Gonerfest, like all great things in this world, happened by accident. In 2005 Goner was releasing albums by King Khan & BBQ Show (their first) and King Louie One Man Band and scheduled them to play a friday and saturday night in January. Soon bands - including the Black Lips - wanted onto the shows, and we had 3 days worth of music . Just the bands would have filled the venue, the Buccaneer, which holds maybe 70 people, but people started planning trips from around the world to see the music that we'd lined up and also as an excuse to hang out in Memphis. When I saw a renowned Italian record label head hoofing it down seedy Cleveland Avenue at 10am one morning, I knew something was going on. We had 200 people in the bar, outside the bar, and roaming the streets of Memphis enjoying music, beer, and barbecue for a perfect, if sweaty, first Gonerfest.

It's just grown from there, but we never want to get away from that mix of fans and bands who just want to be here.
That's a big part of the magic of the fest, and hopefully something that we'll always enjoy.

Bands who have played Gonerfest include:
Black Lips, Jay Reatard, Reigning Sound, Impala, King Khan & BBQ Show, King Louie One Man Band, Carbonas, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Digital Leather, Marked Men, Persuaders, Reatards, Lamps, Cheveu, Tokyo Electron, Knaughty Knights, Detonations, Killer's Kiss, Overnight Lows, Human Eye, Angry Angles, Rat Traps, Dirty Ho, Porch Honkees, Demon's Claws, Don Howland's Burning Bush, Jenny Jeans, Leather Uppers, Head, Donnie Denim & The Meatballs, Top Ten, Barbaras, Die Rotzz, River City Tanlines, Johnny Lowebow, Harlan T Bobo, Black & Whites, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, Hipshakes, Royal Pendlteons, Viva L'American Death Ray Music, Brand New Love Affairs, Perfect Fits, Cococoma, Headache City, Evil Army, Black Rose Band, Goodnight Loving, Digger & The Pussycats, Vending Machine, Ooga Boogas, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Boston Chinks, Live Fast Die, Final Solutions, Mans, Rockin' Enocky, Touch-Me-Nots, Tuff Bananas, Mr Airplane Man, Busy Signals, Hank IV, Tyler Keith & Preachers's Kids, Thomas Function, Archrivals, Hex Dispensers, Okmoniks, Lover!, Menthols, Staags Andrew S Earles and more!