Just because it's winter, there's no reason that a rock festival can't take place. The third installment of Florida's Open Grass Festival is scheduled to take place on January 9-10, a bit earlier than it's been the past couple of years. In addition to the date change, the event has been moved south from Brant Park in Lake Worth to the Old School Square in Delray Beach.
The reason for this change is that the new location is more accessible. It's easier for tourists to find and the Old School Square is located in dowtown Delray. The festival, therefore, will be in closer proximity to restaurants and the like, with much more locals and tourists passing through. Delray also seems to be a more culturally driven community, and the event will likely thrive better in a location where the music is more appreciated. This will hopefully surpass last year's attendance of 1,000 by a large margin.
The primary motive behind the change is Jam Cruise, a 6-day festival whose name is self-explanatory. Jam Cruise is a better-known event with big-name acts (this year will feature Les Claypool, MMW, and Michael Franti, among others) and always has a significant turnout. The vessel returns on the 9th, the same date as Open Grass, and will dock in a neighboring area. The logic is that a great deal of attendees won't have had their fill of jam bands. Now all these hippies and music lovers will be inhabiting Delray. So many will be pleased to be able to jump on board another festival and continue receiving their musical fix for an extra two days.
Festival promoter Sammy Zuniga, a self-described first-generation hippie, started this event with the intent of abandoning the pop scene and organizing a family-friendly event. A mission of his is to showcase lesser-known artists from the Southeast. Breaking away from the mainstream, however, puts one at risk of losing money if the event is not presented appropriately. Zuniga's decision to move into a more populous and artsy area is a smart one, seeing as the only way to get the general public to listen to band's they've never heard of is to stick the festival right under their nose. And using Jam Cruise as a host body to keep Open Grass alive is an opportunity not to be passed up. Potentially, a symbiotic relationship could form between the two events and create additional turnout and revenue for both.
Although mostly based around jam bands, Open Grass will feature some artists from the reggae and R&B genres. A few artists will be Laura Reed & Deep Pocket, Bobby Lee Rogers with The Code Talkers, and 4th Dimension. In addition, visual art will play a big role in the festivities. More on the website.
