Music festivals are kind of my thing! I’ve been to quite a few now and I think it’s awesome that one of them is in my hometown of Tampa Florida. Held every year the weekend of Memorial Day, I’m talking about Sunset Music Festival.

The two day EDM extravaganza featured such headliners as Above & Beyond, Major Lazer, Zeds Dead, and RL Grime (my fav!) This was my second year attending SMF but my first time working with my friend A.Re of Women of EDM as a photographer/videographer. I had never been to a festival as media before so I was looking forward to the experience and the opportunity to meet and hopefully interview some DJs!

FINGERS CROSSED!

Day1

I could feel the energy the second we walked in! Dancing bodies surrounded us as we made our way across the festival grounds to catch San Holo on the Eclipse Stage. I noticed a lot of changes from the last Sunset Music Festival I attended. There were cooling tents everywhere, plenty more free water stations, and Coachella- like canopies providing ample shade to fans. The festival seemed to have doubled in size from what I remembered. Perfect! Because I like to dance.

The other thing I noticed was seriously how on-point peoples’ outfits were this year! Beside the music, I am obsessed with festival fashion! I mean who doesn’t love dressing up? While the style at SMF has a more chill, kind of a Cali vibe to it, some people really go all out with the costumes and make-up.

As we watched the sun set in the horizon, this is where the festival really gets interesting! A.Re and I made our way back to Main Stage VIP to say hi to some friends then proceed to go backstage.

ACCESS DENIED! 

Our media passes were no good after a certain hour to return backstage, the same place we had entered the festival from. We tried to reason the with the rent-a-cop but he wasn’t giving in. He did give us the solid advice of going all around the festival and enter through the same main gate backstage that we initially did. It was quite the trek but hey, it worked!

We had made it backstage just in time for the beginning of Tritonal’s set. Neither of us had seen them live before so we bee lined it to the Main Stage and enjoyed the entire set front and center. IT. WAS. AMAZING!

I knew we had to at least try to get an interview with Trintonal! At the end of their set, we met them just as they were walking off stage all sweaty and out of breath and just asked.

“Hey guys, we’re with Women of EDM. Do you think we could do a quick interview with you guys?”

“Ok. Sure. We can do it!”

OMG!

And just like that, we got our interview with Tritonal! Little did I know this was just the beginning! Still in shock, A.Re and I walk away to look at the pics and videos when we run into DJ Wax Motif. Not only does he agree to an interview with us but he’s elated to do it! Afterwards Waxy invites us to catch RL Grime’s performance with him. This was definitely the highlight of day one for me! RL Grime blew me away with the intensity of his set and his mix of trap and hip hop.

At this point we’re all BFFs now (obvi ha-ha), so what better way to really get to know each other than over a couple chilled shots of Patron? Waxy talks the guard into letting us into the artist compound where there’s free booze, air-conditioning, clean bathrooms(HUGE!) and plenty of SMF DJs lounging around. A.Re and I were able to meet a couple more artist and nab a few more unexpected interviews. Thanks, Waxy!

Day2

Still high on the success of day one, A.Re and I made sure to get to Sunset Music Festival early on Sunday. Being so busy the day before, we didn’t really have the chance to explore all of the festivals grounds. So that’s just what we did! We bounced around from stage to stage; visiting the different vendors and the various pop-up pavilions scattered everywhere. My favorite find was for sure the air-conditioned beach themed Bud Light Lime tent, which was the perfect place to escape the blazing Florida sun. We cooled off and grabbed our first round of drinks at this intimate dance party to the sounds of Local Tampa DJ Winta.

I had saved my best outfit for the last day but it was missing just one thing… the perfect hairdo! I knew I wanted braids but I’m not at all coordinated or patient enough to be able to do this myself. And apparently, none of my friends are either ha. But no worries because the Braids Babes were there to save the day, providing FREE hair braiding for festival goers. Tips appreciated of course 😉

Now we were ready! As darkness began to fall upon us, all of my friends had finally starting showing up to the festival. A part of me wanted to hang out and just enjoy the performances with them but the other part of me wanted a repeat of the night before! I knew I was there to work, so I said my hellos and good-byes and headed backstage with A.Re. Again, we were denied entrance backstage because it was too late! Ugh. We also noticed that security had become much more stringent than the day before, so A.Re made the executive decision to let’s just enjoy the last day of SMF2017.

YAY!!!!

I beyond was ecstatic! It seemed like everyone had come out for the final day of Sunset Music Festival and being able to enjoy it with some of my best friends made it truly an extra special experience for me.

So, I guess you could say that I had an awesome Memorial Day weekend. Just kidding, awesome doesn’t even begin to describe it! It was absolutely the best Sunset Musical Festival I’ve ever been to! I’m so grateful that I got to experience a different side of a music festival- both as media and as an attendee. A big thanks to A.Re and Women of EDM for inviting along on this unforgettable adventure! See you guys next year!

SMF2018 is just around the corner! Don’t miss out on all the fun. You can purchase your tickets here https://smftampa.com/tickets