In its seventh year, Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF), a homegrown music fest propelled by a collective of deeply committed Tampa lifers, is bringing one of the greatest collectives in the history of hip-hop to rock Curtis Hixon Park.
Today the festival — set for March 10 and 11 in downtown Tampa — announced that The Roots would headline its Saturday party.
Indie-rock instigator/orator Father John Misty will headline Sunday, and the initial lineup also includes scorching-hot Texas rock outfit Spoon, which just played The Ritz in May.
Mondo Cozmo (whom we interviewed at Lollapalooza this year) is also on the bill alongside a live set by Brooklyn jamtronica outfit Break Science, Seattle folk-darlings The Cave Singers and rising Americana duo The War & Treaty. KOLARS — a desert-dwelling disco, pop and glam-a-billy duo — rounds things out with young Texas bluesman Eric Tessmer and kids rock band Imagination Movers which will headline GMF’s wildly-popular Kids Fest.
The initial lineup represents just a slice of a festival that typically books about 50 bands for its multi-stage affair. Two-day early bird general admission tickets are somehow still available for $40, and individual day tickets ($30-$40) will go on sale when the early birds sell out. Weekend GA passes will cost $60 after the early birds sell out, and VIP options are available for $100-$200.
The inclusion of The Roots — a storied, Grammy-winning Philly-based ensemble who brought horns, guitars and keys to rap music on the way to becoming household names as the house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — is a nice blend of the mainstream and out-of-the-box musical acts the festival has tapped to headline Saturday.
Cage the Elephant, fresh off a Grammy win, headlined in 2017 and Erykah Badu — with whom The Roots won the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy in 2000 — did the task the year before. In 2015, Modest Mouse kicked off a world-tour at by selling out its GMF performance.
Also of note is the news that Cigar City Brewing — which stages its own popular beer festival, Hunahpu’s Day, on the same weekend as GMF — has moved into the presenting sponsor slot (Hunahpu’s 2018 is already on for March 10, but last call in at 3:45 p.m. this year).
“Our main priority this year has been continuing to improve the fan experience. We feel like we are putting together our best lineup to date, but we also want to make sure we stand out as a festival that is easy to navigate, limits long lines, and creates some fun surprises and intimate listening experiences throughout the weekend,” David Cox, GMF’s executive director told CL in an email.
“Another priority for us will be showcasing our Recycled Tunes program on a larger scale. We will be featuring more fun reminders that just by attending GMF, you are helping to build a stronger community for years to come and deserve a pat on the back,” he added.
More information on GMF is available via local.cltampa.com and gasparillamusic.com.
Full disclosure: From 2013-2016, this writer helped coordinate social media efforts for GMF — read about that here.
This article appears in Dec 7-14, 2017.
