Sunfest 2008: Drinkin' in the Sun

Sunfest 2008, produced by concert magnate Live Nation, was equal parts music festival, community gathering, and county fair.

The event, which ran from Wednesday to Sunday night, brought in an eclectic blend of musicians, the majority of headliners being top 40 or ex-top 40 names like Fergie, Good Charlotte, The Black Crowes, and John Legend.

Those huge acts often charge well over the $29 single-day pass at Sun Fest, making it a bargain for single-minded attendees.

The West Palm Beach waterfront area is a reasonable, if not pretty place for an outdoor festival: there's enough parking (albeit expensive $10-20 lot spots) and there are enough surrounding restaurants and bars to allow people to enjoy Sun Fest without paying for admission to the grounds.

The weather, at least on Saturday, amply provided the requisite sun, which always goes well with drinking. The grounds are about a five-seven block strip down by the water, with three pier-like floating bars sponsored by Captain Morgan.

Speaking of sponsorship, Sun Fest is inundated with corporate tie-ins, from the main sponsor, WaMu, to samples of VitaminEnergy (from the makers of VitaminWater). Such is life in Capitalist society.

There were plenty of art vendors (anyone looking for wooden signs that read "Time Flies when you're having Rum" were in luck) and all the obligatory festival foods (roasted corn, kebobs, fried seafood, smoothies, "ethnic" foods), so you could eat, drink booze, and let your kids off their leash as there were plenty of free-range small people scurrying about during the day.

The scene was bustling and everyone seemed to be enjoying a leisurely, carefree afternoon.

Saturday's music lineup included simplistic, middle-school targeted music (Likely Story, The Academy Is...), some Rev. Horton Heat copy-cat swing band (The Dead Valentines), a bizarre, off-kilter alternative pop band (The Guns), The venerable Little River Band-who probably know a thing or two about playing festivals and fairs-and the main attractions: fledgling R&B/pop star Natasha Bedingfield (the Miami Herald ran an article on her in the Weekend section instead of a feature on Sun Fest); The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (whose expiration date of relevance passed a few years ago), and The Black Crowes.

The Crowes, considered by many Southern-rock aficionados to be the end all be all of the genre, came out and simply did their thing. Anyone who's seen a Crowes show knows to expect a long of loud guitar and Chris Robinson screeching and prancing around the stage like a drunken, good-ole-boy version of Mick Jagger.

Their set, which ran the gamut of the Crowes' range (blues, soul, rock, and gospel) brought in their own crowd, which mixed just fine with the locals rambunctious behavior and everyone left happy (and drunk).

The only knock on Sunfest was the music scheduling. Most of the daytime acts were adequate, but not really any big draws.

All the big acts played at night, often competing against each other (i.e. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at 9p.m. and The Black Crowes at 9:30p.m. on Saturday) instead of coursing out acts during the entire day, which would have increased the daytime attendance and concession sales.

As it was, the festival had two modes: daytime fair and nighttime concert. Not that there was anything wrong with that.