Big Pre-Fest in Little Ybor hits hard in its third year

Big Pre-Fest in Little Ybor has generated no small amount of excitement in its short tenure here. For the locals that can’t make it up to Fest in Gainesville, the two-day pre-party offers a small taste of the free-for-all musical attitude embraced by that long-running underground music event, not to mention a chance to see some of the bands on their way to playing it. For the folks that are headed to Fest, Big Pre-Fest means starting the party early, in their home town, before making the few-hour haul north.

The third annual edition looks to be a fat-stacked lineup, with several stages hosting more than 80 bands over two days. Amid the Wednesday highlights are Omaha-brewed Conor Oberst-led emo darlings Desaparecidos Scranton, Pa.’s favored punk-kickers The Menzingers, San Francisco’s well-regarded earthquakian hardcore screamo outfit Loma Prieta, Wales-New York punk-fuzz noise makers Pale Angels and UK folk-punk quintet Ducking Punches. Things really heat up on Thursday, with performances by several beloved favorites — folk punk howler Tim Barry, Texas garage-punk staple Riverboat Gamblers, Joey Cape-led vet punk crushers Lagwagon and Midwestern skate punk/punk pop outfit Teenage Bottlerocket. Lesser-known highlights include The City on Film (the solo project of Braid’s Bob Nanna, joined by a full band), and rising all-femme Fat Wreck Chords foursome Bad Cop Bad Cop, which pairs sweetly tuneful vocal harmonies with grimy fuzzy rock n’ roll.

There’s some full albums sets, too; Crusades runs through 2011’s The Sun is Down and The Night is Riding In on Thursday, while Friday sees Masked Intruder performing B-sides and rarities, The Copyrights delivering a 10-year anniversary set of 2005’s Mutiny Pop, and Jon Creeden laying down his 2013 LP, Beards!.

Details: Pre-Fest in Little Ybor, Oct. 28-29, 6 p.m. Wed., 2 p.m. Thurs., New World Brewery, Orpheum, Crowbar, Tequila’s (two stages); $70 two-day pass through Oct. 24 ($80 dos); single and multi-day tickets to each individual venue also available. Full lineup and schedule info at thefestfl.com/prefest. 

This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2015.