Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, John Mayer headline annual music festival
By Brian Bixler Entertainment editor Here comes the SunFest.
West Palm Beach's annual music, art and waterfront festival, known to attract 300,000 people during a five-day run, kicks off Wednesday, featuring Top 40 acts such as Sheryl Crow, John Mayer and Uncle Kracker teaming up with veteran rockers such as Bob Dylan to entertain crowds during the event's 21st year. Those are just some of the big-name acts booked for the event, which continues through May 4 along Flagler Drive downtown.
Older music lovers will flash back to the '60s with sounds from The Beach Boys (Wednesday). Reggae lovers can chill with Shaggy (May 4). Rockers will get a chance to drink in Tonic (May 2); and the younger set can swoon to Backstreet Boy Nick Carter (May 3) and Sixpence None the Richer (May 4).
"We're kind of spread all over the spectrum," said Susan Grubbs, spokeswoman for the event. "We always book a diverse group of performers, something to appeal to diverse age groups."
Case in point: There will be plenty of nostalgia acts from the '70s, '80s and '90s, such as Southside Johnny (Thursday), America (May 3) and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (May 4).
What started as a jazz festival in 1983 has become an event of national prominence, with a broader appeal. About 60 national and regional acts will be performing on three separate stages during the festival. The Beach Boys and Uncle Kracker will kick off SunFest as headliners Wednesday evening.
And SunFest will return to its roots this year with a jazz concert series at the Harriet Himmel Gilman Theater in downtown West Palm Beach.
"SunFest started out as a jazz festival, and some people have been asking us to bring back more jazz," Grubbs said. "Also, it helps SunFest to grow. It's the first time we've done something outside the traditional site."
The series, dubbed SunFest Jams at the Harriet, will include jazz vocalist Teirney Sutton at 7:30 p.m. May 3 and guitarist Russell Malone at 2 p.m. May 4. Tickets are $20 and include a one-day ticket to SunFest.
Advance tickets for SunFest are $12 for one day, $30 for a five-day pass and available through Wednesday at Publix supermarkets and Washington Mutual banks in Palm Beach and Martin counties and at the SunFest store at 525 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach.
Tickets at the gate will be $17; $35 for a five-day pass. Children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult. Admission for seniors 65 and over is $8 at the gate.
Subway stores in Palm Beach County have vouchers available for $5 admission at the gate Wednesday night only.
Not all of SunFest's visitors come for the music, however. The festival also features a juried arts show and crafts marketplace that start May 2; a youth park for kids 12 and under; a floating bar with live music; and a fireworks display at 9 p.m. May 2.
Organizers are encouraging people to use shuttle and water taxi services to get to SunFest and to avoid Dixie Highway, which is torn up with construction.
"The biggest thing is just to be aware there is construction going on downtown, and we're really doing our best to encourage people to stay away from it," Grubbs said.
For the first time during SunFest, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts will open its parking garage on Tamarind Avenue at the intersection with Okeechobee Boulevard. The parking fee will be $10 to benefit Kravis educational programs and includes free shuttle service to the SunFest gates.
A new water taxi service will be operating hourly from the Riviera Beach Marina at 200 E. 13th St. The half-hour trip costs $11 roundtrip for SunFest patrons with advance tickets. The cost for those without advance tickets is $22 and includes admission to the festival.
"It's kind of fun to take a boat in, and you can do that with your kids," Grubbs said. The cost for children 12 and under is $5.
Other shuttles will be running Saturday and Sunday from the Palm Beach Mall on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard beginning 5 p.m. May 2 and continuing through the weekend. The cost of the shuttle is $2 roundtrip.
For more information about SunFest, call (800) 786-3378 or go to the Web site at www.sunfest.com.
- brian.bixler@scripps.com
If You Go
• What: SunFest, music, art and waterfront festival.
• When: Wednesday through May 4. Hours are 5-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Noon to 10 p.m. May 2, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. May 3 and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 4.
• Where: Downtown West Palm Beach along the Intracoastal Waterway, extending along Flagler Drive from Banyan Boulevard to Lakeview Avenue.
• Cost: Advance tickets are $12 for one day, $30 for a five-day pass; tickets at the gate are $17, $35 for a five-day pass.
• Contact: Call (800) 786-3378.
April 25, 2003