Sunshine Music Festival

the HOTTEST concert we ever attended was TTB in Bridgeport CT, Gathering of the Vibes. the COLDEST concert we ever attended was TTB at Sunshine Music Festival in St Pete, FL. Jan 13, 2018. However cold, the music was wonderful, the musicians were great even as I wondered how their fingers were moving in the cold. Enjoyed ALL the bands. Great venue. Good vendors.

Suprisingly well run event considering it is only two years old. Not knowing what to expect we thoroughly enjoyed this festival. The food in the VIP tent was much better than what I've experienced at other Live Nation events. Only problem it was a short lunch early in the 10 hour day. This plan wasn't communicated to the ticket holders beforehand. It was good BBQ. My major complaint was the in and out policy. Attendees were allowed to leave and come back once. Fair enough. The absurd part was you had to be back by 5pm. That's not VIP treatment. The event's urban location made it easy for us to get back home when it rained and watch some championship football. Being forced to return 3 hours before the headliner was unnecessary. That said, we still had a great time. For the most part the acts were excellent and everything ran spot on time.

Galactic was amazing as always. They had a chick singer who turned out to be awesome. Something different and it was great! JJ Grey with his Farmer Foot Drum was amazing! I loved his solo performance. Very good crowed interaction . He was just very real on stage! Great job JJ. The Ringers were pretty fantastic. Leon still plays that piano like nobody's business! Oh man and Tedeschi Trucks Band! WOW! They were attacking everything. So much energy! Derek was in your face with all his jams! No time for rest notes just attacking to whole way. Awesome. Then when Jimmy Herring came out it kicked up a few notches! He fit in so well. I could see him in the band full time! Made such an improvement on a Band that is already so full and perfect in every way. Never would have expected it. But oh man that was some kick ass Jams. Derek and Jimmy feed off each other so well! I think he should say bye to panic and say hello to TT Band! He would add that edge that would make them hit everything! Great shows all around from Hot Tuna to Tedeschi Trucks Band! Thank you

The festival itself was great! Nice to be in Mizner Park. The facilities were caught off guard --- attendance must have been 3 times what was expected because a handful of portolets caused long lines and they ran out of water and towels. Music wise, the musicianship was amazing from beginning to end. A couple acts slowed down a bit and lost the crowd. The venue could have made a lot more money if they would have had Hot Chocolate during the cold Florida night!!

We go to this show every year and really enjoy the lineup that has been hand picked by the Tedeschi-Truck band. A great show with a good crowd and 12 hours of great music with dual stages so the music never stops!!!

With both stages alternating our seats were wonderful. We had a chance to go to the VIP tent between sets and back to 3rd row each time. Leon Russell was amazing and energetic.

Every act had something to offer. No down time between acts, one stage ended and the other started. Good food, good drink, good time, great venue right on the water!

Oli Brown opened with a great Brit Blues set. Listening to the legends all day was memorable. My new FUNK is Maggie Koerner w/ Galactic - HEY NA NA As Always Derek and Susan delivered a fantastic show and Jimmy Herring duelin with Derek was awesome.

great concert, I was please with all the vendors for drinks and food. most noteworthy was how the stages were set. We found the perfect vector to watch from our location either stage when performances occurred. The sequence between bands and stages was done excellent will very little downtime of music between each other sets; that made it awesome. Great job by all, we try like these outdoor venues as it allows for bringing your favorite chair and blanket to use during the concert.

This is a great little music festival. Not yet crowded, actually had some good food choices from the vendors, the site was appropriate and the sound system was fine. There were some obscure artists and some legends. All provided inspired performances. The only criticism is the Live Nation employees did not get briefed adequately prior. Didn't know what different price tickets were entitled to, didn't know re-entry rules etc. Dispite this disadvantage, I commend them on doing a good job.

Great festival! Leon Russell was amazing! Stanley Clark & his band were outstanding! Tedechi/Trucks totally Rocked the house!!!

Great performances by outstanding artists. As usual, venue had those huge subwoofers on either side of the stages overpowering the excellent sound coming from the stage and the stacks with way too much low end. Ticketmaster and the venue had the seat numbering reversed so that what was sold was the opposite of how the rows were actually laid out. Seat 30, Section 2 should have been on the center aisle per the ticketmaster seating chart, but it was actually on the extreme right side of the section far from the center.

The one thing that stood out was Tedesci Trucks Band was excellent as usual and always a must see! The sound board and team dialed in that sound Perfectly, especially for Trucks' super smooth slide leads! Galactic was great as well, super clean and funky. Great idea to have two stages so the crowd didn't have to wait around for stage setup, sound check, etc. recommended that when possible. However being a long time JJ Grey/Mofro fan, myself and many others were really disappointed that JJ played solo on acoustic, w/o his awesome 7 piece band, sad. He's real good and sounded better when he plugged in a nice electric guitar but the band and him together are why we go see them. Would have given the event five stars if JJ Grey has his band with him.

Bought VIP tix fairly early b/c Galactic & JJ Grey are two of my absolute faves so we wanted to be as up front as we could! Since they didn't release the schedule until a week before the event, we then realize that was a total waste b/c neither of the artists we came to see were playing on the main stage. No one at the gate & VIP areas were very helpful - never got our VIP laminates or posters. The event website was half-assed at best; they put a big announcement about JJ Grey being added to the lineup, but they never added his name to the artist list that indicated billing order top to bottom, so of course my friends and I all figured he would be 2nd or 3rd bill at the least, certainly not 4th. And I still can't believe Galactic was not on the main stage - their set was awesome, and their fans were much more enthusiastic than for any other act. There was no parking information on the website - it just said parking would be available. Um... WHERE? For folks coming from out of town for the day, it would have been great to have some sort of information on the website as to nearby parking areas, etc. And even now as I type this, the Food & Beverage area on the website still says Info Coming Soon.

The line up did not hold up for the $50 price of the event as well as the $13 in fees just to get the ticket. Overall poor show!

The music is what I went for and I was not disappointed by any of the performances. Hot Tuna is not my cup of tea but their fans seemed pleased with their performance. So glad JJ Grey was added to the lineup, he never disappoints and this was no exception. Suggestion for next years: Have bathroom facilities at both ends of the park. For safety purposes there should have been more lighting; in the center of the park (where most people were sitting) there were no lights, not good once it got dark. Suggestions for the public: If you take a blanket with the intention of sitting on the ground to watch the concerts be prepared to have people in chairs block your view, suggest bringing chairs. Food: Variety was good. We went with Greek food for lunch, wasn't very flavorful at all. Kettle corn was good though as were the Arepa's and lemonade. It was a great crowd; I was there from beginning to end and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

The music was so great! Everyone was at the top of their game, in spite of the weather challenge but...MORE SECURITY WAS NEEDED! After the sun went down and the dark fell the drunks became obnoxious. There was no security within yelling distance when we needed them.

Incredible performances across the board particularly Stanley Clarke, Galactic and Tedeschi Trucks.

What a wonderful day! Entered at 11:30 and left after Tedeschi Trucks Band at 10. Although there was not much sunshine the music was more than enough to make it a great day. Stanley Clark was the 3rd member of Return to Forever we've now seen and he did not disappoint. Hot Tuna, outstanding as always, Leon Russell was enjoyable and TTB was amazing! The woodstove pizza was one of the best carnival food venders I've enjoyed over the years. Great Day!!!

I wish that JJ Grey and Galactic had been on the main stage instead of Leon Russell. The sound engineering left much to be desired, especially the sound at the small stage. The festival did a good job of getting people out on a cold Sunday, but it had too much of a corporate feel compared to our local festivals.

This festival was wonderful. Great location, food and music. Definitely go again next year!

For starters, St. Petersburg is a wonderful city. Very "artsy" with friendly people. My friend and I got there Saturday afternoon. We stayed at an inexpensive hotel about a 10 minute drive from the park, close to the downtown area. Vinoy Park is on the water and it was well-organized. I have seen Tedeschi/Trucks, probably 30-40 times, either together, or with the Allman Brothers. They never disappoint. Leon Russell, a living legend, was fantastic. And while Stanley Clarke was a bit mismatched for this type of festival, he was phenomenal!! I have always wanted to see him. My friend and I actually could have watched this show the night before in Boca Raton (my office overlooks the amphitheater!), but decided to get out of town instead. It was a great choice. Can't wait to get back to St. Petersburg.

As usual tedeschi trucks put on a great show! It was an awesome set. Galactic was groovin too!

Three stars are a perfect rating for this event. It was nothing that blew your socks off but a good time for sure. The venue was a lot smaller than I expected but well maintained. I felt like the music was not loud enough though, with the exception of Derek Trucks and Galactic. Maybe they had to keep it down in the earlier hours of the day? I could barely hear the Hot Tuna set and it was on the 'Main Stage" so that was a bummer. The vendors were efficient and there were no major lines for a drink which was awesome. The portable bathrooms were also well maintained and lines were not too bad.

Tedeschi Trucks was worth the price and the cold by themselves. Hot Tuna killed man. They can play. Leon was Leon was Leon. Would like to see more "blues" bands, guys who play Chicago blues and play Harp, but it was a very good concert. Well organized and well run. Only a few drunk idiots. Seating was a question. Why put rows and seats on the general admission tickets when there ain't no such animals.

Oli Brown was incredible, as always; wish he had played more than 30 minutes. The next two bands came out and played annoying sets, nothing even vaguely resembling blues. Hated the way the stages were set up; we were constantly moving our chairs. I understand the need for having two stages, but when you're going to stagger the bands like that, why not have them side by side? Fewer (better) bands playing for a longer period of time would have been much more enjoyable.

Every band played a delicious set. Leon Russell, Galactic and Trucks/Tedeschi blew us away with terrific performances. The sound system and dual stages gave us great music without delays between groups. The hardest thing for the crowd was turning our chairs around a few times. I loved it. Concessions and security were superior on every count.

JJ Grey solo, on the small stage was a real treat. That it was at Vinoy Park, along the water made it an unforgettable music time. The event was very well organized. Starting at noon, it was literally non-stop music, one band after another. Don't think there was more than 5 minutes between one band finishing and another starting. Well done!! Only complaint would be the high cost of the drinks. Whew, pricey. But selection was great. Good times.

The talent assembled was first class. It was a true joy to see Stanley Clark. He plays bass like no one else. Tedeschi Trucks Band was phenomenal! The local acts on the small stage were also very good, much better than any group in my home area of Orlando.

I was only there for Leon Russell and Tedeschi Trucks, but I got the feeling that it was a real festival, full of people lounging on the grass on every square inch of available space. Susan Tedeschi said that the band had spent the entire day at the event, which also says something very good about the quality of the talent and the attitude of at least some of the musicians. The two stages worked well and there were probably about 50 stands selling food, memorabilia and whatever (which includes lots of beer!) I had seats near the front and I thought that the sound was great for an outdoor venue. I never got to see Leon Russell back in the day, but in spite of his age (he resembles one of the members of ZZ Top now) and apparent infirmity, his voice and especially his piano playing was magnificent. He played a Kurzweil digital made up to look like a baby grand, but the sound was spot on. Great performance. Tedeschi Trucks is getting better every time I see them. This band will do great things as long as they stay together. Susan and Derek seem to have figured that out. Derek is leaving the Allman Brothers at the end of the year. I believe that he intends to focus all his efforts on TT. Susan's voice is tremendous, even better now than last year, and Derek is flat out one of the best electric guitarists in the world. I love this band. My only regret is that I was not able to check out all the other talent during this 10 hour marathon. I'm sure that I missed a lot. Thankfully, I caught a lot of great music also.

The festival was well-produced, with the bands starting when they were supposed to start. The acoustics were fine and we thoroughly enjoyed the day and the evening.

the music festival overall was great!! the venue was in a great location in downtown Boca Raton with a main stage and second stage grass area. there was a large selection of food and craft beers. my main complaint was the cost of beer ($10) seemed a bit much when you add up the cost of the tickets, hotel, taxi/parking, etc. the crowd and security were chill. the bands were awesome!! I really enjoyed Galactic-I would have liked to have seen them play longer. my only suggestion for next year would be to add North Mississippi Allstars to the line-up:)

once again a great musical event. pls get rid of uncomfortable chair seating.. last years camp chair rental was much better

A full day of outstanding music supported by a great audience. The Sunshine Blues Festival was extremely well run and organized. The Mizner Ampitheater was perfect for two stages with plenty of accomodations, vendors and food and drink. Looking forward to next year!

Even though it was one of the coldest days in Florida, I would not miss this Festival! I was jonsing for Susan Tedeschi :) Vinoy Park is beautiful. There are definitely enough port-o-johns at this event. Good food and drink but prices are wayyyyyy tooooo expensive!!! There is no justification in charging $7.00 for a regular bottle of water or for any non-alcoholic drink!!!!! I will definitely be getting creative next year. Excellent music acts, was just way too windy/cold to be there all day (music begins at 1pm with head-liner at 7:30ish) so this time didn't get there until 5:30pm after having a nice dinner in a warm restaurant.

We love this festival and have gone several times over the past few years. The variety of bands that play are all stellar. The one negative is that they close off the entire front of the of the main stage for VIP's that are just sitting. You should let the GA group come up to one half of the stage because we want to dance and share the love of music and our appreciation to the bands. Thankfully we were able to get close to the second stage.

The weather was perfect. They seem to manage incredible weather every year. We missed the first act, which everyone we spoke to that saw them seemed to love. All of the bands I heard sounded great and they all had their own thing going on. Foundation of Funk was funky. Galactic was funky and high energy that really got everyone moving (Ok, those two bands were semi similar in sound.). I'm personally more of a Hot Tuna Acoustic, Jorma solo, Jefferson Airplane fan, but Hot Tuna Electric performed well. Medeski, Martin, and Wood added an interesting blend of artistry. It was kind of experimental in parts that reminded me of ELP. Mike Gordon did his thing and was well received. The highlight of the festival, for me, was the Tedeschi Trucks Band. After a long day of sunshine and moving your body, the soulfulness of Susan's voice and Derek's guitar, and the other talented musicians and singers, pours over your body like a liquid blanket. We enjoy returning to Mizner for this event every year. But, the venue does provide some quirks. You can pay extra and get seats, which I am sure is great, but then you have to walk back to the general admission section to see and enjoy the music with your friends, if they are without seats or their seats are not next to yours, at least at the main stage. It is one thing to see a two hour show and have separate seats, but it is another thing entirely for an all day event. Another issue is that people set down blankets in the general admission section. This is good and bad, really, and maybe one solution would be to have a smaller seated section. I get that there is money to be made, but, a good amount of the seats were empty and the general admission section is packed. Luckily for us, one of our friends got there early, around 11:30 am, and put down a blanket in a great spot along the walkway that separates the seats from GA. But, we had probably 20-25 friends attending. So, people came by to hang for a bit, but then they had to head back to their spot or find a spot somewhere because, obviously, that many people cannot fit on one blanket. Fortunately, we were all mostly able to meet up at the other stage and hang together as a group, which helps fill the void. But, also, at that point, people are going different places to get food and some people are hanging back to listen to the music while others head up front or look for shade. I do appreciate that if you get there early enough, there is plenty of free parking to be had throughout Mizner Park, along the streets and in the garages. I also appreciate that they allow people to go in and out of the venue until 5. As the day went on and the temperature started to drop, I headed to my car for some warmer clothes that I was thankful to not have to carry around the entire day. For us, it was nice to spend the day enjoying the weather and sharing the time with friends. I always see people I have not seen in a while and it is a great day for hugs and hellos. We were able to hang, at some point, with most of our friends and everyone seemed to be having a great day. The festival seems to bring out good people with good vibes and we look forward to this event every year.

TTB and Hot Tuna were outstanding. The two jazz bands were a waste of time for rockers. The funk bands were also very good. Bad venue for January, even in Florida. When TTB went on at 7:30, it was 42 degrees. Good venue in warmer weather. Very good selection of food trucks. Sufficient port-a-potties. Parking is always a problem at Vinoy Park.

Thank you for bringing this Festival to life I really like the shows and the location the weather was perfect and everything was great, I hope this will happen again next year and that is how much I like this have a wonderful New Year.

This year s Sunshine was a little disappointing. Line up was smaller and weaker than past years with music starting at 1:30 and ending at 9:30 even though it was supposed to go until 10:00 (past years went to 11:00) and TTB was lacking the energy of years past. Jorma and Jack delivered though. I ve been going since the 1st year and won t stop. Hopefully 2019 Sunshine shines brighter.....

Quiet chilly but performances did not suffer. Vinoy always a great venue. TTB phenomenal.

Great selection of artists. Only compliant, the cold temperatures.

This festival is full of world class musicians. Everyone that came to either stage had a talent most can only dream of. It was cold for South Florida but it didn't stop these guys, especially TTB from bringing their A game

Great lineup - especially funky. Galctic was a big hit w/ the crowd. I thought the venue was OK, but entry was slow (way too much searching) and porta-johns were not kept clean at all. The huge separation between GA and the main stage was bad too. Come on - I know you want to upsell VIP but the whole fenced in area was half empty. Terrible set up. Bands were great and powered through the cold and wind. Too bad the sun wasn't shining, but we still had a great time.

Unfortunately, I was too sick to attend this event. I KNOW TTB is AMAZING and so sorry I missed the show! I'll catch them at RR's 2018 <3

Better come up with better talent or your fans will diminish!

Tedeschi Trucks Band is great! Go see them if they are in your area.

Was a fabulous day. The weather was extremely cold but still incredible and fun

Went to this fest 2 years ago and was pleasant..this year despite very cold weather was very crowded .chairs were lined like fortresses making bathroom brakes a hurdleing event and it was still light out. Blankets laid out to my feet and people standing almost on my feet and fully surrounded .hence I could not see a thing..great set list unfortunately the cold and crowds promoted me to leave after 2 sets..

First time at this venue, and I would go back again. They blocked off an unusually large VIP section, which put us normal folk far back from the action. This was quite annoying, but we had a great time despite the cold weather. Good crowd, nice scenery, good sound, and nice enough staff.

The venue and musicians were great. A festival is more an open event and was dismayed when we learned once we entered, we could not leave. Apparently, this is on the Ticketmaster site but not on the tickets nor is there a sign upon entry. With the weather being extremely cold, most people couldn't bear to be out for 9-10 hours without a bit of relief in a heated building. Thus, we had to choose which musicians we most wanted to see in a three hour block. Would be nice if you reverted the policy back to let people come and go. If you don't want them leaving their belongings, tell them and make THAT the policy.

The line up was not that good - except for Galactic

This was my third year going to the Sunshine festival and it never disappoints. Great bands and great location.

48 degree night, brisk wind and Susan, Derick and the band heated it up. Band was tight, music was great, looking forward to T-D Band at Lewiston and Canadaguia this summer.

We went to see Tedecshi-Trucks, but were nicely surprise/entertained by all of the other artists. Venue was clean, and well laid out. Food stands/trucks had a nice a variety. Wine garden! Who knew? Sound was really good.

Another stellar day of music this year. Highlight was CRB! So glad they came to Boca after Ratdog's cancellation. Hopefully Derek & Susan invite them back for a longer set next year, along with Sean Chambers & Matt Schofield. And best of luck to the "Be Hippy" rocky mountains!

The weather was perfect and the festival was fantastic. Loved Los Lobos and Chris Robinson's Brotherhood. Great lineup! Of course, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks were beyond amazing. They just keep getting better and better. Wow! The band appears to really enjoy each other and making music together. The only very minor negative were the humongous lines and waits for some of the food trucks (like the pizza place). A good time and can't wait until next year.

Grace Potter had me crying with emotion! All bands were awesome. Wanted to take home a souvenir T-shirt of the whole event, but there was none!! Bummer! Met some beautiful wonderful people!!!

What a great day for the Sunshine Music Festival. Really lived up to its name. No surprise Dickey Betts was a no show, he missed out on Sunfest two years ago as well. Aimee Man was excellent, Chris Robinson was a welcomed treat, Grace Potter just blew me away. Surprised that Robby Krieger was a Doors cover band (not that its a bad thing) but I expected to hear some of Robbies more jazzy stuff. Derek and Susan were awesome as usual.

This venue was great! Just the right size, great crowd and fantastic performances. I will be looking for more shows to attend.

Great musicians, easy parking, friendly staff. Could have more beer selection

You cannot host a 10 hour event and expect people to stand around that long and not be able to leave the premises and return later. Also, you should be allowed to bring in folding chairs as most concerts do. Mizner Park is a good facility and hosts excellent music concerts throughout the year with far better accomodations. The best acts of course were the last ones amd the rest pretty much mediocre. Would not attend again.

We enjoyed the festival and will look forward to next year. Matt Schofield was great, we weren't familiar with him before. Tedeschi Trucks was amazing. The Rebirth Brass Band was a lot of fun, though repetitive toward the end of their set. We enjoyed Maurice Brown sitting in with them on trumpet. The one act we really did not enjoy was Robby Krieger. yes it was fun seeing a legend, but it was honestly a little sad. It was like a sad Doors tribute band.

Event didn't really get cooking until Robby Krieger Band started playing - killer from then on out. You absolutely cannot go wrong when Derek Trucks is playing. VERY disappointed that Dicky Betts was a no-show. Grace Potter screams a lot -- more like a slasher movie than a rock concert IMHO