Okeechobee Music & Arts – The New Festival

March 15, 2016 | Sande Caplin | Music

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, a three-day fest of peace and music made history. 400,000 traveled from all around the country to hear their favorite bands. Since then, the music festival has become a staple around the US and Europe. In recent years, the 3-day camping festivals have made a huge resurgence reminiscent of Woodstock but very state-of-the-art.

Two hours from Sarasota/Manatee, the 1st annual Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival premiered the weekend of March 4th-6th. Set in the 800 acres of Sunshine Grove, a beautiful, lush piece of Florida outside of downtown Okeechobee. Upon arrival, it was organized and everyone was friendly and even the hard-working had a smile for everyone!

Over 100 artists scheduled on five stages over the weekend, there was a musical genre for everyone. There was so much more than music. There were villages like Yogachobee, for those who are looking for some Zen away from the party, Aquachobee, a small lake to beach it. All kinds of rides, arts, crafts and various activities for the diverse crowd.

Friday night brought out the seasoned vets to the “BE” stage. Grace Potter fired up the crowd with her sexy brand on the Flying V guitar and the Hammond B3. Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters brought a stellar new sound to old Zeppelin classics and his homage to his blues heroes. “Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s Daryl Hall and John Oates” closed out the evening set with their massive arsenal of hit songs. Coming up on the late set was the hugely popular Bassnectar and the crowd was patiently camping at the stage.

The festival sold out on Thursday and people were struggling to find tickets via Facebook and Twitter. There were 30,000 tickets sold for this 1st annual event! Speaking of social media, the fest was everywhere from Facebook to Instagram. They are already planning for OMF17! If you think you might want to head to Okeechobee next year, be sure and get your tickets early! It is a great time and close to home! www.okeechobeefest.com