{"id":1992288,"date":"2025-09-02T06:20:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T06:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1992288"},"modified":"2025-09-02T06:20:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T06:20:53","slug":"561-music-festival-to-fill-void-left-by-sunfest-in-west-palm-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/561-music-festival-to-fill-void-left-by-sunfest-in-west-palm-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"561 Music Festival to fill void left by SunFest in West Palm Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p><story-emphasis util-module-path=\"elements\/story\" section=\"entertainment\" link=\"\/entertainment\"\/><\/p>\n<hr class=\"colorbar\" style=\"background:#009bff\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"display-5 subhead spacer-small\">SunFest is gone, but a new downtown event called the 561 Music Festival wants to ensure lovers of live music have something to look forward to at the West Palm waterfront this weekend.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"videoWrap\" class=\"spacer-large videoWrap\" style=\"position:relative\"><media-video video-id=\"72405539007\" title=\"SunFest 2024 lineup for West Palm Beach's largest music festival\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2020\/08\/17\/PalmBeachPost\/ghows-LK-200318742-9cc079df.jpg?crop=750,422,x0,y0\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\" placement=\"snow-video-story-priority\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"uwVideoPlaceholder\" slot=\"placeholder\" style=\"z-index:19;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%;position:relative\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"vidplaybtn\" style=\"display:-moz-box;display:-ms-flexbox;display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.4);border:2px solid #fff;border-radius:80px;cursor:pointer;height:80px;width:80px;position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);z-index:10\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div slot=\"videoDetails\" id=\"videoDetails\" class=\"videoDetails\" style=\"padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:8px\">\n<div id=\"videoDetailsContainer\" class=\"videoDetailsContainer\" hidden=\"\">\n<p>SunFest 2024 lineup for West Palm Beach&#8217;s largest music festival<\/p>\n<p>At this year&#8217;s biggest music festival in Palm Beach County, artists performing at SunFest are being grouped by day and stage to attract fans of individual genres.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/media-video><\/div>\n<p><story-highlights class=\"spacer-small column ten-column no-gutter\" util-module-path=\"elements\/story\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 561 Music Festival will take place at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach on May 3rd, filling the void left by SunFest&#8217;s cancellation.<\/li>\n<li>The free festival will feature 20 local bands, art vendors, and food trucks, harkening back to SunFest&#8217;s community-focused origins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/story-highlights><partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>Like thousands of Palm Beach County residents, local musician Hector Diaz was sad to learn SunFest <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/story\/news\/local\/westpb\/2025\/04\/24\/why-did-west-palm-beachs-music-festival-sunfest-get-canceled\/82323789007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">would not hold<\/a> its annual music festival this year on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/neighborhoods\/west-palm-beach\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/neighborhoods\/west-palm-beach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">West Palm Beach\u2019s<\/a> downtown waterfront.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"\/>\n<p>But when the beloved 42-year event went dark, Diaz also saw an opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>For three years he and his bandmates had organized a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/561musicfestival.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">small festival<\/a> at a Lake Worth Beach brewery to promote local musical acts. Maybe, now, there was a chance to grow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not SunFest,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not anywhere near the size and we\u2019re not trying to replace SunFest. But we\u2019re trying to fill that void.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Almost on a lark, Diaz called West Palm Beach\u2019s city government to see if the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/downtownwpb.com\/venue\/meyer-amphitheatre\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meyer Amphitheatre<\/a> along Flagler Avenue downtown would be available the first Saturday in May, on the weekend when SunFest used to take place.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>The answer, it turned out, was yes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">SUNFEST&#8217;S DOWNFALL: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/story\/news\/local\/westpb\/2025\/04\/24\/why-did-west-palm-beachs-music-festival-sunfest-get-canceled\/82323789007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The festival&#8217;s big music bet thrilled millions, then drove it out of business<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><media-gallery-promo asset-id=\"73588115007\" class=\"column ten-column no-gutter spacer-large\"\/><\/p>\n<p>There was a 26-page permit application, a fee and a whole lot of logistical issues. But in the end Diaz found that he, his bandmates and a host of friends and volunteers were putting on the festival in a new, bigger locale.<\/p>\n<p><cta-atoms-container-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/cta\" class=\"spacer-large\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to their efforts, lovers of live music will have something to look forward to downtown on Saturday, May 3 \u2013 even with SunFest gone.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 exclude-from-newsgate wp-block-heading\">561 Music Festival: Twenty bands will play on two stages<\/h2>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265456007-561-logo.png bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265456007-561-logo.png?crop=483,364,x0,y30 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265456007-561-logo.png?crop=319,424,x82,y0 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265456007-561-logo.png?crop=483,272,x0,y76 16:9\" image-alt=\"\" credit=\"Courtesy of the 561 Music Festival\" caption=\"A logo for the 561 Music Festival, which will take place this year in downtown West Palm Beach.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/561musicfestival.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">561 Music Festival<\/a> will feature 20 bands on two stages in the Meyer Amphitheatre and will be free to attend.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"\/><partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>Obviously, it will be a far smaller event that SunFest, which paid top dollar for A-list musicians and occupied a much larger footprint along the downtown waterfront.<\/p>\n<p>But Diaz and bandmate Ben Childs said that their event harkens back to SunFest\u2019s historic roots as a community-centered event. The entire lineup will be bands from South Florida and the Treasure Coast. Like earlier iterations of SunFest, it will feature art vendors, too.<\/p>\n<partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u201cThat was absolutely by design,\u201d said Diaz, who was born and raised in West Palm Beach and attended SunFest for decades. \u201cWhen SunFest used to be a very local event for the locals, that\u2019s kind of our grassroots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">WILL SUNFEST RETURN? <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/story\/news\/local\/westpb\/2025\/05\/01\/will-sunfest-return-to-west-palm-or-will-other-events-replace-it\/82325542007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">First, \u2018something\u2019s got to change,\u2019 director says<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The 561 Music Festival grew out of Diaz\u2019s efforts to promote the local music scene.<\/p>\n<p>He is one part of a trio known as the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/killbillies.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Killbillies<\/a>, a folk-roots band that has been performing since 2010. He and his bandmates also produce a weekly podcast called the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.561music.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">561 Music Podcast<\/a>, which features interviews with local musicians and venue owners.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>Last year\u2019s festival was a ticketed event held at Mathews Brewing Company in Lake Worth Beach, where it attracted around 800 people.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s event entails an entirely different level of complexity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">SunFest year-by-year: A memory lane trip of all the West Palm waterfront festival&#8217;s 40 years<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of a sudden, now we have to have off-duty police presence, we have to have the fire department, we have to have permits, we have to have a licensed-and-bonded janitor company,\u201d he said. \u201cOur costs jumped exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But expanding the event also drew a new level of support. The group drew financial backing from the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County and from The Palm Beaches, the county government\u2019s tourism marketing arm.<\/p>\n<p>It also won a major sponsorship from local law firm Steinger, Greene &amp; Feiner. All the financial support is allowing the festival to operate without charging for entry. As a free event in a larger, more high-profile venue, the organizers are expecting a larger turnout. But they\u2019re not sure just how large.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265310007-killbillies.jpg bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265310007-killbillies.jpg?crop=1137,852,x64,y0 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265310007-killbillies.jpg?crop=639,852,x320,y0 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/04\/25\/NPPP\/83265310007-killbillies.jpg?crop=1279,720,x0,y0 16:9\" image-alt=\"\" credit=\"Alchemical Photo\" caption=\"The Killbillies are a Palm Beach County-based folk-roots band. Members Hector Diaz (left) and Ben Childs (right), seen with fellow bandmate James Galiano, are organizing the 561 Music Festival in downtown West Palm Beach on May 3.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople have been talking about thousands of people, so we\u2019re just going to have to see,\u201d Childs said.<\/p>\n<partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>Both Childs and Diaz called the planning nerve-wracking. But they said the possibility of expanding their event to meet a newfound community need was a special sensation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole different animal. We\u2019re definitely at a different level. Anxiety aside, it\u2019s overwhelming, exciting. We\u2019re thrilled to be doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">561 Music Festival: If you go<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Where: <\/strong>Meyer Amphitheatre, 104 Datura St., West Palm Beach\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>When:<\/strong> 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, May 3<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost: <\/strong>Free<\/li>\n<li><strong>Children:<\/strong> Allowed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pets: <\/strong>Allowed but must remain leashed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Entertainment: <\/strong>20 local bands, art vendors and food trucks<\/li>\n<li><strong>Access: <\/strong>Parking available in the city\u2019s downtown parking garages nearby.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Information: <\/strong>Visit <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/561musicfestival.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">561musicfestival.com<\/a> for more details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">The 20 bands scheduled to perform<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mason Pace<\/li>\n<li>Stryder<\/li>\n<li>Tiger Sunset<\/li>\n<li>Beeline<\/li>\n<li>Jutt Huffman Band<\/li>\n<li>Stony Fools<\/li>\n<li>Closer To The Ocean<\/li>\n<li>Slo Funk Pump<\/li>\n<li>Blabscam!<\/li>\n<li>Jakob Takos &amp; The Connection<\/li>\n<li>Medicine Room<\/li>\n<li>Shakers<\/li>\n<li>\u00a1FU\u00c1KATA!<\/li>\n<li>Billy Doom Is Dead<\/li>\n<li>Ryan Hopkins Band<\/li>\n<li>Wrasse<\/li>\n<li>Off Orbit<\/li>\n<li>Modern Odyssey<\/li>\n<li>The Little Things<\/li>\n<li>Reverse Oreo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">Do you have a fond memory of SunFest? We want to hear from you!<\/h2>\n<p>We would love to hear about your favorite SunFest memory. Please fill out our poll below. Your submission may be used in a future story on West Palm Beach&#8217;s favorite festival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><em>Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"mailto:amarra@pbpost.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amarra@pbpost.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<lit-timestamp class=\"column ten-column no-gutter spacer-small\" slot=\"timestamp\" publishdate=\"2025-04-29 14:47:50 +0000 UTC\" updatedate=\"2025-04-30 13:59:57 +0000 UTC\"\/><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.palmbeachpost.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SunFest is gone, but a new downtown event called the 561 Music Festival wants to ensure lovers of live music have something to look forward to at the West Palm waterfront this weekend. SunFest 2024 lineup for West Palm Beach&#8217;s largest music festival At this year&#8217;s biggest music festival in Palm Beach County, artists performing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1992289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[39915,30218,22220,305963,22005,239661,28546,6297,284334,21741,22783,116640,51971,21739,298114,22764,239456,239462,21800,22782,21738,305412,239343,239347,73685,329925,358413,358420,23759,23152,284335,360236,239344,25958,350233],"class_list":["post-1992288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-affiliate","tag-ai","tag-arts","tag-beach","tag-concerts","tag-concerts-u0026-music-festivals","tag-county","tag-eamotion","tag-enabled","tag-entertainment","tag-festivals","tag-fl","tag-highlights","tag-local","tag-local-affiliate-arts-u0026-entertainment","tag-local-news","tag-modular","tag-modular-story","tag-music","tag-music-festivals","tag-news","tag-optimized","tag-overall","tag-overall-positive","tag-palm","tag-palm-beach-county","tag-pbpost","tag-pbpost-optimized","tag-positive","tag-story","tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-sunfest","tag-u0026","tag-west","tag-west-palm-beach"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/561-Music-Festival-to-fill-void-left-by-SunFest-in.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1992288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1992289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1992288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1992288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1992288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}