Lambgoat Goes To FYA: Hardcore Lives in 2023

Being from Florida has its pros and cons, and one could argue the latter stacks much higher, myself included. However, for several years now one of the caveats of living in the sunshine state for heavy music and particularly fans of hardcore has been FYA Fest, one of the premiere US festivals that began in Orlando and eventually moved to Tampa, and an event that has steadily risen in popularity every year. Last year’s edition included what was likely to be one of the last Turnstile shows in a below 2000-3000 capacity room alongside sets from heavy hitters such as Vein, Scowl, God’s Hate and Mindforce. 2023’s lineup was certainly no slouch either, with a special River Runs Red set from legends Life of Agony capping off day 1, and hardcore mainstay Cold World making their return on day 2. Mindforce appeared once again as well, alongside bands as varied as Bulldoze, Drain, 200 Stab Wounds and Fiddlehead.

Coupled with the main fest itself there was a pre-fest show on Friday, as well as late night after-shows on both Saturday and Sunday to add to the excitement, especially with several bands exclusively playing these and not the fest itself. As someone who loves hardcore, and it being one of the few things I find myself still consistently excited about nowadays, I was all in this year and decided to hit the pre-show, both days of the Fest and both after-shows as well. I made sure to see at least some of every single band playing, and in lieu of the redundancy that would be a rundown of each band, I wanted to touch on the overall experience of the Fest itself. And a hell of an experience it was, with countless memorable sets from both legendary bands I thought I’d never see as well as many exciting up-and-comers already turning heads and making names for themselves. I also witnessed a huge community of people from every corner of the hardcore scene come together in celebration of their mutual love of the music and culture, and walked away with the feeling that the genre is more relevant and exciting than ever.

In comparison to most music festivals I’ve attended, the insane crowd reactions that even the smaller openers of the fest received was a breath of fresh air in itself. I’d be hard pressed to think of a time I’ve seen harder moshing or more stage dives for a band opening a fest at 12 p.m., and the energy for every single band stayed at ‘100’ throughout the day. Rather it was the technical death metal assault of 200 Stab Wounds, the gritty oi/street punk of The Chisel, or Fiddlehead’s alt-rock-leaning post-hardcore, legitimately every set of the weekend was met with a huge crowd reaction, with massive amounts of stage diving and mosh pits that seemed to grow in size throughout each band’s set. Contention, the only Tampa area local to play the main fest, had an especially ridiculous reaction on Sunday despite playing at 12:30 p.m. It was clear that even the smaller acts playing this fest had their fair share of extremely excited followers in attendance and I could frankly see any of them becoming a headlining band on future fests in the years to come.

All and all, this is a fest and a weekend in general I won’t ever forget. From bucket list headlining sets from Life of Agony and Cold World to the packed out preshow and after shows, FYA fest stood as a celebration of hardcore music in all it’s various subgenres and forms, with representation coming from genre legends and the new era of bands alike. I count myself lucky to be from the city it takes place in, but this is a festival that’s certainly worth travelling for. I’m extremely excited to see what 2024’s 10th edition has in store, and walked away more excited about the current hardcore scene than ever.