Outdoor Music Festivals

By Carita Parks, The Hester Group
Published: April 20, 2011
Last Updated On: June 2, 2011

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Outdoor music festivals capture the essence of variety in Florida.

When it comes to outdoor music festivals, Florida has it all – from West Palm Beach’s Sun Fest to the Tampa Bay Blues Festival – you can’t go wrong. Whether it’s a girlfriend getaway or a family vacation, festivals across the state are a treat for any age group. If you’re looking to combine the sounds of music with fun, sun and pristine beaches, Florida is the destination for you.

Northwest Florida hosts the ultimate weekend of music with the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach. Named "Top 10 Jazz Festival in the USA" by JazzIZ Magazine and recently nominated as "Best Jazz Festival" at the Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards, the Seabreeze Jazz Festival attracts over 20,000 fans to Florida from across the world. The Seabreeze Jazz Festival is unique in its lineup of current top smooth jazz stars - all with recent or current Top 10 contemporary jazz hits on national radio. The Seabreeze Jazz Festival lineup has included Grammy Award winner George Benson along with Boney James, Eric Darius, Norman Brown, Brian Culbertson, Nicholas Cole, Cindy Bradley, Jones and Company, and Richard Elliott.

If you’re looking to combine the sounds of music with fun, sun and pristine beaches, Florida is the destination for you.

Just a short drive from Panama City is Jacksonville where the annual Funk Fest takes place. Funk Fest is designed to expose and entertain a diverse audience with a variety of old-school music. The event has grown from a small old-school music festival to a large celebration of human expression. Artists that have performed at Funk Fest include Earth, Wind and Fire, MC Hammer, Faith Evans, Frankly Beverly and Maze, Musiq Soulchild and Guy.

A vast contrast to jazz and old school is the Miami Goombay Festival in Coconut Grove. One of the largest black heritage festivals in the U.S., the Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival turns Coconut Grove’s Grand Avenue into Miami’s answer to Nassau’s Bay Street. With three stages, the Goombay Festival offers visitors plenty of opportunity to enjoy Caribbean style entertainment. The festival also offers arts, crafts and food provided by more than 300 vendors. The Goombay Festival is a reminder of the Bahamian immigrants who first settled in Coconut Grove in the 1890s, making it Miami’s first (and oldest) black community.

These are just a few of the many exciting outdoor music festivals that call Florida home.

If You Go:

Seabreeze Jazz Festival
Panama City Beach
www.seabreezejazzfestival.net

Sun Fest
West Palm Beach 
http://sunfest.com/

Funk Fest
Jacksonville
www.funkfestconcerts.com

Jacksonville Jazz Festival
Jacksonville
http://www.makeascenedowntown.com/
 
Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival
Miami
http://www.goombayfestivalcoconutgrove.com/

Florida’s Juneteenth Music Festival
Orlando
www.floridajuneteenth.com

Tampa Bay Blues Festival
Tampa
www.tampabaybluesfest.com