Gasparilla Music Festival

Festival · Cultural Arts District

Gasparilla Music Festival

Festival · Cultural Arts District

Julian B Lane Waterfront Park, 1001 N Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607

Highlights

Tampa’s Gasparilla Music Festival is a lively 3-day downtown bash with diverse tunes, great food, and a festive pirate vibe.

Julian B Lane Waterfront Park, 1001 N Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607 Get directions

gasparillamusic.com

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Every winter, Tampa transforms during Gasparilla season, a series of pirate-themed parades and community festivals deeply entwined with local identity. The legendary Gasparilla Pirate Fest, highlighted by the epic invasion parade along Bayshore Boulevard, draws locals and visitors alike for its spectacle, music, and elaborate floats. Complementing the main parade are offshoots like the Gasparilla Music Festival and Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, which spotlight regional talent across genres and mediums. This multifaceted celebration has earned praise from sources like Condé Nast Traveler for its uniquely Tampa flair and its power to unite the city in joyous revelry.

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View Postcard for Gasparilla Music Festival

Samantha Wyatt

Google

GMF is hands down one of my favorite events in Tampa. I love attending the event and participating as a volunteer. 2024 was epic - I had an absolute blast singing and dancing in the rain with Young the Giant. I would give anything to experience that concert again for the first time. GMF did a stellar job finding a last minute replacement for Lake Street Dive. The entire event is so well organized, and the fact that it benefits kids to allow them to have instruments and be musicians is what makes it so special and worthwhile. Also the bike valet is always appreciated.

Heather Quintana

Google

Wow is all I have to say! The whole experience is amazing. All the people dressed up too make it really feel like the pirates have taken over!

Rachid Rachid

Google

As a lover of live music, this is a great event to enjoy and take in the scene, good vibes and good tunes with a bunch of cool people!

Tom Goodman

Google

Good music. Lots of vendors. Well worth the trouble finding a good parking spot.

Josh Bullis

Google

I have yet to see a lineup for this festival that even comes close to what they charge for tickets. There are more student orchestras and choirs than the amount of quality bands in each year's lineup.

Paul Crawford

Google

Great music festival at an unbelievable price. They had lineups that did not initially make you want to buy tickets. Lately, they have really stepped up their game with the headliners. Good mix of local and unknown bands and reasonably priced beers.

Nathan Patria

Google

Disclaimer: my roommate won free 1 day VIP tickets from a sponsor, so that certainly affects my experience. The event takes place at Curtis Hixon. Our tickets included free food, drinks (alcoholic, sodas, water, juices, energy drinks), access to bathrooms in trailers with running water and air conditioning along with private covered areas for viewing the concerts and sitting. If I go again next year, I'm planning on buying vip tickets because it is worth the money. Even without those perks, the festival would have been very enjoyable. Parking was easy (10 bucks at a parking garage next door) and exciting at the end of the night only took 20 minutes. With 4 stages going, there was always a great variety of music to be had. Vendors were plentiful and reasonably priced for an event like this. Slightly long lines for some of the vendors, but it wasn't like a thirty minute wait or anything.

David Williams

Google

Gasparilla Music Festival is one of the best music festivals in the country. The food, music and location make for one of the best weekends of the year. My family looks forward to it each year. If you've never been, buy your tickets and get ready for a great time!