Rock group Bush is seen in a 2002 file photo. The group reunited in June after 8 years apart, and will perform only its second live gig since reuniting as one of the headline acts for DeLuna Fest, the two-day Pensacola Beach music festival set for Oct. 15 and 16. / GoPensacola.com file
GO
WHAT: DeLuna Fest.
WHEN: Oct. 15 and 16.
WHERE: Casino Beach on Pensacola Beach.
TICKETS: Early bird weekend passes: $55 at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St., or The Bridge Bar & Sunset Lounge, 33 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze; $60 online at www.delunafest.com. Beginning Aug. 1, or when all early bird passes are sold out, advanced weekend passes will be available for $80. When daily schedules are announced, the weekend pass price will increase to $90. VIP weekend packages start at $275.
DETAILS: 266-7947, or visit www.delunafest.com.
Who's playing?
Stone Temple Pilots
Bush
311
Daughtry
Dierks Bentley
30 Seconds to Mars
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
The Bravery
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Better Than Ezra
Cowboy Mouth
The Submarines
Rebelution
Blackberry Smoke
Neon Trees
Matt Kennon
Benjy Davis Project
Pico vs. Island Trees
Paper Tongues
The Gills
More
DeLuna Fest organizers have been teasing some big additions to the bill for their two-day music festival, set for Oct. 15 and 16 on Pensacola Beach.
Today, they're delivering, as they announce the final round of national acts appearing on the festival bill, including two major headline acts:
• Bush: A dominant force on the post-grunge alternative rock scene of the '90s and early '00s, Bush split up in 2002 after a string of hits that includes "Everything Zen," "Glycerine," "Machinehead" and "The Chemicals Between Us." The band announced its reunion on June 21, and DeLuna Fest will mark only the second live performance since the band reunited.
• Daughtry: A household name after placing fourth during season 5 of "American Idol," Chris Daughtry's eponymous band has become one of the biggest rock acts in the world. Hits such as "It's Not Over," "Home" and "No Surprise" have found major success. DeLuna Fest will mark the band's second appearance in Pensacola in just less than a year, following a headlining appearance at the Pensacola Civic Center in December 2009.
Also added to the bill today were psychedelic-influenced alt-rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, married indie-pop duo The Submarines and hip-hop-flavored rock band Paper Tongues.
Laura LeNoir of Gulf Breeze was thrilled when she heard about the additions to the line-up.
"Oh my god, this show is going to be amazing," LeNoir said. "It keeps getting better with every announcement."
LeNoir counted herself as a fan of Bush, Daughtry and Paper Tongues, and "really, all of them."
"I haven't purchased my tickets yet, but we're definitely going," LeNoir said. "I'm super-excited. I'm glad they're coming here and doing this type of festival. It's definitely going to be a good time."
LeNoir — and anyone else who hasn't purchased tickets yet — may want to act quickly.
Nick Bodkins with DeLuna Fest organizers Five Flags Tourism Group said ticket sales for the festival have far exceeded expectations.
While at Weekender's Wednesday afternoon deadline, discounted early-bird tickets were still available, Bodkins doubted that would be the case for long.
"We believe that even this far out, people are very excited about it," Bodkins said. "The early bird tickets may be gone by the time people read this."
Bodkins was excited to be making the final lineup announcement for the festival. In total, DeLuna Fest has announced a 21-band, two-day bill, including previously announced big names such as Stone Temple Pilots, 311, Dierks Bentley, 30 Seconds to Mars and Michael Franti and Spearhead. The two days feature an eclectic mix of alt-rock, hard rock, country, funk, Southern rock, jam bands and more.
"We worked really hard to put together a lineup that we feel is representative of a lot of this community," Bodkins said. "If you're going with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you have different tastes in music, there's still something for both of you. Adding Bush and Daughtry just enhances that."
Scott Wheatley, president of Five Flags Tourism Group, said that choosing the lineup has been difficult work, but it also has been a lot of fun.
"Our investors like to say that it's like having two kids in a candy store," Wheatley said. "To be able to go through this list of people that were my heroes, and they're coming back together. To be able to get Stone Temple Pilots and Bush as they are coming back on the scene and bring them to Pensacola Beach, I'm going to enjoy it and I hope the community enjoys it as much as I will."
Carter Lewis, who works as a club DJ in Pensacola, is impressed with the new additions to the lineup.
"They're both good adds for the rock side — Daughtry with the WABB/pop crowd and Bush more in line with the other alternative/TK101 crowd," Lewis said.
Lewis said the alt-rock bands on the DeLuna Fest bill have the most appeal for him.
"I love Stone Temple Pilots and would like to see them," he said. "I'd also like to see Bush. Those would probably be the big two for me. For a first year I think they covered the bases pretty well for getting things off the ground and running."
While all of the national acts appearing at DeLuna Fest have now been announced, there is still more music to come. Festival organizers also plan a stage for local acts.
"We're getting literally hundreds of applications," Bodkins said. "We will be rolling out a local band competition soon on our website to select bands to perform at the festival."
Wheatley said that today's announcement marks another major hurdle cleared in developing the festival, something he called "a long string of miracles and impossible tasks that everybody said couldn't be done."
"The first hurdle was convincing the Santa Rosa Island Authority that we could do this and keep it friendly, fun, safe and family friendly," Wheatley said. "The second thing was, when you're throwing a concert on a nationally protected seashore, the work that has to go into getting permitted, that's never been done before in the state of Florida."
And Wheatley praised their investors as being key.
"The hardest part is getting great financial partners on board, someone that believes in the project and is willing to take a giant leap of faith," Wheatley said. "It's an incredibly expensive venture. I'm glad they had the foresight. They've been behind us every step of the way, making it much easier to move forward."
