I love live music, and I’ve got to preface this article by saying that I’m a 12-year resident of the Athens area, so I freely admit I’m a little bit biased. With that being said, I feel like the annual Athfest Music and Arts Festival is one of the best summer festivals in Georgia. Athens loses much of its population in the summer when many University of Georgia kids go home for the season. This yearly shebang started as a way to increase local business traffic during the slow months of summer. It’s turned into one of the city’s biggest parties: a celebration of arts and music that’s free to attend and has something for everyone. The 2023 festival is scheduled for Friday, June 23 to Sunday, June 25.

This is always such a wonderful event that's perfectly representative of the creative Athens culture. The three-day festival features hours of music on the outdoor stage that's free for all attendees.
Athfest
Most of the names are local to Georgia, like Drivin n Cryin, but plenty of traveling musicians also play at the festival.
Lisa Sammons/Only In Georgia
Lots of up-and-coming musicians perform here, too, like Ruby the Rabbitfoot.
Lisa Sammons/Only In Georgia
The festival does a great job of choosing acts from a wide variety of genres, so there's really something for everyone here. The musical tastes run the gauntlet from rap to metal to soft rock and pop.

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Purchase a wristband and you'll get access to the club shows, which take place at venues all over downtown.
Lisa Sammons/Only In Georgia
Pictured is Cindy Wilson of the B-52s performing at the historic Georgia Theatre.
The festival has tons of family-friendly events and workshops for kids, and all of the outdoor shows are all-ages.
Athfest
You'll also find a variety of food trucks on-site, most of which are local to the area. Of course, all the Athens restaurants do great business this weekend!
Athfest
There's also a vendor market featuring dozens of local vendors selling their wares. Tons of artists are present, but there's also clothing and home decor for sale as well.
Athfest

Best of all, all proceeds from Athfest go to Athens Educates, a non-profit that provides grants for music and arts education in Athens.

For more information about this year’s Athfest, including a lineup and schedule of events, check out the Athfest website or Facebook page. Again, the 25th annual Athfest is scheduled for the weekend of June 23-25, 2023.

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