Every late winter, Plant City sets up a concert stage next to the strawberry shortcake. The Florida Strawberry Festival dates to 1930, and country stars have played its headliner stage for decades, from Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn to Garth Brooks. It sits just east of Tampa on I-4, and headliner nights pull fans from all over the state.
Beach country and big fields
Fort Lauderdale's beach hosts Tortuga Music Festival each spring, three days of country headliners with the Atlantic a few steps away. The rest of the year, arena and amphitheater tours cover Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach. The Panhandle sits closer to Nashville than to Miami, and its country crowd shows it.
Florida has sent its own up that road too. Mel Tillis was born in Tampa and raised in Pahokee, and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line grew up in Ormond Beach.
Folk, bluegrass and Americana
The Florida Folk Festival, first held in 1953, fills Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs over Memorial Day weekend, with hundreds of performances along the Suwannee River. Smaller Americana, bluegrass and songwriter shows turn up in listening rooms and theaters statewide.
Browse Tampa, Fort Lauderdale or Pensacola for shows close to home, and check festivals for the big weekends.
