Suwannee Springfest Coming Right Up

Camping  by the cypress lake at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park

Less than a month from now, bluegrass, jazzgrass, punkgrass, folkgrass, Cajun-grass, and you-don't-even-know grass will break out in Live, Oak, Florida's gorgeous  Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park at Suwannee Springfest, one of the loveliest and most family-friendly fests around.

It happens March 22-25.

There is a a ridiculous amount of talent on the slate -- Tony Rice, Yonder Mountain String Band, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Joe Craven, Larkin Poe, Guy Clark, Verlon Thompson, Donna The Buffalo, The Gourds, Justin Townes Earle, the Emmitt-Nershi Band, Great American Taxi, The Infamous Stringdusters, Dread Clampitt, Tornado Rider, Jeff Mosier, and more. (See the full lineup below.)

Springfest kicks off a busy festing season in our part of the world (Actually, the livetronic-jam Aura fest is the first of the season, March 9-11 in St. Cloud, Fla.) Starting in March,  music fests start happening  in South Georgia, Alabama, and Florida about every weekend. Keep your camping gear handy and take advantage of it if you can! I'll post what you need to know before you go.

Thursday-to-Sunday tickets for Suwannee Springfest are $150 now, and on March 16, they go up to $165. They will be $180 at the gate. (There was a special deal at Magnolia Fest in the fall, where you could get 4-day Springfest tickets for just $115, so look for another deal like that at Springfest.)

Tickets for just Saturday and Sunday are $115, available at the gate only. Single day tickets are also available.

If you have a valid student or military identification, you get a special at-the-gate price of $125.

Ticket price includes four nights of  primitive camping under the pines, oaks, cypress, and Spanish moss in the lovely campgrounds. You can camp by your car, and you can camp close to the music. There is a pool. a playground, a restaurant, a river beach, and organized stuff for kids to do. The river beach is a long bike ride/short car ride/golf cart ride away -- the music is not right along the river, just so you know. If you can, get out to the river, it is absolutely beautiful, with a sugar-sand beach and limestone banks. See?

If you want an electric/water hookup, it's extra, and you need to contact the park for hookups or golf cart rentals.

This fest,  now in its 16th year, is a bargain, in any case, with string players from all over the world coming to play for us out there in the middle of nowhere by the Suwannee River. I have seen really astonishing performances  here, swiniging in my hammock, sipping a cold one, and loving being with my fest family to start another year of incredible experiences. Bliss, I tell you, pure bliss!

* Yonder Mountain String Band

* Donna The Buffalo

* Justin Townes Earle

* Emmitt-Nershi Band

* Guy Clark

* Verlon Thompson

* Darol Anger and the Republic of Strings

* Tea Leaf Green

* Hot Buttered Rum

* The Gourds

* Tony Rice

* The Mosier Brothers

* Tornado Rider

* Greensky Bluegrass

* Infamous Stringdusters

* Great American Taxi

* Ryan Montbleau Band

* Roy Book Binder

* Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

* Jim Lauderdale

* Joe Craven

* Larry Keel & Natural Bridge

* Dread Clampitt

* Grant Peeples

* Randall Bramblett with Geoff Achison

* Split Lip Rayfield

* Ralph Roddenbery Band

* Elephant Revival

* Two Man Gentleman Band

* The Pinkham Family

* Saltwater Grass

* Jubal’s Kin

* Larkin Poe

* Big Cosmo

* Habanero Honeys

* Packway Handle Band

* Bobby Miller & The Virginia Dare Devils

* Whetherman

* Sloppy Joe

* Quartermoon

* Two Foot Level

* Grandpa’s Cough Medicine

* Mickey Abraham’s Traveling Acoustic Ensemble

* Sosos

* Uproot Hootenanny

* Short Straw Pickers

* Tennessee Firearms

* Bibb City Ramblers

* Lefty Williams Band

* Donna Hopkins Band

* Sanctum Sully

* Red June

* Taylor Martin’s Engine

* Lizzy Ross Band

* Honey Blue