All photos by Sam Goresh.
WMNF celebrated its 30th birthday in a big way this past Saturday September 12, at the Ritz Ybor. My mission, and I chose to accept it, was three rooms, 12 bands, and about six hours worth of music: GO!
The schedule included a line-up of amazing talent and I wanted to hear it all, or as much as I could of each band, at least. The Ritz Ybor was divided into three stage areas. The Main Stage featured Have Gun, Will Travel, then the Legendary JC’s and Paul Thorn (pictured), with Nervous Turkey closing out the night. Sarasota Slim kicked things off in the Royal Room, and sets by Knock Down Drag Out and Barley Pink rounded things out (Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers were supposed to play here but their performance was canceled at the last minute). Suite Caroline opened the music in the Rivoli Room, and Amanda Shires and her Roaring Fiddle, Tribal Style and Ray Olan and the Jazz Ole Band followed. After I was given the unofficial tour of the venue by my Tampa-native concert buddy, we sat down and came up with a game plan to ensure that we caught them all.
The overall atmosphere was fun, festive and generally awesome. Smiling faces and crazy outfits abounded, and the Ritz was decked out with birthday banners, signs, and celebratory glitz and glamour, not to mention a giant birthday cake drooled over for half the night by those of us with a sweet tooth. I spotted a few familiar faces from my GrooveFest experience, proving that WMNF certainly has its faithful supporters and is 30 years strong because of them. (More photos + a photo gallery after the jump)
