Da Big Kahuna is hosting yet another music fest chock full of local musicians, artists, food, and drinks called Citrus. Cofounder Colby W. Taylor of Soul Chasers Media Madness & Riot Pulse Music shared the creation tale of this new beachfront festival. "We played a show in New York where bottled water was more expensive than screwdrivers, so that's all we drank," Taylor relayed. "When asked how we held our liquor, we told the supporting bands that's all we drink in Florida, even for breakfast, and even have a festival that's all about screwdrivers. Out of that joke came the Citrus Festival."
See also: Fort Lauderdale Beach Summer Music Festival: Bikini Contest and 28 Bands
But before you assume Citrus is just another Fort Lauderdale Beach Summer Music Festival, there are definitely some significant differences. For starters, while the Fort Lauderdale Beach Summer Music Festival made its debut last month, this is the second Citrus to occur. Taylor notes: "The first year was a huge success, so we brought it back.". Another distinction is the transformation of music from night to day. During the afternoon, you'll hear rock and reggae, but as soon as the sun goes down, EDM DJs emerge along with the first AXIS after party at 9 p.m. But it's the final and most important difference that we're sure you'll want to keep abreast of: There is a wet T-shirt contest in place of a bikini contest. And yes, that pun was most definitely intended.
But Citrus is really about the music. It strongly emphasizes "Florida grown" and local, hence the orange themed design on the flyer. To see what live music in Florida really means to these musicians, we chatted with SFM Acrosssounds, a house/hip-hop artist, to see what he thought. "To me, live music alone means something greater than our normal day lives. Music stirs the soul and forces us to live in the moment, and when you add Florida to that equation, it can only get better. Like a freshly squeezed ice cold orange juice on a hot day. They both complement each other greatly, enough to leave everyone knowing that Florida-grown live music is best to harvest all year round." Very profound. On the other hand, John Fox, lead singer of Marcella Rose whose music sounds like "Muse had musical sex with Yellowcard," had a more straightforward answer: "Live music in Florida means originality and 'shredding the gnar,' a.k.a. total awesomeness."
A few other confirmed musicians include Wyld Fly, Moxie, Empty Me, and, featured previously in New Times, Fireside Prophets and Kingdoms & Crowns. As if that wasn't enough, visual artist Ivan Roque will be present again to offer visual stimulation. Did we mention that tickets are only 3 bucks? That's enough to make us support local music any day, especially when it allows us to spend more on booze. Hell, that's what South Florida party-time is really about anyway, right?
Citrus, noon, Sunday September 22, at Da Big Kahuna in Beach Place, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., #308, Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $3 and can be bought by contacting the musicians. Call 954-530-4867, or visit Facebook for the complete lineup of bands.
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