Sunset Music Festival will return to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL for its eighth edition this Memorial Day Weekend, May 25 & 276, 2019. Festival producers Disco Donnie are powering through after last year’s event ran into some issues caused by Subtropical Storm Alberto. The storm never directly hit Tampa, but its peripheral effects were enough to cause concern for the Tampa Sports Authority, the Tampa Police Department, and Tampa Fire Rescue. Ultimately, those three departments made the decision to cancel Day 2 of SMF 2018 due to the Tropical Storm Warning that was in effect until 5PM that day; the decision to cancel was not up to Disco Donnie or the SMF promoters or producers. It caused a lot of exasperation with fans, especially because the weather on Day 2 was all blue skies by the time the festival would have started.
This year’s event looks like SMF is returning to its roots after a very heavy focus on Bass and Dubstep in 2018. 2019’s event features some nice diversity in dance music, with a specific focus on House and Bass music and curated stages by Anjunabeats and Deadbeats. The initial lineup includes 12th Planet, Alison Wonderland, Audien, Bonnie x Clyde, Chris Lake, Destructo, Dog Blood (Skrillex & Boys Noize), Dombresky, Fisher, Flux Pavilion, Gabriel & Dresden, Gammer, Ganja White Night, Getter, Ilan Bluestone, Kaskade (Sunset Set), Lick, Liquid Stranger, Mat Zo, Omnom, Peekaboo, Rusko, Said The Sky, Steve Darko, Subtronics, Walker & Royce, Weiss, and Will Clarke. An additional phase of at least 20 more artists will be released in the coming months. In past years, SMF has released it’s Phase 2 lineup around the end of March.
2-day GA ($160.11), GA Plus ($180.71), and VIP ($252.81) tickets are currently on sale with a variety of purchasing options, including an option for a payment plan. GA Plus includes a GA pass with express entry, while VIP includes access to the VIP express entrance, VIP viewing platforms, air-conditioned VIP bathrooms, front row VIP pit access, and access to VIP bars.