Saturday January 16th was a day full of surprises, love, and music. With two primary locations, Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg and Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Florida, Sunshine Music Festival has earned it's spot as one of the best Florida events out there. Here are a few highlights of the time we shared at the jazz grooving fest.
From early that morning to the end of the night, Sunshine Music Festival carried dedicated fans from throughout the state to come together and share a common bond through the blues, soul, indie, and funk.
With just returning from the 14th annual Jam Cruise, San Diego based Karl Denson's Tiny Universe brought the crowd off of their feet and funked their way through an hour long set on the second stage with upbeat keyboard solos, blaring saxophones, and a dance party that could last you days. These guys are just everywhere and are an absolute must see act.
The Indigo Girls brought tranquility, beautiful acoustics, and a feeling of peace all throughout the crowd. The American folk duo played their classic hits such as "Galileo" and "Closer to Fine" as well as entertaining their older audience in between songs. These girls are indeed still in action and have a great tour planned to start 2016 off right which you can view here.
Now, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue were just something else. Words cannot describe the energy this group brings. The New Orleans based band brought one of the strongest horn sections I have personally experienced. From crowd pleasing rapping and vocals to the dirtiest brass breakdowns, these guys were on there A game making sure St. Petersburg felt the love. They even managed to stomp the yard with massive covers such as Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls On Parade". Trombone Shorty, just keep doing you.
For the headlining act everyone was talking about all day long, Tedeschi Trucks Band, was everything we could've imagined. The 11-piece Jacksonville based National phenomenon took the stage for two hours playing everything everyone wanted to hear.
Tedeschi Trucks Band is a group originally formed by husband and wife Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. Derek's Uncle, Butch Trucks, was the iconic drummer behind The Allman Brothers Band and tends to sit in to play with his nephew's group from time to time. As the band grew throughout the years, they have developed one of the most talented musically inclined group of individuals. From the effortless legendary guitar licks to the full band of instruments simultaneously coming together, they are creating a distinct live sound everyone deserves to experience.
What's very interesting is the Tedeschi Trucks' bassist Tim Lefebvre, was the bass player and writer for the entire recently acclaimed new David Bowie album Blackstar. With a week full of confusion and despair leaving not only society in a rut but especially Bowie's close loved ones including Tim, he was playing his heart out and made sure to keep a smile on his face connecting with the audience as much as he could. You can read Tim's article he wrote for Rolling Stone about his time with Bowie here.
Sunshine Music Festival was nothing short of a magical time. All around, the feels were running through each and every person there with the venue having an absolute beautiful setting and the annual attendees who were nothing short of good willing people who were open to conversation and making new friends. We highly suggest that you spend a holiday of music with Sunshine in your near future! Thank you Live Nation and everyone else involved for giving me this tremendous opportunity.
Photos by Chris Jardines