At 24-years-old, Timothy Sterritt (King of Summer, ex-Word Travels Fast) has been booking shows in the Atlanta area for almost a decade. Like many young, entrepreneurial punks, he got his start putting together bills at DIY venues like WonderRoot and Swayze’s in Marietta where he could book his friends’ bands and curate shows he wanted to see or play in. Over the years, he’s met a lot of bands and made many connections, which has provided access to other venues in cities across Georgia. But of all the shows he’s booked, nothing brings quite the same satisfaction as organizing a festival.

“I’ve always been super into doing fests,” Sterritt confesses over email. “I love throwing as many like-minded bands on a bill as possible and having a party.”

Sterritt’s latest venture is called Wumbo Fest and it goes down September 10th at WonderRoot. The free lineup features a steady diet of up-and-coming punk, emo, and hardcore acts including noise-punk bruisers Piss Shy, so-called ‘power emo’ act Big Awesome, alternative rockers Blurry, and more. Headlining the event is Atlanta four-piece Blis., who will perform a set of Brand New covers under the moniker Daisy Entendu. You can check out the festival poster with full lineup below.

Wumbo Fest

If the name Wumbo seems familiar maybe it’s because you grew up watching Spongebob as Sterritt did. Not one to take himself too seriously, all his past festivals — Hairy Chest Fest, Hairier Chest Fest (son of Hairy Chest Fest), Ivan Ooze Fest — have had absurdly goofy names. It’s all in the spirit of good fun, which Sterritt declares to be the primary motivator for organizing Wumbo.

“I think the lineup for Wumbo Fest stands out in the way that we have a lot of different genres going on but each of the bands was sort of handpicked because they’re fun,” he says. “I just wanted to work with stress free bands that have fun and love music and I definitely feel comfortable in saying that every band playing fits that description.”

Asked whether or not he plans to make Wumbo Fest an annual event, Sterritt admits that he doesn’t know. He’s not necessarily big on establishing traditions or concerned with making a statement. All that matters is the music and that everyone who attends leaves in high spirits.

“I guess if it’s a good time and the name doesn’t annoy me too bad by next year I’ll do it again,” he declares.

Sounds good to us.

Wumbo Fest takes over WonderRoot on Saturday, September 10. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is FREE.