Sadly, I’m no Jay Cridlin, Lester Bangs, or Daphne Brooks, so I won’t be critiquing the actual music at last weekend’s Gasparilla Music Festival. However, because I’ve seen dozens of concerts at venues across our area, and a couple festivals to boot, I feel pretty comfortable weighing in on the experience aspect of the hooplah.
Here’s my my review of the Gulf Coast’s version of Coachella:
Seating options
Organizers said more than 10,000 concert goers showed up to see Mt. Joy on Friday night, but moving around the festival still felt breezy. Not like Jannus.
The stagefront area was broken up into VIP and general admission areas, with a seated Adirondack chair section for VIP, and a bleacher section for sponsors. All seemed to have a good vantage point of the stage — which was framed by the downtown Tampa skyline.
It was in the low 80s until the sun set, so I did wish there were some seats under shade. I saw some people put their chairs down in the shadow of the sound tent, etc. But, there were sun shades and tents right off the Coppertail Brewing tent and other dining areas, so it was available if you really needed it.
I brought a low-back camp chair and had no trouble grabbing a spot behind the standing crowd in the VIP area. But I also saw plenty of families with little kids camped out on blankets pushed back from the main stage, which looked very chill and not claustrophobic.
Parking options
I prebooked a spot in Lot 1 the day before the show with no issue for just under $22. It was right next to the entrance to Meridian Fields, so I easily dropped my chair back off before nightfall. Parking near the old location and the Riverwalk in general is typically more difficult and less plentiful, at least on my end.
While I did see several $40-ish parking lots and the nearby garages looked crowded, I also saw lots of folks using the rideshare area after the event and plenty of attendees using scooters and walking home.
Overall, the new Water Street Tampa-nestled spot seemed a bit more accessible parking and transit wise, especially with the Streetcar and highway nearby. But, please send me your likely more astute feedback.
Food + restaurant proximity
In what actually seemed like a planted moment by Big Gasparilla, someone walked by me near the concession area and said, “Oh my god, they have Cafe Hey.” But the reaction seemed to the food lineup seemed universally positive.
The range of food picks was really strong with handheld options like Cuban sandwiches from the aforementioned Cafe Hey and grouper sandwiches from Big Ray’s + a cool sitdown option at a palm-surrounded hand roll and ramen bar from HAN. I did not imbibe, but the espresso martini tent also felt like the perfect Water Street-esque touch for the new venue.
In between sets, I snuck off into the neighborhood — which was only a five-minute walk across the street — to snag a hot fudge-dusted cannoli ice cream at Chill Bros and to see what other new spots recently opened up. I personally felt like there were more sit-down dining options nearby than there were with the old festival location at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, with spots like CAVA, Predalina, Small Giant, and 3 Corners a quick walk away.
