GonzoFest 2026 NYC

Are you ready for “The too much fun club”!

About The New York Venues

Join us for 4 days of top-notch panels and presentations and 4 nights of poetry and music FREE

July 16 – 19. Here are the venues:

  • Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project
    6 East 1st Street, NYC 10003
    917-475-1294

  • Joe’s Pub
    425 Lafayette Street. (At Astor Place). New York, NY 10003

  • The Bitter End
    147 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
  • Georges Bergès Gallery
    462 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012

  • Hart Bar
    538 Hart Street, Brooklyn, NY 11221

  • Tompkins Square Branch
    New York Public Library
    331 East 10th Street

  • Pubkey Bar
    85 Washington Pl, New York, NY 10011

  • Parkside Lounge
    317 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002

  • Book Club Bar
    197 E 3rd St, NY 10009

  • C & C Photography Gallery
    3 West 57th Street, 4th Floor, NY 10019

The focus of this GonzoFest is on Hunter’s political writing; the daytime events will include six panels, three to four keynote presentations, poetry readings, films and music. Also, a gallery showing of Hunter’s art. And, not to miss, a tour of Hunter’s New York City (Hunter took classes at Columbia University, wrote his Kentucky Derby piece at the Royalton Hotel, worked at Time magazine, and wrote his first (unpublished) novel in Greenwich Village).

Panel topics: “Hunter’s Political Writing,” “Gonzo Spirituality,” “Hunter As His Friends & Others Knew Him,” “Daughters of Gonzo,” “Hunter As Sports Writer,” “Hunter & the Beat Generation,” and “Hunter’s New York.” Perhaps, as well, “Hunter & the Bay Area.”

More on GonzoFest 2026 below.

“The Gonzo in us thrives by throwing ourselves headfirst into experience. Viewing life as a mythic adventure, where every challenge is a plot twist, & fuels motivation by turning struggle into an engaging narrative rather than an obstacle.”

Martin Flynn, Hstbooks.org – Instagram

FREE ALL WEEKEND EXTRAVAGANZA

GonzoFest, an annual festival, founded by US National Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate Ron Whitehead, celebrates the life and legacy of author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson, famous for his work with Rolling Stone and for still-wildly- popular books, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. GonzoFest was a huge success for ten years in Louisville, Kentucky. This year marks its first-ever incursion into New York City, with headliners like jazz legend David Amram, Outlaw Journalist author William McKeen, Ralph Steadman (by Zoom) and his daughter Sadie in person, and more of the crème de la crème in “Gonzo royalty.”

Big-name draws from around the country include popular authors like Tim Denevi and jam-packed panels.

Many of the same Gonzo stars will be returning. It’s addictive!

Schedule in New York, 2026

Time waits for no one, but we’ve pinned it down for you. The schedule is your survival guide through this chaotic odyssey. Memorize it—or risk being lost in the fray.

Thursday

July 16th

Opening and Reception

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Georges Bergès Gallery
462 W. Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Afternoon

Tompkins Square Branch, New York Public Library
331 East 10th St.

Poetry As Resistance Reading

  • 2:00pm Rescue Poetix, Didi Champagne, Danny Shot, George Wallace
  • 3:00pm Valery Oisteanu, Michael Duckwall, Bengt O Björklund, Jeff Weddle
  • 4:00pm Annie Jane-Wilder, Angel Martinez, Carlos Raul Dufflar, Claire Conroy
  • 5:00pm Jenna Fliesen, Lorraine Currelley, Mimi German
  • 6:00pm Elliot Katz, Ngoma Hill

Evening

 Georges Bergès Gallery
462 W Broadway

Gonzo Visceral: A Curated Exhibition Inspired by the Life and Writings of Hunter S. Thompson

  • Featured work by Ralph Steadman, Grant Goodwine, Paul Pascarella

Late Night

Hart Bar
538 Hart Street, Brooklyn

  • 8-8:45 Zu Zu Ya Ya
  • 9-9:45 Classical Country Revival
  • 10-10:45 Suborbitals
  • 11-11:20 Daniel O’ Bailey
  • 11: 30 – 11:50 Drew Smith
  • Midnight – 12:20 Tommy Bays
  • 12:30 – 12:50 A.S. Coomer

Friday

July 17th

Morning

Tompkins Square Branch, New York Public Library
331 East 10th St.

  • 10:15 am: The Red Microphone, Dorothy Friedman
  • 11 am: Patrick McGee (music), Paul Jones, Chris Byrd, Jennifer Seelig
  • 11:30 am: Dan McCarthy (presentation)
  • Noon: Marty Flynn, Rita Spalding, Claire Conroy, Tom Murphy

Afternoon

Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project
6 East 1st St.

  • 1 pm Ron Whitehead “State of Gonzo Address”
  • 1:10 Tommy Bays (10 minutes)
  • 1:20 -2:10 poetry PW Covington, Chris Dean, Sean Munro, Dig Wayne
  • 2:15 “We Ride” film by Romain Thomassin
  • 2:40 Brendan Lorber
  • 3:00 S.A.Griffin, Richard Modiano, Bonafide Rojas, Jennifer Blowdyer
  • 4:00 Misa Levey, Charles Bukkake, Christopher M. Kubick, David Greenberg
  • 5:00 Peter Carlaftes, Kat Georges, Victor D. Infante, Puma Perl
  • 6:00-7:15 Hunter S. Thompson and the Beat Generation (panelists: Kurt Hemmer, David Wills, Ron Whitehead, Brian Hassett, Peter Richardson)
  • 7:30 Poetry as Resistance (panelists: Elliot Katz, Jenna Fliesen, Ngoma Hill, Lorraine Currelley, Mimi German)

Evening

C & C Photography Gallery
3 West 57th St., 4th Floor

  • 5-8 pm: The Cozumel Diary: Al Satterwhite’s Week in Mexico with Hunter S. Thompson

Night

Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

8 pm – 10 pm

The Gonzo Ball!
A Hunter S. Thompson Celebration
Special concert in benefit of the Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship for Veterans at Columbia University.
David Amram and Band, other special guests TBA

Late Night

Parkside Lounge
317 East Houston St.

  • 9 pm – Tommy Twilite, Zach Breen, Drew Smith

  • 10 pm Beat Poet Society

  • 11 pm Zu Zu Ya Ya

  • Midnight Suborbitals

Saturday

July 18th

Morning

Tompkins Square Library
331 East 10th St.

  • 10:15 am panel: HST in New York (Kurt Hemmer, William McKeen, Margaret Harrell)
  • 11:15 am panel: HST and the Bay Area (Peter Richardson, Jesse Jarnow, Michael Kramer)
  • 12:30 pm: Frederic B. Wildfang – “Gonzo Buddies: John Clancy and Hunter S.  Thompson” (presentation)
  • 1 pm: The Puma Perl, Chuck Harp, Sonny Boninsegna, Bryan Franco
  • 2 pm: Joseph Fasano, Jake St. John, Karen Warinsky, Chris Vannoy

Afternoon

Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project
6 East 1st St.

  • 1 pm Ralph Steadman – “A Conversation with Ralph Steadman” with Sadie Williams and Grant Goodwine (via Zoom)
  • 1:45 pm Daughters of Gonzo – panelist: Claire Clancy, Mia Wells and Katherine Schmidt (granddaughters of Bob Braudis), Hilary Hinckle, Sadie Williams, Caitlin Hawke, Moderated by Christopher Tidmore
  • 3:30 pm Simone Corday (Zoom)
  • 4: 30 – How Hunter S. Thompson Changed Political Writing (panelists: David Streitfeld, Peter Richardson, Timothy Denevi, Jay Cowan. Moderated by William McKeen)
  • 5:15 pm – Sadie Williams presentation on Ralph Steadman: “That’s My Dad!”
  • 6:30 Hunter S. Thompson as his Friends and Others Knew Him (panelists: Al Satterwhite
  • Phoebe Legere, Cheryl Della Pietra, Dan O’Neill, Chris Felver. Moderated by Timothy Denevi)
  • 8 pm – Female Voices of New York: Puma Perl, Annie Jane Wilder, Nancy Mercado, Pamela Snead, Jani Rose, Yuko Otomo, Karien Fabiene and Rescue Poetix

Night

Bitter End
147 Bleecker St.

  • $10 at the door
  • 6-6:45 Zu Zu Ya Ya
  • 7-8 Clancy

Book Club Bar
197 E 3rd St

9 pm -11 pm

GonzoFest Social Gathering. Come out to the Book Club Bar and enjoy a Hunter S. Thompson inspired cocktail, talk with your friends, get a book signed by a GonzoFest writer.

Please pre-order GonzoFest books

Sunday

July 19th

Morning

Howl! Happening
6 East 1st St

  • 10 am – NOON (Tour of Hunter’s New York)

Afternoon

Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project
6 East 1st St.

  • 1 pm: Penny Arcade
  • 1:45 pm: Keynote Presentation – Kristine Ross
  • 2:30 pm: Hunter’s Legal Legacy (Matt Moseley, Gerry Goldstein, and other guests)
  • 3:30 pm – Zach Breen (10 minutes), Sean Cole, Brenda Coultas
  • 4:15 John Brick – “In the Archives: Thompson at the NYPL.”
  • 5 – 6:30 “Gonzo, the Soul, and the State of the Human Condition: Making Gonzo Current in an Age of Psychological Crisis” (panelists: Kristine Ross, Ron Whitehead, Margaret Harrell, T. R. Johnson, Paul Jones, Emma Louise Rodgers, Marty Flynn)
  • 6:45 Panel: Curtis Robinson & Hunter S. Thompson (panelists: Christopher Tidmore, Jeff Weddle, Wayne Ewing, Matt Moseley, Judy Clancy)
  • 8!5 pm: Marty Flynn (keynote): “Gonzo as Soulwork: The Outlaw Path Back to Ourselves”

Night

Pubkey Bar
85 Washington Pl.

  • 9:15 pm: Daniel O’ Bailey (music), Zach Breen (music), Margaret Harrell, Ron Whitehead, Frank Messina,
  • 10 pm: Michael Amitin, David Lawton, Jeff Weddle, Todd Cirillo, Jake St. John,
  • 11 pm: Matt Sedillo, John Burroughs, Danny Shot, Rita Spalding, Tracey Zee,
  • Midnight: Karen Warinsky, Paul Jones, Shelley Chernin, Westley Heines, Matt Amott,
  • 1 am: Andy LaBrada, Chris Vannoy, Dan Denton, Jess Bryant, Elizabeth Cusack
  • 2 am: Sonny Boninsegna, Kent Fielding, Callia Fielding, Eddy Lonzo
  • 3 am: OPEN MIC

High Priests of the Savage Page

A rogue’s gallery of ink-stained prophets, midnight philosophers, and dangerous minds gathered to raise hell, tell the truth, and keep the gonzo flame burning through the long strange night of Gonzofest 2026.

Panels:

  • Hunter’s Political Writing
  • Hunter’s Legal Legacy

  • Gonzo, the Soul and the State of the Human Condition

  • Daughters and Women of Gonzo

  • Hunter As His Friends Knew Him

  • Hunter and the Beat Generation.

  • Hunter As Sports Writer

  • Hunter in New York City

  • Poetry As Resistance

Tour of Hunter S. Thompson’s New York City

Keynote Speakers and Panelists:

  • Douglas Brinkley
  • Ralph Steadman (via Zoom)

  • Sadie Williams (in person, from England)

  • David Amram
  • Ron Whitehead
  • Al Satterwhite
  • David Wills

  • Martin Flynn (in person from Ireland)

  • Rory Patrick Feehan (in person from Ireland)

  • Penny Arcade
  • Puma Perl
  • Phoebe Legere
  • Simone Corday (via Zoom)
  • Matthew L. Moseley
  • Jay Cowan
  • Dan O’Neill
  • Claire Clancy
  • Pia Hinckle
  • Hilary Hinckle
  • Margaret Harrell
  • William McKeen
  • Peter Richardson
  • Kurt Hemmer

  • Kristine Ross

  • Frank Messina
  • Brian Hassett
  • Jack Ryan
  • Jesse Jarnow
  • Curtis Robinson

  • Mia Wells

  • P. A. Jones (Paul)

  • Cheryl Della Pietra

  • Christopher Tidmore
  • Timothy Denevi
  • TR Johnson
  • Daivd Streitfeld
  • John Brick
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Carlotta Acosta
  • Emma Louise Rogers
  • Fred Wildfang

  • Katherine Schmidt

  • Mimi German
  • Ngoma Hill
  • Lorraine Currelley
  • Ngoma Hill
  • Eliot Katz

  • Phoebe Legere

  • Caitlin Hawke

Musicians and Bands:

  • David Amram
  • Zu Zu Ya Ya
  • Classical Country Revival
  • Claire Clancy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Joe Kidd and Sheila Burke
  • Tommy Bays
  • Beat Poet Society
  • Drew Smith
  • Tommy Twilite

  • Daniel O’ Bailey, Right Here & Now

  • Puma Perl Band
  • Jennifer Blowdryer Band
  • Drew Coomer

  • The Suborbitals

Artwork and Visual Artists:

  • Ralph Steadman
  • Grant Goodwine
  • Joey Feldman
  • Phoebe Legere
  • Chris Felver
  • Al Satterwhite

  • Belen Gerp

  • Dan O’Neill

  • Frank Messina

Comedian:

  • Nat Towsen

Films and Filmmakers:

  • We Ride by Romain Thomassin

  • HST in NYC by Curtis Robinson

  • The Road to Hunter by Sara Booth

Poets and Prose Writers:

  • Jeff Weddle
  • Jennifer Blowdryer
  • Chris Dean
  • Wendy Cartwright
  • Ron Whitehead
  • Frank Messina
  • Puma Perl
  • Andy LaBrada
  • Michael Duckwall
  • Mitcheal Barrett
  • Chris Vannoy

  • Joseph Fasano

  • John Micheal
  • David O’Nan
  • Richard Modiano
  • Sean Cole

  • S. A. Griffin

  • Pia Hinckle
  • Dan Denton
  • Bonafide Rojas
  • Brenda Coultas
  • Bill Nevins
  • Rita Spalding

  • Danny Shot

  • Dorothy Friedman

  • Thomas Fucaloro
  • Kat Georges
  • Peter Carlaftes
  • David Lawton
  • Penny Arcade
  • Dig Wayne
  • David Greenberg
  • Todd Cirillo
  • Jake St. John
  • Matt Sedillo

  • P. A. Jones (Paul)

  • Ryan Masters

  • Misa Levey
  • Charles Bukkake
  • Chris Kubick
  • Jennifer Seelig
  • Kent Fielding
  • Callia Fielding
  • Westley Heines
  • Tracey Zee
  • Karen Warinsky
  • Shelley Chernin
  • John Burroughs

  • Annie Jane Wilder

  • Matt Amott
  • Victor D. Infante
  • Claire Conroy
  • George Wallace
  • Mimi German
  • Didi Champagne
  • Bill Nevins
  • Bengt O Björklund
  • Lorraine Currelley
  • Bryan Franco
  • Ngoma Hill

News & Stories – Featured Performers

Stay wired to the pulse of the madness. The latest news isn’t just information; it’s ammunition in the battle for truth. Dive in now before the bastards try to hide it.
  • Joey Feldman

    Joey Feldman

    In the Artist’s Own Words – Joey Feldman Artist, illustrator, cartoonist I’m a self-taught

  • Jay Cowan, author of Hunter S. Thompson: An Insider’s View of Deranged, Depraved, Drugged Out Brilliance

    Jay Cowan, author of Hunter S. Thompson: An Insider’s View of Deranged, Depraved, Drugged Out Brilliance

    Jay Cowan joins us on the Hunter S. Thompson Political Writings panel, moderated by

  • Another Spectacular Addition to the Lineup

    Another Spectacular Addition to the Lineup

    Comedian Nat Towsen, another show stopper in the GonzoFest 2026 lineup, has appeared on

Participants York 2026

Meet the ringmasters of this psychedelic circus. Our presenters are the wild-eyed prophets of Gonzo, ready to twist your mind and ignite your soul. Approach with curiosity and a dash of caution.

Panelists, Presenters, & Keynote Speakers

  • Michael J. Kramer

    Michael J. Kramer

    Michael J. Kramer specializes in modern US cultural and intellectual history,

  • Cheryl Della Pietra

    Cheryl Della Pietra

    Cheryl Della Pietra is author of the novel Gonzo Girl, inspired

  • Jack Ryan

    Jack Ryan

    Jack Ryan is a Professor in the Department of English

  • Jesse Jarnow

    Jesse Jarnow

    Jesse Jarnow co-hosts the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast, and is the

  • P. A. Jones (Paul)

    P. A. Jones (Paul)

    P. A. Jones (Paul) is a Southern poet, philosopher, mystic,

  • Penny Arcade (a.k.a. Susana Ventura)

    Penny Arcade (a.k.a. Susana Ventura)

    Penny Arcade (a.k.a. Susana Ventura) is an internationally respected performance artist,

  • Brian Hassett

    Brian Hassett

    Brian Hassett is the author of a Beat Trilogy — The Hitchhiker’s

  • Dan McCarthy

    Dan McCarthy

    Dan McCarthy is a Canadian vibraphonist and composer known for

  • Matt Moseley

    Matt Moseley

    Matt Moseley is a communication strategist, author, speaker, and world record

  • Jay Cowan

    Jay Cowan

    Jay Cowan started writing very young and was lucky to

  • Sadie Williams

    Sadie Williams

    In a sense Sadie Williams, the youngest daughter of Ralph

  • Martin Flynn

    Martin Flynn

    Martin Flynn is a psychotherapist poet and writer whose work blends

  • Frederic B. Wildfang

    Frederic B. Wildfang

    Frederic B. Wildfang—poet, drifter, adventurist—has hitchiked over 50,000 miles in

  • Emma Louise Rodgers, PhD

    Emma Louise Rodgers, PhD

    Emma Louise Rodgers is a psychological scientist and photographer living

  • Phoebe Legere

    Phoebe Legere

    Photo by Bobby Miller  Phoebe Legere is an internationally acclaimed

  • Al Satterwhite

    Al Satterwhite

    Al Satterwhite came to his passion and drive for photography

  • Simone Corday

    Simone Corday

    Portrait by Liza Heider From 1981 to 1989, Simone Corday

  • Rory Patrick Feehan, PhD

    Rory Patrick Feehan, PhD

    Rory Patrick Feehan graduated with a PhD in English Language

  • Ralph Steadman

    Ralph Steadman

    Ralph Steadman began his career as a cartoonist, turning his

  • David S. Wills

    David S. Wills

    David S. Wills is the editor of Beatdom literary journal and the

  • Frank Messina

    Frank Messina

    Frank Messina is one of the most widely recognized poets

  • Margaret A. Harrell

    Margaret A. Harrell

      Margaret A. Harrell, a three-time MacDowell Colony fellow, is

  • Kurt Hemmer

    Kurt Hemmer

    Kurt Hemmer is the editor of the Encyclopedia of Beat Literature. With filmmaker

  • Peter Richardson

    Peter Richardson

    Peter Richardson has written critically acclaimed books about Hunter S. Thompson,

  • David Amram

    David Amram

    David Amram started his professional life in music as a French

  • Grant Goodwine

    Grant Goodwine

    Grant Goodwine is a working Louisville, Kentucky-based freelance illustrator who

  • Ron Whitehead

    Ron Whitehead

    “I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as

  • David Streitfeld

    David Streitfeld

    David Streitfeld is the editor of Hunter S. Thompson: The Last Interview

  • William McKeen

    William McKeen

    William McKeen is the author of two and a half

  • Kent Fielding

    Kent Fielding

    Kent Fielding—a teacher, coach, and poet—has taught in the Marshall Islands,

  • Timothy Denevi

    Timothy Denevi

    Timothy Denevi is the author of Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic

  • John Brick, PhD

    John Brick, PhD

      John F. Brick has a Ph.D. in English on “Gonzo

  • Curtis Robinson

    Curtis Robinson

    Curtis Robinson, who edited newspapers in five states, has a

  • Christopher Tidmore

    Christopher Tidmore

    Christopher Tidmore, who leads the Walking Tour and a panel, is

  • T. R. Johnson

    T. R. Johnson

      T. R. Johnson is a Professor of English and Weiss

  • Pia Hinckle

    Pia Hinckle

      Pia Hinckle is a San Francisco writer, editor, small

  • Kristine Ross

    Kristine Ross

    Featured image by Margaret  Harrell The daughter of Deborah Fuller,

Ride the Wave: Join the Gonzo Dispatch

Don’t get left behind when the next wild journey begins. Plug into the Gonzo Dispatch and be the first to know when the circus rolls back into town. Sign up now to stay ahead of the pack and dive deep into the heart of the action.

Rest easy—your personal data won’t become fodder for the vultures. We keep your secrets locked away, far from the grubby hands of the corporate beast.

Merch

Special-T

GonzoFest shirts conjured up by the fearless Sadie Williams — available by pre-purchase only, so act before the herd wakes up.

T-shirts

$35 +shipping

A proper uniform for the fearless observer. This Gonzofest tee is for those who believe good writing should rattle cages, ask dangerous questions, and leave a little smoke in the air. Wear it like a badge of honor.

Hoodie

$60 +shipping

When the night gets long and the stories get stranger, this Gonzofest hoodie has your back. Equal parts comfort and attitude, it’s built for late-night debates, wild ideas, and the occasional brush with dangerous journalism.

Books

The madness doesn’t stop at the festival gates. A fine collection of books from the wild minds of Gonzofest awaits—dangerous ideas, strange stories, and the kind of writing that keeps the fire burning long after the last drink is poured.

Broadsides

A limited run of broadsides will also surface at the festival — rare paper artifacts for those who appreciate ink, mischief, and the written word in its rawest form. If you want to secure one before they vanish into the wild, send a message to Kent Fielding and stake your claim.

Share This Event!