Blackwater Music and Arts Festival Review Florida gets trash-talked a lot, especially by many of the teens and twenty-somethings who are who are living there. However, despite what the kids might say, Florida has some real gems and sparkling locales that are often overlooked or remain unknown. The Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park near Live Oak, FL is perhaps one of the greatest of these natural treasures and it is the site of numerous music festival ranging from large scale rock extravaganzas to small time folk and bluegrass jamborees. Its most recent event, the second annual, three day eclectic Blackwater Music Festival, had me beaming with state pride for the first time in a while... and it felt great. The festival took place on Sept. 22-24 on the gorgeous 500+ acre campgrounds along the shores of our state song's namesake, the Suwanne River and I must say, even if there wasn't a music festival being staged at the time, the shady campsites alone would have been reason enough to spend three days outside. As it happened though, the Blackwater Music Festival had a lineup that was jam packed with nearly 50 bands and artists on one indoor stage and four outdoor stages (one of which was on a beach on the river,) with various unnofficial acts on unofficial stages peppered throughout the camp sites. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment to be had, and the musical acts seemed as if they had been selected so that there would certainly be something for everyone. Unarguably, the largest act of the festival was The Flaming Lips, and they were the reason that I was in attendence. Though it was not my first time seeing this colossal act with it's enormous light show and whimsically psychelic stage performance, I was nonetheless floored by their confounding blend of bizarre art-damaged spectacle with powerful gripping emotional moments. At one point, the stately lead singer Wayne Coyne interuppted his own song to pull a young woman on stage who was enjoying the show to the point of ecstatic tears... And this was only one of the moments I felt myself being swept up with the crowd to an emotional crescendo. The other large acts included Girl Talk, Eoto, and STS9. All three of these acts were electronic artists, and you can be sure they brought the party. The hillsides of the meadows and natural amphitheatres lit up each night with glowsticks, light up hoola hoops, and fire spinners as sun fried hippies got their groove on while the first hints of autumn showed itself in cooler Florida evenings. Perhaps the most mememorable scene of my idyllic weekend took place unexpectedly on the Suwanne river's edge during the performance of a local folk band called Weather Man. The sandy beach sloping down to water's edge was covered with hundreds of young people lounging or swimming with their friends and dogs while listening to the appropriately sunny sounds of the band. Everyone was extraordinarily fun and friendly, and for a moment I thought I'd surely died and gone to heaven. Blackwater Music Festival is one music event that gets it right and the Spirit of the Suwanne Music Park just may be one the greatest places to see music in the world. I highly recommend checking the Spirit of the Suwanne website from time to time to see if any of the festivals appeal to you because you will have an unforgettable time and it would be a shame to miss out on one of Florida's greatest perks. Links: Spirit of the Suwanne Campgrounds Website: http://www.musicliveshere.com/content/index.php Videos: Flaming Lips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63b0xLKB8nI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQKGGa1xAHM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x_-ptcIsp8&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ep-7DpO0Go Girl Talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8AKp9nCLgM&feature=related STS9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoDZ4g_iJcY&feature=related