Sat.-Sun., March 7-8, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Garden, downtown Tampa. Two-day pass: $60, VIP $150; Saturday GA: $40, VIP $100; Sunday GA: $30, VIP $75. VIP ticket includes access to premium viewing spaces, tents with private bars and lounge areas, air-conditioned restrooms, plus three free drinks and snacks each day.
Though the youngest of its ’rilla brethren, Gasparilla Music Festival has established a significant presence, taking steps since its 2012 inaugural edition toward putting Tampa Bay on the national music map. Consider this year’s headliner: indie alt rock darlings Modest Mouse, kicking off the first date of their spring tour in Tampa directly after releasing a much-anticipated new album, Strangers to Ourselves.
GMF remains a nonprofit grassroots endeavor, run by a small group working behind the scenes. “I think people would be surprised at the number of people involved,” observes GMF Executive Director Ty Rodriguez. The combined might of Rodriguez, Programming Director Phil Benito and a 13-member board makes it all happen, from securing sponsorships to booking talent to running outreach programs like Recycled Tunes, which carries out GMF’s objective of promoting music and education in the community.
Many of the indie restaurants, caterers, vendors and food trucks that serve at GMF have been with the festival since its inception, “when all we had to sell them was an idea.” And as always, the fest features an impressive assemblage of local, regional and national talent. In addition to Modest Mouse, the 2015 roster includes bombastic gypsy-punk rockers Gogol Bordello; New Orleans psych rock/soul/electro outfit Mutemath; New Jersey’s grungy punk-heartland favorites The Gaslight Anthem; brass-blasted Afro-funk nine-piece The Budos Band; and charming high-spirited indie pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. The focus, explains board member David Cox, is on “creating a great atmosphere, all the time, both days. So there’s always something going on that will hopefully fit your taste.”
GMF’s biggest transformation has been in its scope, growing from one day, three stages and 20 acts to a two-day affair with more than 40 performers spread over four stages. And while the size of Curtis Hixon limits how big GMF can really get, the limitations make for an intimate (10,000-person max cap) fest-going experience. There’s more family-friendly entertainment this year — the silent Kiddo Disco and Mr. Richard on Saturday, Disney-spawned Choo-Choo Soul and the Little Kids Rock Band on Sunday — and GMF’s audience reach has expanded.
“It started with a core group of people — seemed like you knew everybody there that first year,” David Cox recalls. “Each year, that net keeps getting wider. St. Pete, Orlando, Gainesville, it just keeps broadening every year.”
This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2015.