WEST PALM BEACH — Local bands rock.
That was the overwhelming consensus from the hundred of people who attended Saturday’s 561 Music Festival on a weekend previously reserved for SunFest, which after 42 years is no longer part of West Palm Beach’s annual calendar.
Now in its fourth year, the 561 Music Festival relocated to its new Meyer Amphitheater address from Mathews Brewing Co. in Lake Worth Beach, a venue that Hector Diaz, the festival’s director and member of the band Killbillies, said was on “a much smaller scale.”
Diaz expected at least 1,500 attendees to enjoy performances from 20 bands that started at 11 a.m. With two stages of different sizes spanning a grassy field smaller than a city block, music flowed seamlessly. When one band finished, another on the opposite side of the field was ready to go.
SunFest’s beginnings: Debut in 1983 was a free 10-day festival with a high-wire act
A gorgeous day from the get-go, the early afternoon’s strong sun and heat had people staking their claims on shady patches surrounding the field with lawn chairs brought from home.
And though dogs were discouraged, there seemed to be quite a few enjoying the outdoors with their people.
On a bicycle built for two, Robert and Claire Schrotenboer arrived at the Meyer Amphitheater with an agenda.
Their plan: Spend a few hours at the festival, then drive to Fort Lauderdale for soccer, then finish the night back at the festival to hear Killbillies. They attended the 561 Festival at the brewery last year to hear a friend who plays for Mount Sinai (the band, not the hospital).
“That was a smaller venue, but this is this is great because there’s a lot more room for people to dance,” said Robert, who was wearing a Grateful Dead-inspired T-shirt.
Claire said she loved that admission to the festival was free. „I love that we can ride our bike here. I love these bands that are organic and homegrown. It’s so fantastic,” she said.
The couple credits 561’s organizers as the „backbone” for getting great bands; most playing on Saturday’s schedule were new to their ears. And it filled the hole left by the absence of SunFest.
SunFest launched in 1983 as a small-scale hyper-local jazz and arts festival before transforming into the area’s Coachella-like event, with marquee acts in its later years such as Flo Rida, the Chainsmokers and Goo Goo Dolls. It offered significant economic impact to the county — an estimated $10 million its last year — but financial struggles associated with hiring top-name acts and raising ticket prices made further SunFests untenable.
Enter the 561 Music Festival, which was able to secure the waterfront West Palm Beach spot where SunFest had been for decades in the first weekend of May.
Aaron and Alana Willis of Fort Lauderdale drove up to the festival with their baby Austin, who turns 3 months old next week.
Looking for something new in West Palm Beach, the couple wanted to “enjoy the wonderful weather, local Florida bands, the sights and sounds,” said Aaron.
The Willis family also indulged in casual eats provided by three food trucks, operated respectively by V’s Cakes, 92 Golf and Tulum Taco Shop.
V’s Van Huynh is a veteran of last year’s 561 Festival and was tasked by participating musician Ricky Bolufe with securing the food line-up, which proved popular with many attendees even though there were no restrictions on bringing your own food and drink.
V’s best seller Saturday was novelty cheesecake baked in glass jars that can be repurposed.
“People think it’s so cute. It’s a single serving and easy to carry around,” said Huynh, whose husband Howard York was on hand to help.
There was also a celeb vendor on site.
Brandin Bryant is a Boca Raton resident and FAU alum. He just happened to spend eight years playing in the NFL for seven different teams including the Dolphins, and is now a children’s book author of “So You Want to be an Athlete?” and “Can I Pet That Dog?”
He was there to promote and sell his books, which tie into education and have earned five-star Amazon reviews.
Byrant said he heard about the festival from a friend of a friend. “It seemed like a good way to spend a Saturday with the community and get involved,” he said.
Then, too, there was support of another kind from Steinger, Greene and Feiner, a West Palm Beach-based law firm specializing in personal injury cases. The firm sponsored the festival because it wanted to support arts activity in the community, said Yeemee Chan, a partner in Steiner’s Fort Lauderdale office.
“These local artists are so talented,“ she said. „We wanted to support their cause and give them a platform.“
'Fantastic' music: Crowds, good times at 561 Music Fest that replaced 40 years of SunFest – The Palm Beach Post
