On Feb. 10-12, the first annual GroundUP Music Festival will take place in Miami Beach, Fla., hosted by and featuring Snarky Puppy performing all three days, in addition to sets by David Crosby, Laura Mvula, Chris Thile & Michael Daves, Charlie Hunter, Shelly Berg and Terence Blanchard, among others.
Hosting the festival during the day will be the North Beach Bandshell’s Amphitheater and adjacent Palm Grove Park and beachfront complex; late-night performances will take place on two stages at the Deauville Beach Resort.
“After years of playing festivals ourselves, we’re very in touch with what we like and what we don’t. We’re trying to construct an ideal environment for both the listeners and performers,” said Snarky Puppy bandleader and GroundUP Music CEO Michael League, in a press release. This, according to the release, “will be achieved by a limited capacity of 1,500 at the festival each day, a series of special events from performers [ranging from film screenings and music business panels to scavenger hunts], a central hub for artists and attendees at the Deauville and an integrated and informal environment which will allow attendees to interact with the artists.”
The festival, which was funded independently by Snarky Puppy and GroundUP Music, will feature David Crosby celebrating the release of his GroundUP debut album, Lighthouse, the world-premiere performance of League’s new project, Bokanté, and a performance by Shelly Berg, the dean of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, and his band.
“Rather than the typical festival with hordes of people crammed together, overlapping music sets with mediocre sound, and giant barriers between artists and fans, we’re creating an intimate and immersive experience where the fans can appreciate the music up close in a setting with great acoustics surrounded by an idyllic park and beach, and actually interact with the legendary artists in the master classes and workshops that the artists themselves will lead throughout the festival,” said GroundUP Music executive director Paul Lehr.
Confirmed performers at the GroundUP Music Festival are as follows:
Snarky Puppy, David Crosby, Terence Blanchard, Laura Mvula, Chris Thiele & Michael Daves, Jacob Collier, Charlie Hunter feat. Jeff Coffin, John Medeski’s Mad Skillet, Carlos Malta & Pife Muderno, Bill Laurance, Maz, Shelly Berg, Lee Boys feat. Roosevelt Collier, Pedrito Martinez Group, Banda Magda, Lucy Woodward, House of Waters, Michelle Willis, FORQ, Funky Knuckles and Bokanté.
To reserve a spot at GroundUP, visit the official festival website.
