MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. 鈥� A little more than an hour before the first act takes the stage at the Moon Crush Pink Moon music festival, concert promoter Andy Levine circles up a crew of about 150 for a last-minute pep talk before the gates open.
鈥淗ey we had no lines anywhere yesterday. Woo! Zero,鈥� Levine says before leading a group mantra of 鈥渒eep on trucking.鈥� The workers then fan out across the festival grounds, built out on a former golf driving range in this Florida panhandle town.
鈥淭his is my first Moon Crush and my first time in Miramar and I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 leaving,鈥� Nashville singer-songwriter Cassandra Lewis tells the crowd before playing her set.
Levine has created a new kind of vacation music festival here, taking ashore something he honed at sea as the founder of , the music cruise promoter.
He says the idea is a music fest without the usual long lines and competing acts, and one that gives both artists and fans a more meaningful experience.
Concept grew out of the pandemic
Levine came up with the concept during the height of the COVID pandemic when his family was spending time on this part of the Florida Gulf Coast. And they weren鈥檛 the only ones.
鈥淚 see all these people coming down and being distanced, but still being together with their group,鈥� Levine says. 鈥淎nd I was like, I bet we could put something together in a safe way.鈥�
So he set out to get people back listening to live music in April 2021, convincing a resort to let him use an unused golf driving range. The resort liked the idea of attracting music tourists during their off season.
鈥淭hey gave me a weekend and we called Jason Isbell and we called NEEDTOBREATHE and called Sheryl Crow,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淎nd as far as I know, we were the first multi-day destination vacation to take place after COVID.鈥�
The driving range grounds were divided into 1,500 sections, called coves, each roped off and stocked with folding chairs. Concertgoers could order concessions and merchandise via an app, and the goods were delivered right to their cove, which kept people from congregating in lines.
鈥淎s guests were leaving, I had so many just whisper to me to say, 鈥楬ey, don't change this cove thing.鈥� 鈥�
Levine has been putting on several shows a year ever since with his new venture, called . Levine says from a scene in the movie .
Topeka hires more than 100 local people to work the concerts, showing people to their seats, running food and drink, and working the gate.
Chief Operating Officer Anthony Diaz, Levine鈥檚 college fraternity brother and former bandmate, estimates nearly 60% of festivalgoers are repeat customers who come back because of the personal attention they get, a kind of VIP treatment for everyone.
鈥淲e massively care about the guests鈥� experience,鈥� Diaz says. 鈥淭aking insights from the guests, putting them in action.鈥�
The appeal of a small venue with personal service
People can hang out on the beach by day then catch three or four acts each night. It鈥檚 a small venue, with one stage, and an audience of just under 5,000, giving it an intimate, laid-back vibe.
鈥淚t's about flip flops, not sandals. It's not about how shiny things are. It's like, who are you with?鈥� says Levine. 鈥淢oon Crush the brand is about not letting a full moon pass without crushing on the people you love.鈥�
鈥淲elcome back! Good to see you,鈥� Amy and Morgan Whitfield from Houston greet concertgoers they met at last year鈥檚 Moon Crush.
Amy, adorned in glitter, is decorating their cove.
鈥淚t lights up at night,鈥� she says as she puts up signs that say 鈥済ood vibes鈥� and replicas of musical notes and vinyl records. 鈥淭hese are pink moons that will light up tonight.鈥�
Tickets to reserve a cove for all four days of Moon Crush start at around $500. The Whitfields are music festival aficionados, and have taken to this one.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not giant like most festivals where they鈥檙e just trying to get as much people squished together as they can,鈥� Morgan says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 super comfortable. They deliver you booze and food and fun and the lineup has been excellent.鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 let the word get too out though,鈥� warns Amy. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want everyone coming in droves.鈥�
It also has for more. Grammy winning singer-songwriter curated her second 鈥溾�� festival over Mother鈥檚 Day weekend, bringing in acts she wants to showcase, including , and .
鈥淢othership is a celebration of matriarchy and whatever that means to you,鈥� says Carlile in an interview with NPR from the beach house her family stays in during the three-day concert.
A more potent connection with fans
She says these festivals are a different kind of model where she can try new ways to relate to the people who love her music 鈥� her so called 鈥淏ramily.鈥� She calls it getting in their day.
鈥淎ssimilate into the crowd; find a way to eat dinner with everybody,鈥� Carlile says. 鈥淔ind a way to kind of erase the illusion of the pedestal that is a stage.鈥�
By the time Carlile takes the stage Sunday night, there鈥檚 a close-knit family feel. She brings her own family out to help celebrate Mother鈥檚 Day.
Carlile says she has known Andy Levine since her early days playing on cruise ships and finds it鈥檚 easy to translate some of that experience to land. Before the weekend is out, she鈥檚 spent time with her fans on the beach for a round of 鈥淏randioke鈥� where they have written. There was a deep sea fishing tournament that she bet her dad would win (he did not), and she spun records for a silent disco called 鈥淪hut up and dance.鈥�
鈥淪omething like this is I'm on vacation, too,鈥� she says.
On the festival grounds, she points fans to an action village where they can engage in local activism and philanthropy, including registering to vote or joining groups advocating for equal rights in Florida.
Carlile says she has the freedom to try unorthodox activities at Mothership, a far cry from being out on tour doing big concert venues.
鈥淚 don't mean to be controversial or critical, but it's getting really homogenous and really corporate, really difficult to transcend that corporate experience and actually connect with your audience,鈥� says Carlile. 鈥淚 can control Mothership to where I feel like I can be in community with my fans in a more potent and powerful way.鈥�
As fans entered the venue on Sunday, Topeka staff handed out tiny pots of succulent plants as a celebration of motherhood. Carol Simple chose one to take back to her cove that she鈥檚 sharing with her husband, Chuck. The retirees from Boulder, Colo., say they鈥檙e familiar with the promoter from music cruises and wanted to check out this onshore version of a vacation music festival. They say it鈥檚 a good fit.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to get here early and think about where you鈥檙e going to sit,鈥� says Carol. 鈥淲e鈥檙e older. We鈥檙e 73. You don鈥檛 want to go and stand the whole time or fight for where you get a seat.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing this a long time,鈥� says Chuck, who appreciates the detail taken to make their experience pleasant.
Promoters say the audience here does skew older than, say, what you might find at Coachella. This fall, they鈥檙e adding three shows, including a Cowboy Moon festival curated by .
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