Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Furnace Fest rocked Birmingham’s Sloss Furnaces once again; festival to return in 2026
Reading time: 3 minutes
This past weekend, thousands of locals and visitors alike traveled to downtown Birmingham for the 2025 edition of Furnace Fest. Held October 3-5, the three-day punk, hardcore and metal music festival featured 99 acts on three stages at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, including headliners Jimmy Eat World, Dropkick Murphys and Knocked Loose.
What you missed at Furnace Fest 2025
In the early 2000s, the first iteration of Furnace Fest brought hundreds of Christian punk, hardcore and metal artists to Sloss Furnaces in The Magic City. Although the initial run of the festival ended in 2003, local entrepreneurs—including WorkPlay’s Johnny Grimes—teamed up to resurrect Furnace Fest in 2021.
Since its revival, Furnace Fest has become a highly-anticipated annual pilgrimage for fans of punk, hardcore and metal music around the world.
This year, the three-day festival featured 99 acts, including:
- FRIDAY
- Day Job
- Proper
- Gideon
- Spanish Love Songs
- Knuckle Puck
- Microwave
- Hot Water Music
- Texas is the Reason
- Saves the Day
- Mom Jeans
- Jimmy Eat World
- Double Tap
- Contention
- Guilt Trip
- Sunami
- Pig Pen
- Madball
- Mindforce
- Speed
- Comeback Kid
- Drain
- Kublai Khan TX
- Decoy
- Adlet
- Wounded Touch
- Secret World
- I am the Avalance
- Midrift
- Novulent
- Delta Sleep
- Initiate
- Still Remains
- From First to Last
- SATURDAY
- Meadows
- Super Sometimes
- Keep Flying
- Millington
- Soft Play
- Stavesacre
- Anberlin
- Say Anything
- Less Than Jake
- Suicidal Tendencies
- Dropkick Murphys
- Path of Destruction
- Crush Your Souls
- Big Ass Truck
- Orthodox
- Modern Life Is War
- Ten Yard Fight
- On Broken Wings
- Nora
- Living Sacrifice
- Zao
- Counterparts
- Common Sage
- Squint
- Dosser
- As Cities Burn
- Bleach
- A Change of Pace
- Driveways
- Rolo Tomassi
- Teen Suicide
- Glare
- Petey USA
- SUNDAY
- My Reply
- Johnny Booth
- Boundaries
- Stray From The Path
- Horse the Band
- Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza
- Terror
- Norma Jean
- Converge
- The Dillinger Escape Plan
- Knocked Loose
- Vigilante
- Balmora
- Martry AD
- Weapon X
- Haywire
- Gridiron
- The Mongoloids
- Sanguisugabogg
- Harm’s Way
- Biohazard
- Foundation
- Gumm
- Spaced
- Soul Blind
- Secret & Whisper
- Many Eyes
- Downward
- The Rocket Summer
- Sweet Pill
- Sincere Engineer
- Emery
- Citizen
In addition to the main performances at Sloss Furnaces, Furnace Fest hosted dozens of preshow and after-party performances at WorkPlay throughout the weekend.
According to a Furnace Fest spokesperson, the festival saw roughly 8,000 attendees per day, with 75% of the 24,000 total visits coming from out-of-state and out-of-country. Those visitors sold out several local hotels and patronized local businesses; Lee’s Coffee doubled its normal weekend sales and Black Market Bar & Grill reported an $8,000 increase in sales.
“Furnace Fest 2025 was incredible. Seeing people from all over the world come together in Birmingham reminded us why we do this. The energy, the community, the music…it was everything we love about Furnace Fest. We can’t wait to do it again next year.”
Johnny Grimes
Furnace Fest to return in Birmingham in 2026
Didn’t make it to Furnace Fest this year? Don’t worry—the popular music festival will be returning to Birmingham in 2026. Although dates have not yet been announced, follow Bham Now on Instagram, Facebook and sign up for our FREE newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Furnace Fest news.
Did you make it to Furnace Fest 2025? What was your favorite act? Tag us @bhamnow on Instagram to let us know!
