Mark the date of Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 on your calendar and plan to enjoy the inaugural BayCrest Music & Food Fest, an extraordinary day of great music, delicious food and family fun at Palmetto Bay Park, 17535 SW 95 Ave. (just east of US1).
The inaugural BayCrest Music & Food Fest will feature a large musical stage, plenty of seating and room for blankets and folding chairs, merchandise vendors, food booths and trucks as well as a children’s activity area.
The event is being organized by longtime Palmetto Bay residents Wayne and Colette Powell. Wayne is perfectly suited as the planner, having spent his entire career putting on special events in the past such as the Miami Yacht Show, Fort Lauderdale International Boat show and the KISS FM Chili Cook-Off in Pembroke Pines.
The BayCrest Music & Food Fest will benefit The Brothers Project, a charity founded by Wayne and Colette after the tragic loss of their three sons in traffic accidents. The Brothers Project raises money for charities focused on conservation and sustainability, as well as the Andrew Parker Memorial Scholarship Endowment, which provides monetary awards to Palmetto Senior High School seniors planning to attend the University of Florida.
“We started this charity to raise money for organizations that reflect what our kids were about,” Wayne said. “The money really makes a difference in the lives of local students planning to attend the University of Florida, as Andrew was planning to do.”
Come hungry, for there will be a variety of food and beverage vendors offering everything from barbecue and burgers to Greek and Chinese food. The Islamorada Beer Company, Bud Light, Stella Artois and the YMCA are among the event’s sponsors. Guy Harvey will have a large merchandise tent, along with Nature Craft Jewelry, Olukai Footwear, Maui Jim Sunglasses and many more vendors.
Musically, BayCrest will offer something for everyone, including Country, Rock, Pop and Blues performed by well-known and up-and-coming musicians from around the country.
“There will be a whole day of music with a local flavor, country music, Jimmy Buffett-style music, you name it,” Wayne explained.
The show headliner is award-winning Nashville singer-songwriter Jerrod Niemann, a major-label hitmaker whose patriotic ballad Old Glory, classy romantic God Made a Woman and critically acclaimed 2017 album This Ride have made him one of America’s most popular Country artists. Additional musicians performing at BayCrest will include:
Cutler Stew — South Dade’s favorite hometown band, which plays music from all genres including Rock, Country, Pop, Reggae and Blues.
Elvie Shane — Kentucky-born former American Idol contestant and rising Country star who just signed a record deal in Nashville. Shane offers rootsy grooves, heavy guitar licks and gospel-ready vocals drawn from influences that include Steve Earle, John Fogerty and Roger Miller.
Bill Wharton — known as the “Sauce Boss,” a slide guitarist and singer known for his gastronomic boogie-woogie and his Liquid Summer Hot Sauce. He cooks up a pot of gumbo at his concerts and serves it free to his audience. Jimmy Buffett sings about the Sauce Boss in his tune I Will Play for Gumbo.
John Frinzi — a gifted singer and songwriter whose skill on both guitar and piano has built an audience through craft and originality. Playing with Frinzi are Doyle Grisham, current steel guitarist for Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band (you can hear him on Buffett’s Beach House on The Moon) and Roger Bartlett, known to many as the original guitarist in Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. In the early days it was Jimmy and Roger; two acoustic guitars and vocals.
Renowned artist Rey Jaffet will be a special guest at the event. Born and raised in Miami, Rey works with oils, acrylics, spray paint and other mixed media in a dynamic visual approach that encompasses elements of modern realism, contemporary, pop and street-art fused with urban influences.
A talented muralist, Rey completed the tallest mural in Miami with Miami Jewish Health Systems, and again in 2018 with a 14-story Miami mural titled Declaration of Hope. The late Jonathan Parker is the centerpiece in the mural, along with the powerful message “We Are One.”
In 2012, at the age of 17, Rey won the prestigious National Scholastic American Visions Drawing Award, which honors the most outstanding artwork in the nation and was put on display in Carnegie Hall.
“The Parker and Powell brothers were my greatest friends, and their family is my family. It is truly a privilege to live on in their memory, incorporating them into my art, and highlighting the joy they brought into the lives of others,” Rey said.
BayCrest Music & Food Fest gates will open at 9 a.m. and the event will end at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets purchased in advance online at www.thebrothersproject.org for $19 include festival admission and free onsite parking while spaces are available. Day of show tickets are $25 and parking is $5.
VIP tickets can be purchased for $125 and include VIP parking, free food and beverages (including beer) and a private seating area to view the stage. Within the VIP section, tables for four are offered for $400 and include two free parking passes.
Children aged 5 and under are admitted free.
Blankets and folding chairs are welcome; coolers are not permitted. Keys-based radio stations Thunder Country and Sun 103 FM will broadcast live during the event.
Some vendor opportunities are still available. For more information and tickets, or to inquire about volunteering, visit www.thebrothersproject.org or email ewp@thebrothersproject.org.
