This past weekend, Big: Culture and Arts Festival opened their gates for the consecutive year, and for the first time, they shut down the streets of Gainesville to do it. Friday, April 10th kicked off the weekend of celebrating music, arts, and food – a testament to everything a dedicated community can achieve. Downtown Gainesville is steeped in culture and history, and there was something really meaningful about this year’s festival physically intertwining with the city grid.
They were able to seamlessly slot stages and booths throughout the downtown area, even working with local venues such as the How Bazar, Signal, and The Bull to create more spaces for performance and arts. While gates opened at 5:00 PM, the festivities officially ignited an hour later. The evening got off to a raring start with SectorFM and AntoneNow setting the initial momentum for the crowds to carry on all night. There were eight stages across the downtown area hosting music and events this evening, with a wide array of genres for everyone to find something they are into.
I was able to catch Gainesville indie favorites Buboy and The Nancys perform back-to-back sets on the main BIG stage. Following their sets, I was able to catch NY-based standouts Kelly Moonstone, Casey Jones II, and Chuck Strangers. In the downtime, I then found myself spending time at The Loft stage, which hosted DJs and groups SectorFM, BLISS, Mateo Calle, and REM, who got the crowd grooving to anything they were putting down.
I also split my time at The Atlantic Stage, which held a motley of different artists spanning multiple genres and moods. Beyond the music, the streets were alive with a myriad of art installations, circus performers, vendors, and concessions for guests to enjoy, and even more to look forward to in the days to come.
Later in the evening, some of the larger acts of the night took the main BIG stage, beginning with Pink Siifu. One of the festival’s many returnees from last year’s lineup, he set Gainesville alight yet again, and got the crowd amped for the final set of the night. Following Pink Siifu was the biggest set of the night, a double-header between fan favorites Ovrkast and MAVI. Ovrkast took the stage first, and then MAVI came out to complete the duo for a 10-minute special ‘mavkast’ performance, bridging the gap between their back-to-back sets. Finally, MAVI closed out the night with a set of his own, and left the fans drenched in sweat but buzzing with anticipation for Day 2.
