By Kiley Petracek
Over the weekend of February 16-18th, 2024, the Gasparilla Music Festival brought in listeners from across the Tampa Bay area and artists from across the country at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in Downtown Tampa. Upon purchasing tickets, festival-goers were prepared for the show to go on rain or shine; in which it rained throughout the event on Saturday and Sunday.
The event was held only a few blocks away from the finale of the Gasparilla Parade over Tampa Bay’s patriotic weekend on January 27th. According to visittampabay.com, Gasparilla Season stretches over January, February, and March every year in this region, granting attendees a chance to enjoy Florida’s most moderate annual weather while showcasing Tampanian pride.
Gasparilla Music Festival brought over 50 artists to Downtown Tampa, spread across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The musicians ranged from being considered pop, indie, rock, rap, and even EDM, catering to anyone’s music taste.
Due to the proximity of The University of Tampa (UT), many students were in attendance. Senior Riley Cantando said, “There were a lot of genres, and I think they were fully able to cater to everyone.”
Friday was the driest day of the event, bringing in more of an alternative EDM crowd to the riverfront park. It maintained a relative 70° and featured artists such as Louis The Child, Big Gigantic, and DJ Sandman on the mainstage. Gasparilla Music Festival’s Instagram said they were “Doing it big… No, doing it GIGANTIC” on the event day.
“It was so cool because we could get so close, even though we came later in the festival. It never felt overcrowded,” Cantando said. “It was such a beautiful venue, and seeing Big G was so sick.”
On Saturday around 6:00 PM, right as Trevor Hall began at mainstage, wind speeds picked up to 22 MPH and it started to pour according to Weather Underground. For the last four hours of the festival, attendees could be seen dancing in ponchos and crowding in the sheltered park spaces during intermissions.
“Music always makes bad weather feel better,” Tad Denham, the event organizer, told Channel 8 News. Alternative/ indie band Beach Weather made on-stage jokes about the city’s gloominess, and then the band proceeded to dance barefoot in the sprinkles, followed by a member of COIN smashing his guitar on stage.
“I was surprised the artists still could perform,” Abby Raymond, a junior student at UT, said. “It was so miserable, but everyone enjoyed themselves so much. I couldn’t believe it. They were all so happy about it being in the worst Florida weather.”
The rain was less strong on Sunday, slowing its pace around 6:00 PM, a few hours before the festival ended. Mainstage closer, Lake Street Dive, canceled the day prior, reportedly due to an illness. Instead, with “new Sunday headliners [with] reputations [that] proceed themselves,” Killer Mike and Big Boi were able to step in.
Overwhelmingly, attendees seemed pleased with the last-minute change in the lineup, with Instagram comments such as “best lineup change ever” and “Amazing diving catch by GMF! I was excited to see Lake St… but beside myself to see Killer Mike! Great way to spend a Sunday night!”
The festival showcased a main stage overlooking the Tampa Skyline and offered spaces to roam between local food and sale vendors, three other stages, and a silent disco.
“For the silent disco, I thought it was kind of dumb at first, but it was so fun,” Raymond said. “I had my poncho and the headphones, and it seemed everyone was getting into it. It’s completely silent when you take them off, and everyone’s singing along to different songs. I had the best time ever trying it.”
The festival surpasses just emphasizes music through its local affiliations and reach into the Tampa community. In an interview with Channel 8 News, Denham said, “The music on top is just the icing on the cake.”
Many sponsors are from within the locality of Tampa, such as Water Street Tampa, Sparkman Wharf, and the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation. Gasparilla Music Festival has also created Recycled Tunes, a non-profit program supporting music education across the region.
An example of the initiatives provided by Recycled Tunes is the instrument drives held throughout the year. According to the Gasparilla Music Festival’s website, the instruments are “refurbished by local music stores and then donated to local schools and other music programs.”
The program began in 2013, where organizers initially collected instruments from the community in trade for tickets to the music festival. Since then, Recycled Tunes has reportedly provided instruments for over 26 Pinellas and Hillsborough County schools.