The Gories to headline Goner Fest 8

By Madison Farmer
Tickets are now on sale for Goner Records’ eighth annual international music festival, taking place September 22-25, in Memphis. Goner Fest 8 will include three evening showcases at the Hi-Tone, a Saturday afternoon ten band blowout at Murphy’s, opening and closing shows at the Goner Record Shop, and various daytime shows throughout the weekend.
In its short life span, Goner Fest has quickly increased the size of its blip on the radar of mainstream independent music. Paste said it “fills three days with so much overdriven, yelp-tastic rock ‘n’ roll that, for the slightest moment, the city of Memphis becomes one big parents’ garage.” Blurt called Goner Fest “a rock ‘n’ roll mainline that is the perfect antidote for all those other festivals.”
This year we are excited to welcome The Gories to Goner Fest. This legendary early 90s garage/early R&B trio has played a handful of dates (mainly in Europe) over the past two years. They’ve always been a Goner favorite, and we couldn’t be happier to have them here in Memphis for the Fest.
Also on the list for Goner Fest 8 is the great Rev. John Wilkins, whose hill country blues style is reminiscent of Junior Kimbrough, RL Burnside, and Mississippi Fred McDowell.
We will also continue our unhealthy relationship with Australia this year, with Deaf Wish, Royal Headache, Straight Arrows, and Kitchen’s Floor. We’re bringing in moonshine just for these guys.
The festival will bring together 35 bands from all over the world for three days and nights of rock ‘n’ roll mayhem. Attendance for Goner Fest 8 is anticipated to top 2500 people for the weekend, as many as half of whom will be coming from outside of Memphis. Previous festivals have attracted rock ‘n’ roll fans from Austria, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Wales, Holland, France, England, Australia, Croatia, Tasmania, and Canada.
Go to gonerfest.com to peruse the Goner Fest 8 full official band list (with band bios) and schedule, or to buy tickets. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities contact gonerfest@gmail.com.