When you combine good music, amazing light and sound set ups, tasty food, and the beach it’s hard to go wrong. Fort Lauderdale’s two-day Riptide Festival capitalized on this equation to put on an awesome event this weekend.
First, if you’ve never been to south Florida – you should make it a destination. White sand beaches, palm trees, crystal clear ocean, great bars and restaurants, fresh seafood and interesting (the good, the bad the beautiful and the ugly sort of interesting) people who come from all over the world. Second, what better time to go (especially for our Canadian and Chicago readers) than late November? I arrived from Chi city in a parka and immediately changed into a sundress. #yesplease
Finally, to close the argument: Riptide. The reasonably-priced festival isn’t overwhelmingly crowded, is jam-packed with interesting food and fashion vendors, is right on the beach and treats its audiences and bands right with great stage, lighting, and sound support to put on a stellar show. My personal highlights from Saturday’s line up were Judah and the Lion and The Killers. I really can’t sing Judah’s praises enough. They are just a delightful, high-energy and uplifting show every time I’ve seen them and they are touring hard so take advantage! These guys are well worth the ticket price.
The Killers, Saturday’s headliner, also lived up to expectations. The band, hailing from fabulous Las Vegas, put on a Sin City-worthy spectacle with an amazing light show and even a guest star from the audience. The band welcomed up a super talented young gentleman named Jason who wowed the audience with his drumming skills and obviously was having the time of his life. The whole show was a real treat and it was only good vibes in the audience who were soaking in the music, the surf and the beautiful Florida night. (Side note: the Killers made multiple promises to be back in Fort Lauderdale in 2020 – even more reason to book a trip.)
So, thanks Fort Lauderdale and Riptide. As we get closer to the Thanksgiving season here in the USofA I am so grateful for the weekend away from the chilly Chicago winter and the chance to see some top notch musical talent in a beautiful place with good people. Doesn’t get much better than that.
