Sunshine Get Down Music Festival

At Florida Sand Music Ranch

Florida Obsession Productions presents the first annual Sunshine Get Down music festival at Florida Sand Music Ranch (formerly Sertoma Youth Ranch), May 19-20, 2023, in Brooksville, Florida. Sunshine Get Down features live music on two stages with ten regional bands playing reggae, bluegrass, originals, and classic rock including Grateful Dead and Talking Heads tribute acts. Florida Sand Music Ranch is an 80-acre wooded park with premium RV sites featuring water and electricity along with primitive tent campsites. Kids and dogs are welcome.

Sunshine Get Down Music Festival ticket prices range from $20 to $115 in advance and are available at the gate. On-site parking is free with day passes. Food vendors serve carnivore, omnivore, vegan and vegetarian options plus coffee, cheesecake, and popcorn with plenty of beverage choices at the refreshments bar. Merchandise vendors offer art, clothing, jewelry, soaps, tie-dyes, and lots more. Kick off Saturday morning with the Name that Grateful Dead Tune Contest and win prizes for guessing correct song titles and era of performance. Bring instruments for acoustic jams with friends!

Sunshine Get Down Music Festival Schedule of Events:

Thursday, May 18, 2023, Gates open at noon for early access to campsites.

Friday, May 19, 2023:  Sunshine Get Down Music Festival Schedule

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Legacy Orchestra Collective

Sean “Legacy” Maloney has this way of convincing the very best musicians to join him for a romp through his own excellent compositions and a bunch of dandy covers to boot. We’re certain he’s got another crackerjack crew for this one, just as he’s done on this stage many times before. Great way to start the weekend!!!

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Dead Set Florida

Dead Set Florida (DSF) began in 2017 when Christian Walker (St. Petersburg, FL), born and raised in Upstate New York, and newly transplanted to Tampa Bay, decided to continue performing Grateful Dead music live in Tampa Bay. After serving for the better part of a decade in Syracuse’s finest Grateful Dead Tribute, Dark Hollow, and after moving closer to family that transplanted to Florida 20 years prior, he followed his heart and searched for like minded individuals to share the passion of performing regularly throughout the Bay Area.

Paul Wolff (Apollo Beach, FL) answered the call immediately and has been the band’s lead guitarist since Day 1. Paul channels Jerry Garcia through his leads and technique, continuously leaving fans in awe.  Tucker Waud (St. Petersburg, FL) began with the band on Day 1 as well, and is a true champion on keyboards, continuously pushing the band to its limits.  Michael Pandiscio (Cape Cod, MA), a veteran in Grateful Dead music for over 30 years, has since rounded out the DSF lineup singing lead and harmony vocals as well as playing a tasty rhythm guitar.  Currently, the band is blessed to perform with several of Florida’s top drummers, including Mike Garrie & Harley Smith, both extremely talented and versatile musicians performing some of the very best Grateful Dead drums you’ll hear around.

9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Road to Nowhere (Talking Heads Tribute Band)

“Road To Nowhere” is a song about reconnecting with humanity. Today’s world is filled with digital distractions and all sorts of hustle, bustle, and worry. “Road To Nowhere” will hopefully encourage the listener/viewer to get lost on a back road and spend some face to face time with a real person. The basic theme is “unplug” and reconnect with the natural world and the people in it! Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, NC based band that has collectively received top accolades in bluegrass, jazz, Americana, classic country, & jam-band genres. Enjoy!

11:00 p.m. – late Campsite acoustic jams

Saturday, May 20, 2023,  Sunshine Get Down Music Festival Schedule

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Name that Grateful Dead Tune Contest

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Greg Roy: (Reggie)

Originating form Montego Bay, Greg Roy is best known for his fiery stage presence and uplifting, poetic performance style.  As a vocalist and guitarist, Greg Roy offers a broad range of original compositions and recordings. In collaboration with a diverse network of musicians and producers, Greg Roy continues generating his own unique legacy in the international reggae music landscape. 

1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Vision Crystal: ( Classical, Celtic and Gypsy Jazz)

Those who are fans of Dani, Savii, and Justin separately will not be surprised to see this latest collaboration. Everyone in this trio shares the lead on multiple instruments, bringing a passion for music that can clearly be witnessed when they perform together. Switching between originals and a wide range of covers – from Blues, Americana, Rock, Folk, and Bluegrass – their love for stringed instruments breathes life into their music. 

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This dynamic trio met several years ago in St. Petersburg, FL. At the time, all were playing various venues in separate projects, coming together around the campfires of music festivals to play their favorite songs. They quickly realized their musical chemistry, just in time for both ladies in the group to move to new cities in separate states chasing different dreams. Throughout their travels, and all they’ve learned along the way, music always remained the core driving force of their aspirations. Together, they are excited to be home (for now) playing music for the Florida music family who have supported their dreams from the beginning.

3:00 – 4:15 p.m. The Applebutter Express

Some people may discover The Applebutter Express through their song “Hey My Brotha,” a single from their sophomore project One For The Home Team, which is featured in the Ron Howard film “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon released in October of 2015.

However, the band’s story begins in 2004, when Kyle Biss met his future wife Shannon while working at a record store in Bradenton, Florida. Still a focused bass player, Kyle picked up a ukulele in 2010 and began to write songs, with the idea of singing with Shannon (his then girlfriend) for fun on the couch. Pretty soon the duo began making a name for themselves among the open mic community; in no time, the eclectic, tuneful duo – now known as The Applebutter Express – were the talk of Tampa, Fl. Kyle and Shannon married in 2011, and in 2012 added Joe Trivette on the fiddle. Newest member, Zach Rogers (bass) joined in 2015.

Since then, The Applebutter Express has performed at such prestigious festivals as Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Hulaween, Suwannee Springfest, Magnolia Fest, Roots Revival and many others.

Besides their newest, Suitcase, the prolific foursome has released two prior full length albums, One for the Hometeam and the self-titled The Applebutter Express, both available on iTunes.  Band Members: Joe Trivette, Zach Rogers, Kyle Biss, Shannon Biss Hometown: Tampa, Florida

4:15 – 5:30 p.m. Boxcar Hollow

Boxcar Hollow is a band derived from experience and musical prowess.  Winning “Best of The Bay” honors, this post-modern Americana newgrass quartet, takes the true essence of the roots of folk and bluegrass with jamband sensibilities, and turns it into this new yet familiar sound we call “Boxcar Hollow”.  As individuals they have played some of the biggest stages and and festivals in the country, and now this group resides in the Tampa Bay area, with touring on the horizon back to The North, where Matt Weis(guitar vocals) and Jack Pieroth(bass) are originally from.  Jeff Baker (drums/percussion) channels his song writing from his country roots, where Matt Weis’ influences stem from a Dylan-esc homage, along with some of the other folk musicians who are leading the way in our modern era.

Greg Holt is one the South’s top fiddlers, whose sense for melody is second to none. Matt Weis and Jack Pieroth has been playing music together for nearly 15 years, and are enjoying their latest journey in the Tampa Bay region, playing shows nearly 7 nights a week.  One of Pieroth’s biggest influences is bassist Phil Lesh, where solidity, and keeping the band in synchronicity with driving bass lines, is of the upmost importance.   Look for this band on the rise in Tampa Bay’s arts and entertainment magazine “Creative Loafing”, and right now you can see them every Thursday night, in Downtown St. Pete at the Mandarin Hide, along with shows in and around around central Florida and beyond.

5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The Joint Chiefs

Located in downtown St. Petersburg The Joint Chiefs are John Zias on guitars, Greg Koerner on Bass, and Dan DeGregory on drums. Oh, and they all sing. The Joint Chiefs play a wide variety of funky original music and classic cover songs on the Florida circuit and have toured and recorded with members of The Band, The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Neville Brothers and many other luminaries.

7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Rich Sheldon Band

Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Rich Sheldon plays Original & Modern Americana Roots Rock influenced by groovy jambands and classic legends like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Bob Marley, the Dead, the Stones, and many more artists he keeps in his repertoire of covers. Before the Pandemic of 2020, Rich was gigging on a breakneck pace in Los Angeles, averaging over 230 shows a year and known as one of the hardest working musicians in Southern California. On any given week, there would be 5 shows on the calendar in the LA beach towns of Malibu, Santa Monica, Ventura, and the South Bay either solo or with his band and accompanied duets.

When backed by a band, Rich is billed as the Rich Sheldon Band, the Mutiny, or Rich Sheldon & Friends, while the band plays crafted songs that are a launching pad for improvisational groovy jams along with soulful vocals and harmonies.  Rich performs with a talented array of musicians from the Tampa Bay Area as well as the Southern California Jamband scene – each show features a colorful cast of characters playing feel-good music.

Along with Rich, the core of RSB in Tampa is Damon Navari, Jeff Dilly, Steve Connelly (formerly of Roger McGuinn’s band of the Byrds) as well as a Los Angeles network of top jammers when performing in L.A. Other musicians include drummers: Ben Martin, Keith Erickson, and Jeffrey Brown (of Blueman Group), Bass players: Doug Haxall & Alex U’Ren, Guitarists: Steve Kim (of the Alligators), Bob Boulding (formerly of Young Dubliners), Shawn Cunnane, Keyboardists: Mike Russeck, Mike Sweeney, Roy Fishell, Jamez Keyz and many other high-level improv players in the Jam Band community.

9:00 – 12:00 a.m. Uncle John’s Band

“Uncle John’s Band” is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album Workingman’s Dead. Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, “Uncle John’s Band” presents the Dead in an acoustic and musically concise mode, with close harmony singing.

The song is one of the band’s best known, and is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2001 it was named 321st (of 365) in the Songs of the Century project list.

“Uncle John’s Band” has one of the Dead’s most immediately accessible and memorable melodies, set against a bluegrass-inspired folk arrangement with acoustic guitars. Specific lyrics (“It’s a buck dancer’s choice my friend; better take my advice”, “the fire from the ice”, “don’t tread on me”, “It’s the same story the crow told me”) allude to various folk, mountain, or bluegrass tunes known to be in band members’ repertoire.

12:00 a.m. – late Campsite acoustic jams

Sunshine Get Down Music Festival Schedule Wrap-up:

The Sunshine Get Down event team: Dr. Alan and Anna-Marie Gilman, Jillian Grant, Turner Moore, and Harry Popick. Sponsors: The Blueberry Patch, Sunburn Cannabis, The Ale, and The Witch, and Go Tonight. Specials thanks: Will McLean Foundation.   For additional info and press inquiries: Turner C. Moore at 941.400.9889 or info@sunshinegetdown.com.

Video: https://youtu.be/qVFRfovhQy4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunshinegetdown

Website: https://www.sunshinegetdown.com

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunshine-get-down-at-florida-sand-music-ranch-tickets-591942434757

Content and photos supplied by Florida Obsession Productions for the Sunshine Get Down Music Festival for editorial purposes only. Additional information was taken from each band’s website–all right reserved.

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