2026-10-16

Jeff Geerling — arguably the most recognisable face in the homelab community — has announced HomelabFest, a dedicated homelab conference set for September 2027 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Why this matters

Homelabbers have always been the odd ones out at general tech conferences. There's never been a major event built specifically around the racks-in-the-spare-room crowd. Geerling's reach (millions of YouTube subscribers, deep ties to the Raspberry Pi and Ansible ecosystems) means this has a real chance of drawing serious vendor attention and, more importantly, genuine community.

If past events like LTX or Open Sauce are anything to go by, these community-born conferences tend to surface exclusive hardware announcements and early-access deals. That's where the practical value sits for anyone buying gear.

Caveats worth noting

It's over a year away, it's in the US, and there are zero details yet on tickets, pricing, or a speaker lineup. For UK homelabbers, the travel cost alone puts this in "holiday budget" territory rather than a casual weekend trip. There's also no guarantee it won't slip — first-time events often do.

That said, Geerling has a solid track record of following through on projects, and the community response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Even if you can't attend, expect the content that comes out of it (videos, reviews, product launches) to be relevant to everyone running a homelab.

What to do now

Keep an eye on Geerling's blog and channels for ticket announcements. If you're planning to fly out from the UK, September 2027 gives you plenty of runway to budget for it.

In the meantime, if your homelab needs attention now, a good dust-out never hurts — grab a JAKEHOE Fan Cleaner – Dust Removal Tool for Server & NAS Fans to keep those fans spinning quietly while you wait for the big event.