Mythstone Credit: Courtesy

The first Florida Dungeon Fest conjured a magical moment for the Orlando music scene. Presented by local promoter Spark Booking Collective and Texas label Engraven Records, Florida’s “first major dungeon synth event” brought a weekend of wizarding sights ’n’ sounds to Conduit and Audubon Park Church last January.

“The first fest was incredibly successful,” says Zach “Zeke” Murphy of Spark Booking. “We had about a hundred attendees on both days of the festival, an incredible costume contest and great reception all around to the lineup of artists and vendors.”

Murphy credits his booking partner, Anthony Pandolfino, for guiding the fest to success. In addition to running Engraven, this “absolute guru in the DS scene” orchestrates Texas Dungeon Siege — a DIY dungeon synth fest and distro based in Austin — and performs under the moniker Apoxupon.

A kindred interest in bringing dungeon synth to the Sunshine State quickly sparked a partnership between the two. They met through local DS act Angmaar, whose sword-wielding performance fittingly christened the church at the first Fest. After winning our 2025 staff pick for Best Medieval Mosh Pit, what’s next for FDF?

“While last year’s festival was exclusively centered around dungeon synth and similar synth subgenres, we really wanted to include another genre akin to DS this year,” Murphy says. “Particularly black metal.” And so they did, summoning Orlando’s own Pontifex, Tampa’s Othalan and Vampiric Coffin from Mississippi to raise horns and decibels this weekend. But wait, there’s lore: “Last but not least, we’re mixing it up even further with a fantasy rap set provided by Colorado’s Loremonger.” 

Making the Fest even more legendary is Saturday’s headliner, Mythstone: a seven-person theatrical performance with puppetry, projections and practical effects. “I’ve booked a lot of stuff in my time,” Murphy tells us. “Foreign slam bands, eccentric noise artists, Irish folk duos, and just about every mainstream genre you can name. But a full musical theater performance? Yeah, that’s a first.”

A DS supergroup of sorts, Mythstone features members from Friday’s headliners, Redhorn Gate of Illinois and Michigan’s Elyvilon, in a collaboration first conceived at last year’s Texas Dungeon Siege. Redhorn Gate’s live performance includes a choreographed actor and the artists in full Dwarven costume and makeup, while Elyvilon brings the Barbarian fantasy to reality in heroic fashion.

“Mythstone is approached as a collaborative world-building project where our talents come together into a sum that is greater than each of the individual parts, with an emphasis on telling a story through music,” says Tristan of Elyvilon, who is “much more impressionist in [his] approach to music.” Recalling a “phenomenal” experience at last year’ s Fest, he tells OW he “found the folks there to be very friendly,” and “met a lot of great people at that show, some of whom [he] still keep[s] up with regularly,” adding that he’s “excited to see some familiar faces again this year!”

The Dungeon festivities begin with gaming sessions inside the Winter Park venue at 2 p.m. each day. “This year, our side quests come in the form of tabletop games provided by Haven Games and retro console experiences provided by AFK at Conduit for patrons to peruse,” Murphy says. “We also have a load more vendors slinging trinkets, baubles and doodads to your heart’s content!”

And for those who dare to enter the Dungeon: “Keep going to shows! Go to weird shows. Go to shows you may not like, for genres you probably haven’t heard of before … like this one!”

Florida Dungeon Fest brings two nights of dungeon synth, fantasy and metal to Conduit on Jan. 30 and 31. Tickets are still available through Conduit but are going fast.

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This article appears in Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2026.