Fernandina beach. A place I don't visit often enough.
When I heard Matisyahu, The Wailers, and a friend's band Chillakaya was playing (among many others), I felt it was necessary to make the 2 hour trip north from Saint Augustine. Going Coastal Music I'd also never heard of, but they have a great thing going. Throughout the music, they'd give a little info about who they were, and urging festival goers to "please, pick up one piece of trash before you go..." which is advice I wish everyone followed every time they were on a beach. More information about them is avialable here: http://www.goincoastalmusic.com/
With current times and technology, everyone is pretty punctual these days. Unfortunately, we underestimated the 2 hour drive and got to the festival right as Chillakaya started up for their 2nd set. I'm not mad at all. They performed several times that evening, keeping the stoke alive between the headliners sets. Killed it every time.
The Wailers - there really isn't anything I can say that hasn't already been said before. Phenomenal band that has defined a sound for decades of music. Audibly perfect, infectious, moving, etc. - they also performed "War" and "Lively Up Yourself" 2 of my personal favorites. Win Win
Matisyahu. A band I first heard about in the realm of 2005, beatboxing on the Jimmy Kimmel show. According to the Wikipedia page, he/they have several touring groups varying their style accordingly. The dub trio was represented in Fernandina. It was fantastic! I've been a fan of dub music since being introduced to it when I was a lowly college student working minimum wage at a record store over a decade ago. Variations of current hits and older became so thick and drippy I got lost several occasions. Glorious! The crowd sang along, dancing the freezing (for Florida) night away. Mr. Miller joined several times, stage diving, crowdwalking, generally living the dream. The night finished with "One Day" (3rd song encore) and a sea of people joining the stage for an extended chorus. Perfect.
As said on their website (going coastal music) “Music may live at Suwannee, but it vacations in Fernandina!”
For images/video from that gopro dead center, stay tuned!
All images by Dan Florez (www.florezphotography.com) taken with a Pentax k5iis and an old 50mm or a newer 14mm. Please don't duplicate or modify without written consent (I'm happy to share, just please contact me beforehand. Thanks for consideration)