Athfest 2008

AthFest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit annual music and arts festival in downtown Athens, Georgia that largely showcases the Athens area musical and artistic community. Much of AthFest is free, while wristbands or cover charges are required for certain events. AthFest's mission is to educate citizens and visitors about music and arts in general, and about Athens music and arts in particular.

Music is an integral part of Athens, Georgia's history. It has spawned a wealth of talent from the earlier well-knowns such as R.E.M., the B-52's, Love Tractor, Pylon, Neutral Milk Hotel and Dreams So Real to more recent breakouts such as Of Montreal, The Whigs and Modern Skirts.

Since the first Athfest in 1997, the festival has had more than 100 bands play per year, on average - the majority of them from the Athens area. While the festival has grown and added new segments such as an Artistisan Market and KidsFest, the music is what drives this festival and makes it great to share with the community and visitors.

This year's Athfest will be taking place June 18-22, 2008 and will feature 2 outdoor stages as well as a Club Crawl, which begins as soon as the outdoor stages close at 10pm. The club crawl takes place across 15 venues throughout downtown Athens. At least one Sonicbids artist will be selected to play as part of the club crawl.

Also, all artists selected to play will be eligible for the Athfest Podcast. Athens-based artists will also be eligible for the Athfest Compilation CD.

Please note: Athfest books mostly regional talent from the Athens, GA area. Since Athfest is particularly interested in having local and regional artists submit, the price has been lowered for those artists to encourage them to submit. Make sure you select the right submission package or you will not be considered.

Athfest will select a minimum of 1 in-state and 1 out-of-state Sonicbids artist.