outcasts and the misunderstood. I always saw Athens as a funky ‘outsider’ town with a great, tight-knit community—kind of like a diamond in the rough. After moving around a lot in my 20s, I moved here in 2006 and immediately fell in love with this strange and fun town.”
KidsFest
Adjacent to the rest of the fun, a block-long area is dedicated to KidsFest—a free playground of arts and crafts, demonstrations, ticketed bounce houses and inflatables and other kid-centric activities. The outdoor KidsFest Stage hosts performances suited for all ages. The first day kicks off with the UpNext Showcase spotlighting middle and high school musicians from the Full Moon School of Music. Take a break from the sun on Saturday with a free KidsFest Dance Party featuring DJ Mahogany inside the Georgia Theatre from 1–3 p.m. The rest of the weekend will feature a variety of music and dance acts, either geared towards young audiences or featuring young entertainers themselves. During the hours of KidsFest, there will be portable family bathroom units open. KidsFest will run Friday from 6–9 p.m., Saturday from 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30–4:30 p.m.
Food Truck Eats and Cool Treats
Located at the surface lot between the Morton Theatre and West Washington Street parking deck is the Union Fare food truck park, which will include eats like Taqueria La Parrilla, La Chancla, Cafe Racer, The Fry Factory and Big Boy Wings. If you’re looking to cool down, treats like King of Pops, Kona Ice, Smoothie King and La Michoacana can be found along the main stretch of the festival offering a little something for everyone.
Beer Gardens and Festival Zone Wristbands
Inside the designated Festival Zone, attendees 21 and up can purchase a $5 Festival Zone wristband that allows them to walk freely around the area with beer or wine in hand. Wristbands and beverages will be available at four conveniently located beer gardens: near the Wicked Weed Main Stage, the Hospitality South/Hull Street Stage, between the artist market and KidsFest, and at the food truck park. Each location is close to the action, so attendees can quickly return to watching bands or browsing vendors. Beer garden bars, wristband sales and merchandise will be cashless this year, so make sure to bring a card (ApplePay and GooglePay are not currently accepted).
Videos, Photographs and More
Many hardworking members of the community stay on the AthFest scene all weekend so you can enjoy the entertainment from the comfort of your own home or relive it again later. Returning as an official affiliated livestream event, JOKERJOKERtv will host a virtual broadcast featuring live artist interviews, music videos, special guest content creators and more to highlight this year’s festivities. The livestream will be aired via YouTube (@JOKERJOKERtvofficial) starting with a special pre-show this Thursday from 6:30–8:30 p.m. then Friday through Sunday at the same time. To get hyped for the weekend ahead, JOKERJOKERtv will also broadcast an “All-Night AthFest Vibe” playlist on Thursday, starting at 9 p.m., featuring a deep dive into past live recordings of the artists of AthFest 2025.
The livestreaming platform Volume.com will livestream the main stage performances all weekend long. Claim a free ticket for the livestream at volume.com/t/etaPuC. Gregory Frederick and Frank Russell of the Athens GA Live Music YouTube channel will be the festival’s official videographers this year, and Flagpole readers can look forward to a giant roundup of videos in the weekly recap at flagpole.com. AthFest’s official photographer, Mike White, will post images to his website deadlydesigns.com, while Flagpole photographers Jake Zerkel and Kat Wood plan to share galleries at flagpole.com.
Main Stage Video Projectors
New to this year’s AthFest are two video walls that will be projecting the main stage performances, in addition to information like stage lineups and weather notices, highlights of AthFest artists, food vendors and donors, and the mission of AthFest Educates. One video wall will be located at the main stage to provide a clear view for those farther back, and the other will be located at the food truck park so attendees can still stay tuned in for performances or get important updates.
Label and Promoter Showcases
Important goals of AthFest’s booking committee are to represent the genre and style diversity of the Athens music scene, and to bring out crowd favorites while also giving up-and-comers an opportunity to shine. With so many options, it can be overwhelming. The Club Crawl includes some thoughtfully curated showcases presented by labels, show promoters and artist collectives known for cultivating their respective scenes, and they can be a great place to hang out for the night.
On Friday, vinyl manufacturer Echo Base and artist management firm Incubate Talent Group will present an album release show for Elijah Johnston featuring Well Kept, hallpass and Echo Base DJs at the 40 Watt Club. Dosed By An Angel will present a mixed showcase at The Roadhouse featuring Trepid, Ralph, Bone Bag and Coma Therapy. Normaltown Records, an imprint of New West Records, will present a showcase at Nowhere Bar with The Pink Stones, Kristina Murray and The Howdies. Classic City Rotary and the Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Awards will host their annual singer-songwriter-heavy lineup at The Globe that night if you’re seeking a more laid-back vibe.
On Saturday, the EDM collective Nightshade Family will take over Live Wire with a mix of DJs on the indoor and outdoor stages. Athens Latin Party will host a night of dancing with DJ Harold and DJ Play at The Foundry. Always delivering a hard-hitting metal lineup, Shadebeast’s show at Ciné will feature Silent Euphony, ENOX, Guillotine A.D. and Music Hates You. Then Indecent Artistry—the boutique label services, booking and management company headed by Adam Wayton—will present Viv and the Things, Florry, Honeypuppy and Bayou Princess at Nowhere Bar.
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