Tampa’s Sunset Music Festival garners 45,000 attendees

Memorial Day weekend marked Sunset Music Festival’s third invasion of the North Lot of the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. 

Held over two days and organized by Disco Donnie Presents, Sunset Events and Committee Events, Sunset hosted a diverse lineup, immaculate production and efficient organization.

The student community, notably the Gator Nation, had a strong showing among the festival’s estimated 45,000 guests. 

Students championed the university by holding flags and totems above the crowds and performed the Chomp when encountering fellow Gators. 

Bridget Wlosek, a 21-year-old UF environmental engineering senior, commended the connection she felt to her fellow students.

 “I saw lots of hats and shirts with gators on them, my friend even brought his UF banner” she said. 

“Overall, I saw more UF students than any other students” she said.

Connor Ward, a 20-year-old UF computer science junior, praised the positive vibes felt among the attendees.

“It’s a chance to dress up ridiculously, meet new people and bond with old friends in ways we never could in the real world,” he said. 

Sharing the love with new and old friends is easy at festivals like Sunset thanks to “kandi.”

Kandi are the colorful wristbands decorated with praises designed to be traded among fellow festival-goers. 

“Trading kandi with someone really is a meaningful experience,” he said. 

“It makes it so easy to walk up to random people and instantly have a connection.”

The performers, thrilled to be playing the largest EDM event in Florida since Miami Music Week (which includes Ultra Music Festival) in late March, appropriately tuned their sets to appease the ever-present hunger for high-energy sets.    

“I haven’t been back to Florida since Miami Music Week in March but it’s amazing to be back” said prolific producer and DJ Deorro, who announced his planned retirement before the festival. 

“This is my first time playing in Tampa but the Florida crowds are always so full of energy and really show their love for the artists.” 

The bigger festival this year featured new additions: a cool-down maze adorned with psychedelic artwork, cooling stations equipped with fans and sprinklers and gates and walls that expedited traffic flow and alleviated sound bleed across stages.

The start of the second day was unfortunately delayed due to a severe thunderstorm. 

Despite the brief bout of wind and rain, festivalgoers emerged from their shelters at the Raymond James Stadium to virtually no damages. Festival organizers shaved some time from all performers’ sets in order to give all of the artists proper sets.

While the festival largely succeeded in achieving its lofty ambitions, some areas could still use improvement. 

There were only four water stations across the grounds and placed next to the field facing the main stage. Lines quickly grew to staggering lengths and caused massive traffic build-ups.

As the central Florida music scene grows, festivals such as Sunset will naturally expand to satisfy the growing demand for live music. 

If Sunset continues its streak, expect Tampa to soon be home to one of the largest festivals in the country.