Apparently, 2023 is the year for brand-spanking-new, musician-curated festivals. So here’s another for your Pokédex: Highball 2023, two days of whimsical indie-rock organized by the Athens-based band Futurebirds. Headliners The Head and the Heart and Band of Horses will bring back that angsty-lil’-college goblin self reeling through an endless fall (before goin’ to better places…but our friends will be gone away). Don’t wallow in nostalgia for too long, however, because the other acts are just plain great: Wednesday’s punk-basement guitar riffs and Hotel Fiction’s soft pop vocals will make you realize you can still wear pigtails and dye your hair an unnamable shade of magenta.
“It’s a wild, wild dream to have the chance to help curate a festival bill,” Futurebirds’ Carter King said in a press release. “[It’s] full of some of our favorite bands and best friends, in our home state, not far from where a handful of us grew up and experienced live music for the first time.”
The festival will be held outdoors at Pullman Yards, a collection of historic train manufacturing buildings just east of downtown Atlanta. The stage is outdoors, in the railroad’s original transfer table, and the GA admission and VIP lounges are right next door in the recently renovated Building 6, a machine shop built by the Pullman Company in 1927.
Apart from being a music venue, Pullman Yards should be on any movie buff’s bucket list: scenes from the “Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Divergent,” and “Fast Five” were filmed in and around its red brick and industrial metal warehouses. It also houses pop-up restaurants, as well as Jurassic World: The Exhibition, if you fancy hanging out with a giant Tyrannosaurus rex pre-show.
The Specs
- Pullman Yards has space for up to 11,000 head-bopping fans.
- GA 2-day passes are $95, single day tickets are $65.
- VIP 2-day passes are $225 (single day $125), and include access to a VIP lounge (private bar and air conditioned restrooms), stagefront VIP pit. For 2-day holders, this tier also includes complementary pre-party tickets and a screen print poster signed by Futurebirds.
- While you’re in Atlanta, make sure to chow down on BBQ and fried chicken. And if you’re a die-hard Stranger Things fan, search for demogorgons at the IRL locations of the Hawkins Laboratory and Community Pool.
FAQs
What is the closest airport to Highball?
Fly into the Atlanta International Airport, 13 miles from the festival grounds. (It’s 25 minutes to Pullman Yards, 20 minutes to downtown). Take the Metro Gold line to downtown, or grab a rideshare.
Where is Pullman Yards (the festival venue)? Can I park there?
Pullman Yards is located at 225 Rogers Street NE Atlanta, Ga 30317. Parking is available through the Park Mobile app (prices vary based on event). It’s also an easy Metro ride (blue line) from Downtown Atlanta.
Will there be food?
Yes, food trucks will be at the festival. Make sure to bring a card, as all vendors will be cashless.
What is the bag policy?
All bags are subject to search and must be under 14″ x 11″ x 5″. Fanny packs and small purses are fine. No large fabric or framed bags.
Strollers are allowed. Leave selfie sticks, umbrellas, coolers, picnic baskets, chairs, and cute pets at home.
Which artists are on the Highball 2023 lineup?
Band of Horses, The Head and the Heart, Futurebirds, Wednesday, Seratones, T. Hardy Morris, The Whigs, S.G. Goodman, Hotel Fiction.
2023 Poster
