Friday Gator Stage Performers
5 pm The Buzz Band
The Buzz! band: Gary”Chico” Renales (Nashville), Bryant “Bman” Meltzer (Nashville, Hollywood Fl,) and Bruce Fagan (Nashville) have been playing and writing acoustic Folk/Rock music together for 14 years.They have performed in most of the songwriter/listening venues in Nashville and many of the local music festivals – they won the Nashville Original Music Battle of the Bands. Other notable featured gigs: CMA Fest, Frank Brown International Songwriters Fest, The Outlaw Fest, and many local radio station festivals. They enjoyed 2 top 40 songs on local Nashville radio: “She Never Made Me Cry” at #26 and “Good Lord Willing” at #6. They now produce an original music television show “The Chico and Bman Show” which airs on public access tv across the USA
5:30 pm Flint Blade
Flint Blade is best known for creating live, uplifting soundscapes of voice, beatbox and the Chapman Stick, a unique guitar/bass tapping instrument. Drawing influence from dub reggae, jazz and world music, Flint crafts his own unique “Jambient” style of music with recent performances incorporating steelpan, electronic production and hoop dance on stage. Based in southern Florida, Flint tours nationally and has produced, recorded and published his own albums since 2005, establishing his own label “In Love Records” in 2014.
6 pm Juna N Joey
Juna N Joey are a singer/songwriter, brother/sister, Country Duo (think Lady A harmonies). The duo’s popularity exploded organically by posting covers on YouTube with almost 8.5 million collective views and a viral Tik Tok of 10 million views. In 2022 they achieved Instagram’s Best Covers Of The Year distinction with Juna’s rendition of iconic holiday standard “All I Want For Christmas Is You” originally by Mariah Carey. They are officially influencers.
6:30 pm- SF Singer Songwriter Winners
The Winners of the South Florida Singer Songwriter Competition (held Jan. 18 at Anne Kolb Nature Center) will be performing in a round.
7:15 pm The Kennedys
The Kennedys are vocalists/guitarists Pete and Maura Kennedy. A husband and wife duo, they set out on the road together in the early 90s as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra, and since striking out on their own, they have traveled the US, Canada and Europe for three decades as a two-person band. Higher energy than a folk act, but not as loud as a rock band, they mix passionate songwriting with a flair for entertainment and a repertoire of classic songs drawn from their sixteen albums of uplifting original material. Think of a song by Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers or the Beatles, and that smile on your face is the same smile you’ll be wearing when The Kennedys hit the stage.
8:05 pm Mean Mary
Mean Mary (Mary James) grew up off the beaten path, and her music never forgot it. A multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with deep folk roots and a Southern Gothic streak, she’s built a global following and earned praise for a life that, as one article put it, “reads more like an adventure novel.” She’s the creator of viral music videos—with over 40 million views on YouTube—and an endorsing artist for Deering Banjos, serving as their Goodtime Ambassador.
Her newest album, Woman Creature, topped multiple Best of the Year lists; Country Music People called it “a haunting, high-caliber work from a fearless songwriter.” Born in Geneva, Alabama, and raised in Florida, Mary learned to read music before words and recorded her first album at six. Known for a voice described by No Depression as “hauntingly rich, fierce, and flexible,” she continues to tour with electrifying performances and cinematic songwriting.
