This weekend (May 15-16) I attended Big Guava Music Festival in Tampa, Florida. This was only its second year of existence, and it was probably overshadowed on a national level by Shaky Knees in Atlanta. This is understandable, as Shaky Knees had an undeniably amazing line-up last year (its second year), and went into this festival cycle with a lot of hype. It looked good and I would have loved to attend, but Big Guava was closer, less expensive, and (most importantly) my best friends were set to attend.

The line-up seemed solid enough, especially for the price of only $120 for both days. The big highlights for me going in were the Pixies, Ryan Adams, Passion Pit, TV on the Radio, and Jenny Lewis. The Strokes were the headliners, and definitely drew most of the excitement from my friends. Personally, I am not a big fan of The Strokes. (I’m going to delve more into this in my next post, so stay tuned for some controversy). So, while I wasn’t mad excited to see them, I figured it would still be a fun show; it’s never a bad thing to see a big band play live.

The festival gates opened at 3:30 on Friday, and we arrived around 5:30. It was held at the Florida State Fairgrounds surrounding the Mid Florida Amphitheater – a great venue. A good outdoor amphitheater is one of the best ways to experience music. It’s more intimate than a theater, you get the fresh air, fun vibes and, if designed right, a pretty decent view no matter where you sit. The Mid Florida fulfills all of this criteria. The best part is that there’s a large grass area in the back where people can lay, sit, or stand flanked by two large television screens. You can see the stage well enough from the back and it’s a great place to chill. Elsewhere on the grounds were two smaller outdoor stages (The Grove and Orchard) and another stage in the exhibition hall. The rest of the grounds were filled up with food trucks, beer tents, merch vendors, and carnival rides. Nothing too fancy, but it was open and fun, with plenty of areas to spend time in between shows. On one end there was a “chill tent” that overlooked a lake (if I had been there with a lady friend, it definitely would have been a place to go).

The festival really seemed to push its connection to the craft beer scene; Tampa is a budding brewing town, with Cigar City gaining national prominence. So, besides the requisite Budweiser trucks and tents littering the place, there were several locations that offered a pretty decent selection of craft beer. The only problem is that they were all $12 a can/bottle. So I did what I could but this was certainly not a place to taste test. By the end of the second day my compatriots and I had resigned ourselves to the cheapest domestics. Now, I know it’s nothing new for festivals to overcharge everything (that’s supply and demand) but it still grinds my gears. Have some respect for your consumers. You may even sell more if things are cheaper. People always talk about all these festivals like they’re a revival of Monterrey and Woodstock, but those iconic fests didn’t have vendors hocking goods at 200% the price. But that’s not my place.

The next two posts are going to focus on my experiences during Friday and Saturday, respectively. I hope you enjoy!