photos were taken from Sunset Music Festival Facebook page
Sunset Music Festival is one of the few music festivals to hit Western Florida and it certainly is not one to miss. It was the perfect way to end the school year, have some fun during Memorial Day Weekend, and the best way to kick-off this summer festival season. On the official SMF Instagram page, they had posted the top two requests of fans from last year: Less heat and less dust. And fans certainly got their wish. Sunset Music Festival 2018 felt a lot cooler than then the previous year. The only problem was that it became quite the rainy festival. Personally, I much prefer dancing in a little bit of rain than having to withstand that ugly Florida heat. Unfortunately, that rain became ugly rain, and day two of SMF was canceled.
The organizers handled the situation perfectly and provided full refunds for Sunday to its festival goers. While we were sad about the loss of a day to a festival, we were happy to make the most of Saturday.
Check out our fully comprehensive guide below to navigate your way through Sunset Music Festival.
Sunset Music Festival Quick Facts
Music Genre: EDM
Camping: No
Capacity: Medium
Crowd Type: Ravers, Kandi, Frat/Srat
Water Stations: Yes
For The First Timers
SMF takes place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Although it is not a camping festival, there are more than plenty of hotels in the area to stay in. I also highly suggest taking a Lyft or an Uber — parking is $25 a day otherwise. Pre-parties and after parties are also half of the fun, so try to stay updated and make it for some of those. Just keep in mind: no re-entry/in and outs. Stay inside and soak up all the music that you can.
Stage Layout
The stages of Sunset Music Festival are pretty incredible. The Eclipse Stage, paired with stunning visuals from the performers, was entrancing. Space Jesus took it to the next level this year with his creepy clown visuals. The Horizon Stage hands down hosted the best parties with the All My Friends and Brownie’s Lemonade takeovers.
Musical Highlights
Space Jesus: As previously mentioned, Space Jesus brought some creepy visuals to the stage featuring a giant clown. Although clowns are a big fear of mine, I couldn’t help but be in absolute awe of his set. “Sofa Surfin” never fails to add 12 years to my life every time I hear it live.
REZZ: I’m always a sucker for a female DJ. I wanted to be one for the longest time growing up, and I think they’re some the coolest people on the planet (I may be biased). Her set was so much fun, especially with the cool mom and dad who were in front of me dancing better than I could ever. Shoutout to never growing up.
Final Notes
Sunset Music Festival has been a great festival and it was a fun weekend. There aren’t a whole lot of music festivals that happen in Florida over the summer, so Sunset Music Festival is like a breath of fresh air. It comes at the perfect time too, right after finals and right before summer really sets in. As much as I’m bummed to have missed the second day, mother nature is the ultimate boss, and there was nothing anyone could have done to avoid her takeover.
We look forward to attending Sunset Music Festival 2019!