GonerFest

Wow - what a weekend. We needed a couple of days to let the dust settle - but that really was just an amazing time full of great music and great people. People don't call it the best weekend of the year for nothing!

First of all, we would like to thank everyone who came to the festival. We only exist because you come. You create the atmosphere, and you come back! It’s a special festival because the people make it work- from the top to the bottom. Bands to fans and back again. We are honored that you spend your free time in Memphis with Gonerfest. Thank you!

We have to thank our partners at Wiseacre Brewing Company; their leadership and team totally knocked it out of the park this year. We both learned a lot in our first year in this new space, and it showed in how things went this year.

Thanks to Mempho Presents - without their consultation, generosity and expertise there's no way this new incarnation of the fest happens. They are off running their own huge festivals but always have time to help us out.

The team at the Overton Park Shell has made our Sunday concert a wonderful, free, outdoor experience and took some of the pressure off of our team for the final day.

Also our additional sponsors Memphis Tourism, Tennessee Entertainment Commission, Qobuz, Downtown Memphis Commission, WYXR, The Memphis Flyer, Across The Board Catering, Lensrentals.com, Memphis Record Pressing, Central Station, Holiday Inn Express, ServisFirst Bank. And everyone who put an ad in the program!

Brent Shrewsbury and the stream team pulled off another insane marathon live TV show on a shoe-string budget while we were running a festival. It's nuts. It's still up for the time being, and it's pay-what-you-want so go check it out - or send it to a friend who hasn't been. Broadcast-quality coverage for four days straight!

“I’ve seen the Coachella stream and this is better!” Chris McCoy, Memphis Flyer. Watch some of the footage on our Youtube channel!

Our beloved vegetable characters were created by Chicago’s Greg Shirilla, long-time Gonerfester. During our covid Gonerfest in 2019 Greg designed his own t-shirt for the Chicagoans who were safely Gonerfesting… so he’s (sorta) been doing this for a while. Goner’s Sara Moseley again whipped those illustrations into shape, creating all the great graphics from T-shirts to stage backdrops. It’s a lot! We appreciate both of these artists' hard work making the fest look great. Thanks to Paul Wiseman for cranking out the shirts!

Our production team stepped up their game in big bold ways. Sound has never been better, thanks to Andrew, Edan and Noah. Thanks to Will Floyd from Profound Sound for the gear. Sam ran band recon like a champ, Billups held down the fort at the shop and the mic for the finale. Marcus managed the stream team, Dane kept the volunteers in line. DB did everything else. And our latest recruits Lawson, Finley, and Hank just kept saying yes when we asked them to do anything. And our volunteers came through and in many ways were the face of Goner and Gonerfest during the festival at the merch booth, indoor record store, and entry gate. They all made us proud and we could not have done it without them.

We are so lucky to have the help we do.

Infinity Stairs team brought the incredible stage graphics the whole fest, and their work at the Overton Park Shell was again completely mind-blowing. Look out for more epic work from this team, pushing the boundaries of projections, projection mapping, and analog / digital synthesis. And thanks to Rice Barber for rocking the lights at Wiseacre for three days straight, smiling the entire time.

Thanks to all the bands who came and played - it’s a difficult time to be travelling and gas is expensive. Thanks especially to our foreign bands who braved borders to come play Gonerfest - The Lotts, Th’ Retail Simps, Helene Barbier, Powerplant, Gwenifer Raymond and especially Carrion Kids, who came all the way from Mexico City to maybe win the whole fest with manic intensity. And we’ll do all we can to get some Aussies or Kiwis back next year.

We’d like to thank all the DJs and MCs who kept the festivities going and the good will flowing. Especially Henry Rollins, who came down from Nashville and truly got the Gonerfest vibe, and Steve Shelley, who did it all over the course of three days: MC, DJ, and even manned the camera for the livestream for a shift, never wanting any of the spotlight, really. MVP!

Thanks to all the hosts and participants in the afterparties - these have become a great addition to the festival with many bands only playing at these events. And thanks to Society Skatepark for hosting morning movies on Friday & Saturday as well!

Thanks to Corkey Sinks for laying out the program guide and Karl Baioni at EM Printing for getting them done on time, once again. Fantastic.

We could go on and on. We’re no doubt forgetting some important people- and we apologize for that. It is a huge endeavor that is so worth it… we hope you think so, too.

Please spread the word and get your friends to come with you next year. We’re already working on some pretty great bands for Gonerfest 24.

GONERFEST 24
September 23-26,2027.

Block off your calendar now!

PHOTO CREDITS
Anton Jackson
Brent Shrewsbury
Cameron Mitchell
Geneva Ives
Kendra Peterson-Kamp
Marcus Griffin
Sara Moseley
Sean Davis
Tad Lauritzen-Wright