Dance, Dance, Dance

At This Week's Vinyl Music Festival

“I wish we had more opportunities to dance like that,” was the re-sounding comment around town after last month’s DIscoBall. I heard one person after another comment about the lack of dance opportunities in Sarasota. Well, put on your dancing shoes because this is the weekend to dance, dance, dance! In its second year, the Vinyl Music Festival is sure to bring a dancing, music-filled weekend like no other to Sarasota. Another plus is that many of the venues will be smoke-free. This electronic music festival, named after the vinyl that started the electronic revolution, will bring some of the country’s highest ranked DJs to Sarasota. There will be music spinning around the city at various venues throughout the weekend. Whatever your music taste, you’re likely to find a venue featuring it. The electronic music spans the range of Top 40, dance, progressive, techno, indie electro, funky, house, tribal, hip hop, Latin, high energy dance, rock, reggae, trance and the list goes on. When making your choice for where to go this weekend, check out www.vinylfestival.com to choose the locales offering your favorite music as well as the DJs you want to make sure and see.

The highlights of the festival will no doubt be the major events at some unlikely venues each night. GWIZ plays host to Friday night’s main event and the Municipal Auditorium hosts Saturday’s event – each of which will host headlining DJs like Paul Mendez, Drager and Scooter and Lavelle amongst other local and national talent. The sound system is going to be unbelievable at these two events. Yahama, which provides the sound for big-name performances internationally, is providing the sound with $40,000 worth of equipment. And I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of having the event at GWIZ.

In addition to attracting top DJs from throughout the state, DJs are coming to Sarasota from big cities like San Diego, Cape Town, South Africa, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Atlanta. The venues include Horse Feathers, Evie’s Downtown, Ceviche, Ivory, Libby’s, Pacific Rim, and the Art Center. With pre-parties and post-parties throughout the weekend, on Friday from 3-7pm, there will be dancing in the streets in the Rosemary District with rotating DJs.

Word of the Vinyl Festival has traveled since last year’s festival, garnering attention from across the map. Not only does this festival bring a music and dance-filled weekend to those of us who love to dance, but it brings an opportunity to boost our local economy. In their never-ending efforts to promote our community, It’s no surprise that Rich Swier and Matt Orr’s names are attached to the festival as co-founders. Whether you love to dance or just love to listen to good music, this weekend is the time to indulge your passion. When else will you have this kind of opportunity in Sarasota? The answer is surely going to be “not until next year’s Vinyl Festival.” So you better take advantage of the next four days (July 15-July18) and put on your dancing shoes!

For tickets, visit www.vinylfestival.com.

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