If you’re not going to New Orleans for the Voodoo Music Experience on the weekend of October 26-28, there’s a fest in Gainesville that’s also totally worth a road trip.

For six years now, the city of Gainesville has been putting on an event that’s like a punk rock version of SXSW, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.

Taking place in 12 venues within walking distance of one another, the Fest 6 organizers have managed to cram in over 180 bands in the three days, and it’s all quality.

In addition to the headliners (they’ve booked Naked Raygun for one night, and Seaweed for another), they have so many quality bands that I can guarantee that you’re going to be faced with a plethora of conflicts as you put together your schedule.

A bunch of the bands that I’d recommend catching have appeared in the pages of this site, including Monikers, O Pioneers!, Nothington, Toys That Kill, Witches With Dicks and Triclops! On top of that, there are like 4 billion other bands playing there (give or take 3 billion and change) that totally make this an event worth checking out.

They have posted the complete lineup and schedule on their site, so check it out and start packing. Everything you need to know about securing tickets and making travel arrangements are listed on the site as well.

If you’re in the area or making your way down to Fest 6, let me know. We’d love to hear all about what you saw while you were down there.

Poster courtesy of Fest 6.