HERE COMES THE SUNSHINE

isabelkraby
Feb 25
3 min read

The second-annual Sunshine Music & Arts Festival is right around the corner, this year with bigger headliners, almost double the vendors and an even louder celebration of art, music and community

By: Isabel Kraby

With six performers, nearly 40 vendors, games, food and more, the Sunshine Music & Arts Festival is approaching fast and hits the Heartwood Soundstage on Feb. 27.

Bella Duncan, frontwoman of PRIZILLA, the vibrant pop-soul group that curated the festival, said it’s not to be mistaken for just another indie fest.

The festival’s diverse lineup spans genres from electronic pop to folk punk and features musicians and other creators not only from Gainesville, but from around Florida and the United States.

“It has been a good excuse for the last two years to help showcase all of the awesome artists and vendors,” Duncan said, “for as cheap as I could possibly get it to be.”

While the festival was free last year, this year’s event has brought in bigger headliners and a better venue, forcing the festival to charge for tickets, Duncan shared.

Alongside PRIZILLA, the festival will be headlined by electronic pop artist Jacob Sigman.

Having opened for musicians from Vulfpeck to Cory Wong to Couch, Sigman, a Detroit native, has been touring the U.S. since 2019. You may also know him from Jimmy Fallon’s “Battle of the Instant Songwriters” bit — Fun fact: he’s actually been a songwriter since he was little.

Sunshine will mark Sigman’s first trip to Gainesville, where he’s sure to be performing his newest single “Steal My Light” and music from his latest album “Topanga.” The album is the collective work of his and 15 other artists from around the country and “rooted down and highlighted the community aspect of music,” Sigman said.

Lucky for our new Fallon-famous friend, community is what Sunshine is all about.

Another out-of-state artist making the trek to this year’s festival is Five Door Sedan, a progressive indie band from Charleston, South Carolina.

This year’s Sunshine festival marks the group’s fourth trip to Gainesville, but according to lead vocalist and guitarist Dacota Muckey, it’s bound to be their best Gainesville show yet.

“It’s such an awesome young community of tight knit artists. And it seems like there's a blossoming scene there.”

Five Door Sedan has been touring their debut album “Detour," and when it comes to playing live, the band likes to change things up, which is the whole premise of the record after all.

“We change the key to the song,” Muckey said. “We add sections to them that aren't on the record. [We] try to just give people a whole other thing.”

PRIZILLA and MADWOMAN are two beloved female-fronted groups at Sunshine and have been apart of the Gainesville music scene for years.

Duncan was inspired to start PRIZILLA in the summer of 2022 after being introduced to MADWOMAN, a-six piece in a “new era of Radiohead-Tame Impala” type music, Duncan described. She currently works for them as part of Swamp Records, one of several Gainesville music agencies dedicated to uplifting the local music scene.

The final two musicians in the lineup are Thomas Allain and Quil Darling, two Gainesville artists just starting to get their feet off the ground.

Allain, currently working on his debut album, and Darling, having just released their first single, will be able to perform their new music for the very first time at Sunshine.

When Sunshine was first put on last year at First Magnitude Brewing Company, it was just an excuse for Duncan to host an art walk. Now, it’ll bring in talent from around the nation and give local artists their first taste of the spotlight.

To purchase tickets, check out the festival’s website.

Isabel Kraby is a first-year transfer student from Ormond Beach and is studying journalism. She loves going to rock concerts, crocheting and picking up her guitar every once in a while. Right now, she’s probably watching “Lost” or scrolling through Pinterest.