There’s a SunFest size Music Fest Every Weekend in DOwntown West Palm
It’s no secret we here at Do West Palm are huge supporters of live music, and we try to spread the word every chance we get about Downtown West Palm being “The Best Live Music Line Up in the World.” It’s what we’ve been constantly promoting and the topic of a previous blog which highlights the number of DOwntown acts, the number of venues, and their proximity. It can be read here: http://www.dowestpalm.com/2013/03/11/the-best-live-music-line-up-in-the-world/
So I’m going to take this opportunity once again to applaud this city’s abundance of live music with a little comparison… actually, a big comparison. You see, last Friday I was out for a walk with a planned stop at the free Jazz on the Palm event and a goal of making it to City Place before 11 to see Jason Cardinal (don’t miss him next time he makes his way DOwntown). While walking up Clematis and down Rosemary I quickly realized that within that short walk I was able to peek in and hear songs from about 10 bands in less than 10 blocks. I know we’ve been promoting the amount of music this town offers within walking distance for years, but I started to wonder if a typical weekend of live music could rival the number of bands during the Sunfest weekend. Could we be in the middle of a music festival every weekend? DO festivals occur Downtown 52 times a year? The challenge was on. I had to document 50 bands over 5 days for the following weekend. Unfortunately, I just missed the weekend with Jazz on the Palm and Sunday on the Waterfront so I started 2 bands down.
To make it official, I challenged myself to produce a schedule prior to the weekend so that everyone could enjoy a holiday weekend full of music. Seems easy enough, right? All I’d have to do is spend 30 minutes on Google searching the acts that aren’t on our DoWestPalm.com site and plug the results into a spreadsheet. Well, it turns out it wasn’t that easy. It took hours, over a couple of days with many phone calls, voicemails and no returned calls. I really don’t understand why a venue spends money and time booking and paying a band with the goal to bring in customers and does nothing to promote it. They not only don’t put it on the web, they don’t even know who’s playing when you call for the info.
I understand in the hectic service industry, posting calendars is not a big priority but it would be much easier for visitors, tourists, and live music fans to enjoy the offerings of this great city and the great venues if whoever is booking the bands could spend a little time promoting them. Hell, we can post the info for you.
For this town to truly become a live music destination like Austin, Athens, or Ashville our venues need to get the word out. The combination of multiple walkable venues and wonderful weather for both indoor and outdoor event all year round can rival any city as a live music destination.
If the venues need help, we’re here. Do West Palm has been in the middle of DOwntown music scene for years. We’ve been promoting the pros of this great city all along the way. We have up to 250 unique visitors to our website everyday of people looking for things to DO. With over 50 musical acts in any given weekend and our site’s commitment to live music, you can bet a lot of our site’s visitors are looking for who’s playing live music and where. This is a great city and live music is a big part of it. We just all have to work together to get the word out. 50 live bands within walking distance on any given weekend can’t be found in any average city…
Okay, I’ll get off the soapbox but putting this list together wasn’t as easy as it should have been. We are very lucky here in DOwntown West Palm with all of the live music options. We should be making multiple top 10 lists as one of the finest live music destinations in the US. We can make those lists and make Downtown a destination if everyone works together getting the word out, starting by letting people know who’s playing and where.
So does an average Downtown West Palm weekend have as many musical acts as Sunfest, the second biggest music festival in Florida? Yes it does and then some. Here it is. I’m calling it the Memorial Day Do West Fest. Be sure check out some of the bands, enjoy the Memorial Day and as always support live music whenever you can!
Wednesday
BB Kings Patio – Joe Birch
Copper Blues – The Leftovers
Backyard Bar – Joey George
Thursday
Palm Stage – Jessie Young (CBN)
Norton – Stephan Mikes
O’Shea’s – The Lahinch Mob
BB Kings – Albert Castillia
Copper Blues – Speechless
Wine Dive – Susan Merritt Band
Long Boards – Red Lyte and the Sound
Friday
O’Shea’s – The Lone Jennies
Revolutions – The Kinected
BB Kings – Candye Kane
BB Kings – BB King All Stars
Lucillie’s – Kat Riggins and Blue Train
Blue Martini – Higher Ground
City Place Stage – Samantha Russell
World of Beer – Paula Tolley
Copper Blues – Jamie Rasso
Copper Blues – Raine
Grease – Artikal Sound System
Tin Fish – David Goodman
Backyard Bar – Chase & Tyler
Tequila Cowboy – Tom Jackson
Wine Dive – GrooveBox
Meyer – Bootsey Collins
Meyer – Cameo
Meyer – Lakeside
Meyer – Morris Day and the Time
Meyer – Confunksion
Oli’s – Live Drums
Saturday
O’Shea’s – Rockslide
BB Kings – Turnstiles (Billy Joel)
BB Kings – BB King All Stars
Lucille’s – The Kinected
Blue Martini – Oro Blue
City Place Stage – Shakedown
World of Beer – Social Fly
Copper Blues – The New Planet
Grease – Raggy Monster
Tin Fish – Westminster Trio
Green Market – TBD
Oli’s – La Lina Band
Bar Louie – TBD
Sunday
BB Kings – Laura Vivas w/ BB Kings All Stars
ER Bradleys – Cheezy & The Crackers
ER Bradleys – Spred the Dub
Backyard Bar – Jason Hanley
Respectable Street – 80’s Prom/live band TBD
Roxy’s – Spazmatics
If you would like to promote your venue or band (if it is playing DOwntown) let us know.
