FMF ‘08 Review

This weekend, May 15-17th was the seventh annual Florida Music Festival in Downtown Orlando. Hosted and created by Axis Magazine founders, Sean Perry and Rick Wheeler, the annual event promotes the local arts through music, film, and art.

Just when I thought that Florida Music Festival was about to reach its pinnacle, the seventh annual event completely failed to deliver on all of its participating facets. They may have pulled an act like Blue Man Group to headline Thursday night, but aside from that (which didn’t even live up to the hype), there were too many factors that made this year’s event inferior to each of its predecessors.

Not only was the national, regional, and local talent lacking, but there wasn’t one “it” showcase or highly anticipated performance from an up and coming act. Two years ago, there was Big 10-4’s sellout showcase at BackBooth (which ultimately led to their 15 minute record deal with Universal) and last year was all about Between the Trees. This year, I couldn’t tell you who the “it” band was. If I had to choose, I would have to vote for The Schmeltz. Once you look them up and listen to their music, I hope you won’t just laugh at their comedic music, but what this means for the festival as well.

So, what happened to the Orlando scene? I understand that a lot of the respectable bands have realized that FMF isn’t the best event for bands to play every year, but come on. I can honestly say that I only witnessed two undiscovered acts that are even worth talking about. Those acts are Ladyfish and Peter Baldwin. Outside of them, I was bored with a lot of performances and utterly concerned at the level of effort and promotion by all of the bands.

Along with the showcases, the panels were lacking as well. In the past, the festival featured multiple days of industry networking opportunities and conversations on interesting topics of the music industry. This year, however, only one day sufficed and it failed to deliver anything noteworthy or important.

Despite all of the problems with the event, FMF is still a great weekend for Orlando. The idea may not be executed as well as it could be, but the fact that a small scene of culture, art, music, and film seeps through the “boy band” and “Disney” labels defacing Orlando today, still is reason enough to celebrate.