Swanfest is Back: See Dance Gavin Dance Headline This Must-See Festival
Swanfest 2023 is back for another banging year.
Headlined and curated by rock band Dance Gavin Dance, Swanfest will take the Mann Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by storm on Oct. 1. 2022’s festival was a smashing success and sold out, so festival-goers are ready for what’s next from the third-ever Swanfest.
We’re excited to bring Swanfest to the East Coast for the first time. It means a lot to have so much support from our fans that we can create this experience and bring together a diverse community of music lovers for one epic night.
~ Will Swan of Dance Gavin Dance
Dance Gavin Dance will play a variety of tracks from its discography, ranging from rarer songs to classics to songs from its most recent release Jackpot Juicer. The album, released last July, took number eight in the Billboard Top 200 and even amassed more than 68 million streams.
The band continually creates good content and good festivals. Fans have been drawn to the band since it was formed in 2005. Its killer, experimental songs feature complex instrumentation, poppy choruses, and powerfully raw emotion, a unique mix of post-hardcore, math-rock, progressive-rock, and post-rock. Dance Gavin Dance has basically created its own genre — “swancore,” named for Will Swan and his record label Blue Swan Records.
And so Swanfest was born in 2019, attracting more than 7,000 attendees. The second festival in 2022 saw 11,000 people make it to Sacramento. Expect a huge turnout this year, too.

Other big names will perform at the festival, like rock band Set It Off and Japanese alternative metal band SiM. You can also see Body Thief, Rain City Drive, Stolas, Within Destruction, and Dwellings. Special shoutout to Dwellings, an alternative indie band with Tragic Hero Records. Dwellings will be releasing its sophomore album, “Little Garden,” on June 30, so stay tuned for the drop and see them take the stage at Swanfest.
Swanfest 2023 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you don’t want to miss out on, so snag tickets fast here and keep an eye out for updates on Instagram.