On April 11th and 12th, thousands of country music fans converged on Fort Lauderdale beach for the 3rd Annual Tortuga Music Festival. With a portions of proceeds benefitting the Rock the Ocean Foundation, whose mission is to increase public awareness about the issues impacting the world’s oceans and to support scientific research, education and ocean conservation initiatives, 26 of today’s biggest names in music came together to play nearly 30 hours of live music for a capacity crowd. Luckily, New England Country Music was there to experience this amazing festival! Check out our experience!
DAY ONE- April 11, 2015
As Old Dominion took the stage on the Tortuga Stage, the biggest of the three, there was one small issue- the general admission gates had just opened approximately ¾ of a mile down the beach. So when the guys took the stage to ‘Shut Me Up,’ they had some fun with it as they turned their mics to the VIP section which was filled with festival-goers. Throughout their set, Old Dominion mixed in songs from their self-titled EP along with some new music (a song called ‘Nobody Ever’) and covers of songs that they wrote and were recorded by other artists such as ‘Better Dig Two’ (The Band Perry), ‘A Guy Walks Into A Bar’ (Tyler Farr), and ‘Say You Do’ (Dierks Bentley). Overall, Old Dominion kicked off Tortuga Music Festival in 2015 in style as they had the crowd rocking to songs they knew by some of country music’s best while also introducing them to their own music.
After Judah & The Lion played on the Sunset Stage and Will Hoge rocked the Sunrise State, including a great cover of ‘Even If It Breaks You Heart’ (written by Will and recorded by the Eli Young Band), a majority of the crowd, including ourselves, rushed back to the Tortuga Stage to see the extremely talented David Nail perform. With the customary smell of incense coming from the stage, David Nail took his spot and began his set with ‘I’m A Fire,’ which is the title track of his most recent album. His set continued with hits like ‘Red Light’ and ‘Let It Rain,’ both of which had the crowd singing along. During ‘Let It Rain,’ Nail did a smooth transition into Coldplay’s ‘Fix You.’ But the highlight of his set was definitely his performance of ‘Whatever She’s Got’ which turned into a giant sing-a-long with the crowd.
While the up-and-coming Brooke Eden was performing on the Sunset Stage, there was another country star rocking the Sunrise Stage down the beach. But Brooke Eden pulled together one heck of a crowd to hear her sing ‘American Dreamin” and her super impactful song, ‘Cover Girl,’ among others.
It may not have been a ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’ for Jake Owen, but it was a barefoot-swimsuit night as the artist came out on the Sunrise Stage in just that- a colorful swimsuit, blue tank top, and bare feet. The stage, clad with Jake’s customary tiki bars and palm trees seemed to fit right in with the Fort Lauderdale beach. And Jake easily drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, despite not being on the main stage! As Jake took the stage, you could not get within several hundred feet of the stage as fans packed into the area surrounding the stage and were not moving for this highly anticipated performance. And Jake did not disappoint the enormous crowd with energy with songs like ‘1972’ and also having the ability to slow it down for an emotional ‘What We Ain’t Got.’ One of the highlights of Jake’s set was an acoustic rendition of Jimmy Buffett’s ‘A Pirate Looks At Forty.’ As the sun was setting over the beach, the crowd erupted when the sound of ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’ came across the speakers and from the first chord, the crowd was singing along. Jake raised his arms above his head as the crowd roared with the ‘whoa-oh’ each time in the chorus with their arms swinging back and forth in unison. It was truly a sight to be seen.
As Jake and Brooke’s sets ended, the masses of fans started moving down the beach to the main stage. As the sun went down and the beach became dark, the video boards lit up with a video, that some were describing as ‘creepy,’ that had an almost voodoo theme with snakes and people with face paint marching and playing drums. Think Mardi Gras parade meets Halloween meets Day of the Dead meets No Shoes Nation. It was definitely creepy but really cool. Throughout the video, ‘The Big Revival’ was playing over the loud speakers and the capacity beach crowd grew louder and louder. And then all of a sudden, the curtain showing the graphics from Kenny Chesney’s new album lit up with a silhouette of the man himself, as he kicked off the show with ‘Drink It Up.’
Throughout the night, as the only thing outshining the moon was the lights from the stage, the acclaimed ‘King Of The Road’ delighted the capacity crowd with a mix of his more recent songs like ‘You and Tequila’ and ‘Somewhere With You’ and some of his classics like ‘Blue Rocking Chair, ‘Keg In The Closet,’ ‘Big Star,’ ‘I Go Back’ and ‘Reality.’ But the beach crowd seemed to resonate most with songs that related to them and their day on the Fort Lauderdale beach. Songs like ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem,’ ‘Beer in Mexico,’ and ‘Summertime.’ When the first chords of ‘Pirate Flag’ started to ring over the speakers, the crowd went wild as the famed Kenny Chesney pirate flags could be seen all day leading up to Chesney’s set- whether they were flags that fans had brought with them or the flags that the festival had hung along light towers and other locations in the festival area.
One of the most incredible moments was when Kenny asked the production staff to turn on the lights so he could see how far the crowd went back. And when they did so, and displayed it on the big screens, you could see how deep and condensed the crowd truly was. While the crowd roared when ‘American Kids,’ the first single off Kenny’s 2014 ‘The Big Revival‘ album and had the crowd singing along from the first chord, the biggest crowd reactions came when Chesney brought a young boy on stage and gave him a signed guitar (rather than a football helmet because really, who would have a football helmet on the beach!?) and during the encore in which Kenny performed ‘She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,’ during which Jake Owen joined Kenny on stage for!
More photos from Day 1 can be found here.
DAY TWO- April 12, 2015
On day two, the lines were forming early as the sun was already beating down on the Fort Lauderdale beach. But luckily, the general admission gates opened with enough time for the fans to make their way down the beach to the Tortuga Stage for the country duo who has been all over the place over the past year, Maddie and Tae. Both young ladies took the stage with their guitars and some ‘Rock The Ocean’ gear which was one of the beneficiaries of the festival. The duo started off day two with ‘Smoke’ and ‘Your Side Of Town,’ both tracks off their self-titled EP before going into ‘Shut Up And Fish,’ which the duo said they wrote after the took a couple of cities guys fishing. On top of playing their current single, ‘Fly,’ the ladies played a rousing rendition of Shania Twain’s 1995 hit ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?’ as well as The Dixie Chicks’ ‘Landslide.’ But there was one song that this crowd came early to see and that was their final song of their set, ‘Girl In A Country Song,’ which had the crowd singing and dancing along the whole time.
On the way to the Sunrise Stage, it was pretty apparent that a good-sized crowd was starting to take shape at the Sunset Stage, and although Dylan Scott was about to take the stage, the crowd was not necessarily there to see him. But that didn’t stop him from putting together an incredibly energetic and entertaining set which included ‘Ball Cap’ and ‘Lay It On Me.’ But the most entertaining part of Dylan’s set came when he pulled a young woman, named Daphne, on stage and serenaded her with his intimate version of Marvin Gayes ‘Let’s Get It On.’ As the song winded down, he appeared to be taking the young lady backstage as he was singing that the show was over and the crowd had to go. But as we could see Dylan simply taking photos with the young lady in the side of the stage, he returned and changed the words to “Well that didn’t take long,” in perfect stride with the sound of the classic song.
Down the beach, The Cadillac Three were rocking the Sunrise Stage with some southern rock as they came out to their hit, ‘Party Like You,’ which they followed up with ‘I’m Southern’ and ‘Tennessee Mojo.’
The majority of fans were back surrounding the Tortuga Stage at 1:30 as Michigan native, and one of our favorite entertainers, Frankie Ballard was set to take the stage. Frankie kicked his set off with ‘I Came To Git Down,’ a song he wrote and was recorded by Big & Rich on their most recent album. Being from Michigan and playing on the Fort Lauderdale Beach, Ballard flirtatiously proclaimed, “The number one reason I was most excited to Play Tortuga, is that it’s bikini season.” Frankie followed this up with ‘I’m Thinking Country’ and shortly after, ‘Sunshine & Whiskey,’ which was a huge fan favorite as the crowd was singing along the entire song. The next song was a perfect fit for the Tortuga Music Festival as Frankie sang ‘Young and Crazy.’ But Frankie couldn’t play a set without honoring his first number one song, and he did just that, as he performed ‘Helluva Life.’ And in true Frankie Ballard style, he paid tribute to Bob Seger with some ‘Old Time Rock and Roll.’ During the classic rock song, he pulled a young man from Fort Lauderdale on stage and showed him how to be a rock star including some dance moves and some lyrics to the song. Ballard finished his energetic set with ‘Drinky Drink.’
As Colt Ford played the Sunrise Stage and Nikki Lane the Sunset Stage, the crowd around the Sunset Stage and Tortuga Stage got increasingly bigger. At 3:30, Chase Rice took the stage in a white long-sleeve ‘Rock The Ocean’ shirt with his customary HDEU black hat and a bathing suit which had a gun and holster printed on it. The North Carolina native played a fantastic set, which featured songs from his ‘Ignite The Night’ album including ’50 Shades of Crazy,’ ‘Gonna Wanna Tonight,’ and Chase’s recent top five hit, ‘Ready Set Roll,’ which he ended his set with. But throughout the set he also played songs from his 2012 ‘Dirt Road Communion’ record like ‘I Like Drinking, Cause It’s Fun’ and ‘Whoa’ which turned into a giant competition between the left and right sides of the crowd with each trying to outdo each other in decibels with the ‘Whoa.’ Chase also played a number of covers such as David Lee Murphy’s ‘Dust On The Bottle,’ a great rendition of Tom Petty’s ‘Free Falling,’ and Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Cruise,’ a song that Chase wrote.
As Chase’s set wound down, the crowd around the Sunset Stage became even more congested and crazy. And for one reason: Sam Hunt. We asked the fans up front how early they got there for their spot, and they said they got there as soon as gates opened! And from our vantage point, Sam’s crowd spanned from the stage and all the way to the ocean and across the beach. It was an amazing site to see, especially since Sam has only been around for a few years now. As the first notes were played through Joshua Burkett’s guitar, the crowd erupted! Within seconds, Sam Hunt was on stage and the crowd got even louder. Sam began his set with his first hit, ‘Raised On It,’ which goes all the way back to his ‘Between the Pines‘ mixtape. And it just kept going from there. Sam had the crowd singing along song after song. From ‘Ex To See’ to ‘Single For The Summer,’ but maybe most of all to ‘House Party’ and his first number one song as an artist, ‘Leave The Night On.’ He even gave the fans his energetic version of ‘We Are Tonight,’ a song that Sam wrote and was recorded by Billy Currington. And similar to his show in Boston and throughout the stops on his Lipstick Graffiti tour, Sam slowed down the tempo for some acoustic rounds with his guitar players on either side. He dazzled the crowd with cover of ‘Strawberry Wine,’ ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun,’ among others. During the acoustic sets, several fans were seen climbing up the palm trees to try to get a better view of Sam, with a few making it to the very top. Even Sam caught glimpse of them and began laughing during his set. Although Sam played the smallest stage at the festival, he drew the biggest crowd outside of the two headliners. It’s amazing to see how far Sam Hunt has come in such a short amount of time.
One thing about Tortuga is that when one set ends, another set is just beginning at a different stage. And that’s exactly what happened as The Band Perry took the main stage just moments after Sam Hunt left the Sunset Stage. The family trio took the stage to their 2013 hit ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely.’ TBP continued their set with ‘DONE’ and ‘You Lie’ before going into one of our favorite moments of their performance, a cover of Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk.’ Other songs performed by the trio included TBP classic like ‘All Your Life,’ ‘If I Die Young,’ ‘Better Dig Two,’ and ‘Chainsaw.’
And like a well-oiled machine, as The Band Perry waved goodbye to their fans at the Tortuga Stage, Little Big Town stepped on stage to ‘Day Drinking’ down the beach at the Sunrise Stage. The lead sing on the crowd singing along as a majority of the crowd had been doing just that (day drinking) all day. But there was one song from their most recent album that was a bigger hit than ‘Day Drinking,’ and despite the slow tempo, the crowd loved seeing the group perform ‘Girl Crush’ after all the controversy and debate over the song in the past month or so. As far as songs from LBT’s past, they also performed ‘Sober,’ ‘Tornado,’ and the multi-platinum former number one single, ‘Pontoon.’
As the sun sank over the horizon, the crowd began to get more anxious as everyone knew the festival would soon be coming to an end. There was only one act left and Tortuga was ready to close the 2015 season in style… with the Zac Brown Band.
The band kicked off their set with their most recent hit, ‘Homegrown,’ which really got the crowd singing along. One of our favorite things about every Zac Brown Band show is really being able to see how talented each individual band member really is. And if you haven’t seen ZBB live, Jimmy De Martini, is an unbelievable fiddle player and he got to show off his skills as the band played the Charlie Daniels Band classic, ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia.’ Throughout their set, ZBB treated the crowd to some classics like ‘Knee Deep’ and ‘Jump Right In’ which fit right in with the beach vibe the crowd was experiencing all day. But the band also treated to a new song that will be on the new album that also fit into the tropical, beach vibe called ‘Castaway.’
With two number one albums (and their debut album, ‘The Foundation‘ reaching number two), the Zac Brown Band had a whole catalogue of songs to play for the capacity crowd. The band treated the crowd to songs like ‘As She’s Walking Away’ (minus Alan Jackson), ‘Keep Me In Mind,’ ‘Goodbye In Her Eyes,’ ‘Sweet Annie’ and ‘Colder Weather.’ They also covered Pink Floyd’s ‘Is There Anybody Out There,’ which allowed Clay Cook to show off his musical talents and also a cover of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman,’ with John Driskell Hopkins taking the lead, which was a hit with the crowd as it may surprised many of the fans in attendance that haven’t seen ZBB live before. But the largest crowd reaction during Zac Brown Band’s set probably came when the band began to play ‘Toes’ and of course the band’s first number one hit, ‘Chicken Fried.’
More photos from Day 2 can be found here.
All in all, it was an amazing two days at the Tortuga Music Festival! 3 stages with 26 acts including some of the biggest and best in the business and on an amazing beach. The most difficult thing about the weekend was seeing all of your favorite artists- it’s near impossible with the huge crowds and walk between the two biggest stages. If you plan on going, we would recommend looking at the festival schedule and deciding who you most want to see and staking out your spot for the day- or pony up and pay for the VIP experience which includes many perks. As soon as you would get up and try to go see another act, the crowd would fill in your spot. It’s just the nature of the game. But if you’re a fan of the beach, good weather, and good music, you would be crazy not to attend this amazing festival.
On the last night, they announced that Blake Shelton would be one of the two headliners in 2016.
More information on the festival including information for next year can be found here.
