15th Annual Florida Music Festival Returns to Indie Roots

The 15th annual Florida Music Festival announces a promise to return to its 'indie roots' with free admission to all in its efforts to once again focus on the up-and-coming independent artist. With 'no headliners' the festival has made a bold move in order to spotlight the unsigned artist and encourage festivalgoers to seek out new music. All participating showcase venues are free admission courtesy of the Downtown Development Board and Coors Light.

"We worked with the Downtown Development Board closely this year to make the event more inclusive of all the great locations in Downtown where you can hear great music, whether it's bands, DJs or acoustic acts. The best part is we were able to make all participating venues free. So you can check out the 'next' Taylor Swift at no cost or risk to you! This offers more of an opportunity to bounce around and discover new music," explained FMF founder Sean Perry.

The festival will kick off on Thursday, April 16th and runs through Saturday April 18th. With this change, the three-day festival will expand to feature 150 bands on 20 stages that will include the new Pugh Theatre at the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which will host both the Grammy Showcase on Friday evening and the conference panels on Saturday afternoon. The conference panels have featured over a decade of notable music industry professionals, and this year is no exception as Jonathon Mayers (Bonaroo, Outside Lands) will be the keynote speaker. He has been featured on CNN as well as in Billboard Magazine, SPIN and more.

"It's great to be able to include the brand new Dr Phillips Center for the Florida Grammy Showcase, and the Keynote Interview and Industry Panels, featuring Bonnaroo founder Jonathan Mayers. It's a beautiful addition to Downtown and Pugh is state of the art," said Perry.

The festival covers virtual every genre of music from Pop to Americana and Country. FMF founders Sean Perry and Rick Wheeler were eager to announce new stages in the popular Church Street sector.

"We are really excited to be bringing the legendary Cheyenne Saloon back into the fold, featuring some of the best country music from this area, as well as great acts from Atlanta, Nashville and more" said Wheeler.

Saturday April 18th, the popular Blue Man Group drum-off returns to Wall Street with 5 drummers performing 90 second routines for a panel of celebrity judges and competing for over $5,000 in prizes, including a drum kit from DW Drums, VIP tickets to Blue Man Group, and prizing from Remo, Vic Firth, and Sabian.

The 15th annual Florida Music Festival runs April 16-18 in Downtown Orlando. For more information or to see performance schedules, please visit http://www.floridamusicfestival.com .

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