Going to the 30A Songwriters Festival in Seaside, FL was about the best idea I’ve had in a long time. I am very thankful to my friend Colleen McQuone for telling me about it a month before. And, I’m only sad that she didn’t get to go!
My weekend began by taking a half-day off work on Friday to greet my friends Laurie and Eric and his girlfriend Joleen as they arrived at my house in Tallahassee around lunch time. We then ventured to Chipotle for a birthday lunch (thanks Laurie for the Chipotle gift card!).From there we were off to Santa Rosa Beach where we were staying at the Sea Bluff – a two bedroom condo just fifty yards from the beach. Speaking of the beach, we were able to see some amazing north Florida sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico – particularly nice at this time of year!
Our condo was in a perfect location to get to the 20 or so venues that were hosting music along historic Highway 30A. Only downer of the weekend was not getting to see Dave Barnes perform. Even though we had printed our tickets online, when we arrived to the first venue we were told we needed to visit the Will Call area anyway – to get our wristbands. Not to mention the venue that Dave Barnes was playing at was small and packed.
But that allowed us time to go get dinner at Little Italy in Grayton Beach – I had some great lasagna. From there, we went around the corner to Hibiscus – aka the Backyard of Love – to listen to some musicians perform as we awaited the band Georgia, who played Rock by the Sea last year and have become a favorite of mine. The stage there was outside on a night that got down to the upper 30s. Luckily they had heat lamps and portable camp fires to keep us … uh, kind of warm. From there, we walked over to Pandora’s (which was inside!) to see several bands and musicians perform – ending the night with the band, A Fragile Tomorrow.
We prepared a hearty breakfast in the morning at our condo on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The 20 venues stretched along about 15 miles of road along 30A, most of which were within five or six miles of our condo, which we really only came back to go to sleep.
On Saturday, we saw Matthew Sweet open for the Bangles, who performed in a great big venue outside – they played some new stuff in addition to their classic hits, “Manic Monday” and “Walk Like an Egyptian.” For me personally, some new music that I was impressed with included Joseph Arthur, a musician from Brooklyn who has about 8 albums and will be performing on the David Letterman Show this Thursday night. (Set that DVR!). We were able to watch him perform inside a small independent record store in Seaside.
On a recommendation, we also checked out Matthew Mayfield. We were lucky enough to see him perform in a very intimate setting with just about 40 people or so, over dinner. Hard to describe him. His voice (and even some lyrics) sound a lot like Dave Matthews and he can play the heck out of that guitar. And while we were eating and listening, at our table was the duo from the band Augustine, along with their parents and significant others. We had missed them earlier that day, due to an overcrowded smaller venue, but I was lucky to catch them on their Sunday afternoon set.
Saturday night we enjoyed watching Corey Smith perform at the Vue – while the 30A Songwriters Festival includes a lot of quiet listening (and seriously, in some instances if you’re caught talking, you might be shushed!), Corey’s acoustic turned into a country music party! Even Corey Smith was surprised it got so raucous.
Then we ventured over to First Note Music Hall, which was within walking distance of our condo. That venue probably had the best sound quality of any of them. We listened to another amazing musician I had not known before this festival, David Ryan Harris.
Later we headed back down to Pandora’s on Grayton Beach, about in the middle of everything along 30A, and we caught Antigone Rising closing the night out. They are a rockin’ chick band I had previously seen on the Rock Boat.
On Sunday morning, Laurie, Eric, and Joleen departed back for Orlando. It was a great weekend with them, but sad to see them go. Luckily, for me, I had one more night. I hung out all day with my friend and Rock by the Sea President, Beth Gosnell, her nephew Curtis, and Beth Davis, who is helping us with Rock by the Sea in Panama City this year.
We went over to Hibiscus again (much nicer during the day!) and finally got to see Augustine – who were great – and just before them, we caught the Shadowboxers – who were really amazing. Some great harmonies. I tell you, there’s nothing like live music – from original songwriters!
We then went over to Seaside, ate at the Taco Bar and went to Bud & Alley’s where we listened to Ryan Crowell and then got to see Matthew Mayfield again, performing with Davin McCoy. These guys were truly amazing. They had just met at the festival, just before taking stage, but were paired with one another, taking turns playing their own songs. But they were really “in sync” with one another and I can see some collaborations in the future.
From there, we headed further east down 30A to La Caliza in Alys Beach. We barely got into that venue (it was filling up!) We got to see Shawn Mullins and Chuck Cannon perform back to back. These guys are two of the headliners of both the 30A Songwriters Festival and Rock By The Sea Five (that was in SGI last year) and Rock by the Sea Six that will be in Panama City this April. Amazing talent. Great songwriters. It was truly a privilege to see them perform again.
The 30A Songwriters Festival was really amazing. A few things that annoyed me: driving up and down 30A. It wasn’t that bad once you got used to it and learned the lay of the land. But on two occasions we drove over to a venue that had filled up and we weren’t able to get in to the acts we wanted to see. I was able to catch one of those acts (Augustine) at another performance they added, but didn’t get to for Dave Barnes.
While I understood some of the “rules” they had at the festival, sometimes it was annoying. Some rules included: “Be Quiet” because you were in a “listening room.” They didn’t want talking out of respect for the musicians. Understandable…to a point. In one setting, I took a flash photo, and a volunteer came over and told me “no flash photography.” That was fine, I was done anyway. Got my photo. Another rule: “Don’t Save Seats” – although that one didn’t seem to be enforced. So, while some of the rules were understandable, sometimes it was annoying to be shushed! As Matthew Mayfield said when talking about how a patron at one of his shows was once offended by something he said from the stage, “This is rock n’ roll, not Sesame Street dude. We’re supposed to break the rules.” But aside from these very minor annoyances, all in all it was a great way to hear from some world class songwriters in some very intimate venues.
Spending three days along the best beaches in the world on Florida’s Gulf Coast with some great friends was an amazing way to spend your weekend. Add in some killer sunsets and 125 musicians at over 20 venues and you have something truly magical. I came back with 4 new music albums – three from bands/musicians I had never heard before this festival. Thank you very much 30A! I’ll be back, I’m sure. And thank you to my friends for an unforgettable birthday weekend!
[…] Eric Smith (and his girlfriend, Joleen). The four of us began 2012 right, when we traveled to the 30A Music Festival in Seaside, Florida for my birthday weekend in January. I was able to catch up with them several times this year, including a fun night in October in […]