GMF 2022

 

March 2, 2022

GMF 2022

Once again this year, the Gasparilla Music Festival was held in downtown Tampa on the same weekend as the Indy Car Grand Prix in St. Pete. When this happens, I try to make arrangements to attend as much as possible of what I consider to be one of the best small music festivals that I have attended. This year, I was only able to schedule in a single day to be there, but I was happy to go and experience a little of it.

I drove over top Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa on Saturday afternoon and arrived mid-afternoon in time to catch the acts that were playing during the late afternoon and evening. I had a VIP ticket which allowed close-up access to the two main stages at the festival.

The first two acts that I was able to see were Bob Moses and Andy Frasco and the UN. I only caught portions of each of their sets and I had never seen either of them previously. They were both ok, but it wasn’t until the legendary hip hop band from the 8os/90s Arrested Development hit the stage.

Somehow, even though I had been a fan since their first album was released in 1992, I somehow had never seen the band live. I must admit that I was afraid they might be something of a novelty nostalgia act, but I was very pleasantly surprised at just how amazing and tight they were.

It was a fantastic set led by the frontman Speech with two incredible women singing back-up and dancing.  As sometimes happens when I see a group that I have not seen or listened to in some time, I was surprised at how many songs that they sang that I was familiar with and that IO had not heard in some time. It was a throw-back experience to my earliest days in Key West in the early 1990s. I really loved their performance. 

Next up was another performer that I had never seen live and who I was not really all that familiar with at all. The country singer-songwriter, based in Nashville was a completely different vibe than the hip hop legends that had gone just before. That is one of the strengths of this festival, the diversity of the types of performers and genres of music. You get all sorts of types of music and experiences. 

Price is a fiery singer and performer and put on a great show as well. It was somewhat unexpected and I really enjoyed it. My favorite song was a terrific cover of the Leslie Gore classic, “You don’t own me”.  The next two bands were both ones that I had seen before and that I like to varying degrees, The Band of Horses and the Revivalists. 

I especially enjoyed the Band of Horses, their lead singer Ben Bridwell is the only original member but their sound and style has altered somewhat from the indie alternative sound to a more Southern sound as the members have changed, but Bridwell’s vocals still soar over the sound has shifted away from the anthemic songs of their early work. 

Their live performance was still pretty electric and eclectic as was that of the closers, The Revivalists who we saw a few years ago at the Key West Amphitheater. I did not stay through the entire show as I had to get back and get some sleep prior to attending the Indy Car race the next day.

https://gasparillamusic.com/