Tampa will soon be home to a new music festival that could rival events like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.
The Big Guava Festival is scheduled to take place from May 2 to 4 at the Florida State Fairgrounds. It will include carnival rides, food trucks and craft beer gardens, along with a fantastic lineup.
The festival boasts a wide range of talent, including the recently reunited band Outkast (in its only Florida performance), indie darlings Vampire Weekend and Foster the People and up-and-coming hip-hop artists Chance The Rapper and Earl Sweatshirt.
Neil Jacobsen, president of Live Nation Florida, said the festival was able to assemble such a high-profile lineup for its first year because of its history with the artists.
“We are the largest promoter in Florida, and our company has a great track record,” Jacobsen said.
The festival’s four stages will spread across the fairgrounds, with one stage set to be at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.
There are plans to make Big Guava a staple of the Tampa Bay area, and Jacobsen said Live Nation wants Big Guava to be successful and grow.
“We want everybody to have a great time, enjoy the music, rides and food in a safe, fan-friendly environment,” he said.
The festival’s ticket includes complete access to the four stages and carnival rides. The Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre will be completely open, but pit access and seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Although the price of the event’s single-day tickets was slated to go up in early April, festival organizers pushed back the price increase to expand their audience.
Live Nation Florida wanted to be consumer friendly and continue to build interest in the festival, Jacobsen said.
People across Florida and the U.S. are expected to flock to Tampa for the festival.
Melissa Daum, a 20-year-old UF finance junior, said she’s excited to catch the headliners and all of the up-and-comers.
“I’m excited for Big Guava because there’s no better experience than a music festival with your friends,” she said.
Daum said she’s most excited to see Foster the People.
“‘Torches’ is one of my favorite debut albums ever,” she said.
According to a news release, tickets are still available at livenation.com, but will increase in price Tuesday. Single-day tickets are currently $65 and will increase to $75. Single day VIP tickets are $175 and will remain the same price. A three-day general admission pass costs $165 and the three-day Super Guava Pass costs $499 and includes reserved seating and access to the Super Guava Lounges.
Set times and the site map will be revealed soon at bigguavafest.com.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 4/10/2014 under the headline "Tampa to host music festival featuring indie, hip-hop artists"]
MS MR, a New York based duo made up of Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow, will be playing at the Big Guava Festival in Tampa. The festival will be May 2 to 4 at the Florida State Fairgrounds. More information is available at bigguavafest.com.
