Keith Urban and Shaboozey Rock Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 5, 2025

April 11, 2025
International Concert Reviews, International Festivals, International Galleries
by Johnnie Crow Photographer / Writer

The 12th Rock The Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival filled the sandy beach of Fort Lauderdale Beach Park on April 4-6, 2025. This amazing festival always brings some of the biggest names in music to this picturesque location. Tortuga Festival is primarily a country music festival, but it mixes things up with artists from other genres contributing to the vibe. The festival grounds are on the beach sand, with a massive VIP section straddling the pavement and the beach.

Rock The Ocean Foundation was created to generate awareness and raise funds for ocean conservation. Throughout the run of Tortuga Music Festival, Rock The Ocean has raised close to $5 million dollars in donations. Tortuga continues to be one of the best festival experiences that the world has to offer.

Tortuga Music Festival 2025 Day Two took place on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Keith Urban and Shaboozey topped the eclectic lineup. Unlike recent years, the weather on Saturday, just like for the whole weekend, was great. No rain, no thunderstorms, just a beautiful day. I felt bad for the spring breakers in Fort Lauderdale a few weeks ago enduring cool beach days in the 70’s, but there was none of that this weekend. It was plenty warm and everybody was dressed appropriately for the warm day at the beach.

The full lineup for Tortuga Fest Day Two 2025 was:

Avery Anna has a bright future ahead of her. She sounds like a country version of Ariana Grande or Billie Eilish, relating to her generation directly through her music.

Mae Estes has a chill vibe and a great sense of style. Her band all wore black pants, red shirts and black sunglasses, echoing the classic country backing bands of the past.

Abby Anderson is a ball of energy and sunshine. She had everyone in the Next From Nashville tent dancing and sweating along with her as she rocked through her set. She really makes a connection with everyone in the crowd and is just plain fun to watch and listen to.

Lily Rose did a great job on the Sunset Stage. She is another young phenom, sharing her life story through her music.

The Original Wailers paid tribute to the late, great Bob Marley. At this point, there is only one original Wailer still performing – guitarist Al Anderson. The band plays faithful renditions of these all time reggae classics. Reggae music fits perfectly with the Tortuga beach vibe, and was well represented this time around.

Ezra Ray Hart is a new band consisting of the lead singers from Better Than Ezra, Sugar Ray and Tonic. Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Emerson Hart of Tonic have sold more than 20 million albums, with 18 top ten singles between them. Ezra Ray Heart put on a great show, especially for those of us who were alive in the 90’s! Kevin, Mark and Emerson showed how much they enjoy playing and entertaining a crowd. They also reminded us why “Good”, “Fly” and “If You Could Only See” were such big hits.

Meghan Patrick started this Saturday off right on the Main Stage. She displayed her style, vocal skills, guitar strumming and harmonica humming. Her songs really seemed to touch the audience and came across very well.

Wheeland Brothers had such a good time and fit in so well last year that they were invited back this year. Nobody complained. They had awesome drone videos of Southern California life playing behind them, which added a visual complement to their surfer vibe.

Wyatt Flores is a young new star who is already earning a prime slot on the Main Stage. His personal songs about mental health, addiction and suicide have gripped the latest generation of country music kids.

Jordan Davis had one of the best performances of the entire weekend. Almost nobody else could claim a full hour of hits, and he took the show straight to the crowd, roaming the long catwalk to get up close and personal with his dedicated fans.

Shaboozey played a great emotional set, filled with heartfelt song delivery and accompanied by passionate words of encouragement. He ended with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, last year’s biggest hit single. First he played an extended version, with tons of crowd participation. Everybody liked it so much that they actually played an encore of the song again. I gotta say, nobody was bothered and everybody enjoyed hearing it on repeat. Shaboozey is a natural performer and entertainer who appears to be here to stay.

Keith Urban has a ton of personality and is a guitar wizard. I am not sure that the fans knew many of his songs, as a good number left early to get a head start on continuing the party at the various beach clubs and night spots that Fort Lauderdale has to offer. Those that stayed were rewarded by a long performance filled with their personal favorites.