Saturday, April 27, 2024, was a perfect day in Central Florida. We were in attendance at the Brightside Music Festival held at The Orlando Amphitheater in the Central Florida Fairgrounds, located in Orlando, Florida. The temperatures were in the mid-80s and the humidity was bearable at 50% throughout the day with a late afternoon breeze off Lawne Lake. At 11:00 am lines started forming at the entrance gates as fans came early to claim the closest possible spot to the stage. The lineup for the day’s festival was comprised of ten bands ranging from ska, punk, and nu-metal. A couple of very well-known 1980s bands were on the bill and were sure to draw thousands of fans to the festival and fill the 10,000-capacity amphitheater.
Goldfinger, 311, and Sublime were sure to draw the 30 to 50-year-old demographic with almost every age between 7 and 60 being represented. Once the gates opened at noon, the entry process was professional and orderly. The main stage was about 20 minutes delayed. That allowed the crowd to file in, get a refreshment, and pick a great spot in front of the stage. By the second band of the day, the time schedule was back on track. Overall the entire day was well run as set times were on schedule after the initial delay getting this started.
Donefor, a punk-infused metalcore band out of Southwest Florida started the festival about 20 minutes late in front of a small crowd as the stream of festival goes came through the gates. Their set was shortened to make up for the lost time and they didn’t waste a minute of it. The small audience was appreciative of the energy Donefor had during their performance and the band thanked everyone as they were chosen by festival promoters as a fan’s choice addition to the show on an Instagram contest.
Parker Shogren – Lead vocals, Guitar
Riley Steward – Co-Lead vocals, Guitar
Zachary Lulf – Guitar, vocals
Leo Cartelli – Bass
Christian Molina – Drums
1.You’re Welcome
2. Jenny
3. Blood For Blood
4. Since You Been Gone (cover
5. Signal Fire
¡Fuákata! was the second band that was chosen by the fans and they went off promptly at 1:10 pm bringing the festival schedule back to the correct time. Hailing from Miami, Florida, the band’s genre is described as a blend of Ska, hardcore, reggae & punk rock with Miami music overtones. Tyler Barnes on lead vocals was all over the stage, but the horn player, Sofia Da Silva almost stole the show.
¡Fuákata! Band Members:
Tyler Barnes – Frontman & Lead Singer
Sofia Da Silva – Trumpet
Julius Lopez – Bass & Backing Vox
Kenneth Miranda – Guitar & Backing Vox
Adolfo ‘Fo’ Salgueiro – Drums
Intro
1.Wonder Why
2. Mermaid
3. Cowboys and Ocean
4. Mia
5. Triumphant
6. Nacho
7. Kontrol
The Californian band, Zebrahead was formed in 1996 and their show was highly entertaining. Dan Palmer on lead guitar, sporting the perfect waxed handlebar mustache leaped, jumped, and had great emotional facial expressions. The skeleton-clad backup singers were fun and also added to the mayhem of the show with a bubble cannon, blowing bubbles into the crowd. Zebra ended their show with “Anthem” off their 2006 release, Broadcast to the World. The band left the stage for a recording of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” ending with a nice touch.
Ali Tabatabaee – lead vocals
Ben Osmundson – bass guitar, backing vocals
Ed Udhus – drums, percussion
Dan Palmer – lead guitar, backing vocals
Adrian Estrella – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Recording: America, Fuck Yeah (Trey Parker & Matt Stone song)
2. When Both Sides Suck, We’re All Winners
3. No Tomorrow
4. Hello Tomorrow
5. Rescue Me
6. Drink Drink
7. Falling Apart
8. All My Friends Are Nobodies
9. Anthem
Recording: I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston song)
Unwritten Law is a punk rock band formed in 1990. The group has seven studio albums to date with the most recent being Hum which was released in 2022. It was at the highest heat of the day. The crowd was constantly growing and the 10,000-capacity amphitheater looked almost full. Unwritten Law played a seven-song set which included fan favorites “Seein’ Red” and “Save Me (Wake Up Call).” Circle pits and limited crowd surfing was going on in the audience. It was hot and the crowd was getting revved up.
Wade Youman – drums
Scott Russo – lead vocals
Jonny Grill – bass, backing vocals
Chris Lewis – lead guitar, backing vocals
Scotty Mac – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
1.Teenage Suicide
2. Rescue Me
3. Lonesome (Included a portion of Waiting Room by Fugazi)
4. Beggars
5. Seein’ Red
6. Save Me (Wake Up Call)
7. Up All Night
Save Ferris is a ska-punk band formed in 1995. Fronted by female vocalist Monique Powell. Powell was captivating in her tight sequined dress as she glided across the stage. The band’s horn section really added to the sound which everyone in attendance loved. The set ended with two covers, “Too Drunk to Fuck” by the Dead Kennedys, where Powel stripped off her dress leaving her clad in only a strapless black bustier bodysuit, and fan favorite, “Come on Eileen” the Dexys Midnight Runners cover. The audience responded with a great roar as they wanted more from this southern Californian band.
Monique Powell – lead vocals
Justin Linn – guitars, vocals
Alex Csillag – trombone and keyboards
Tristan Hurd – trumpet
Jamie Howell – drums
Jake Courlang – bass
Save Ferris Setlist:
1.The World Is New
2. What You See Is What You Get
3. Nobody but Me
4. Goodbye
5. Too Drunk to Fuck (Dead Kennedys cover)
6. Come on Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners cover)
By the time Face To Face came on stage, the festival was in full force, and many of the fans found a grassy place to sit as the venue is standing-room only. The breeze started to pick up and the peak of the temperatures was now in a decline. Face To Face is another So Cal punk band formed in the early 1990s. After seven studio albums, the band split up in 2005 but reunited in 2009 and has since recorded an additional five albums with the latest, No Way Out But Through released in 2021. This four-piece band performed an 11-song set finishing with, “Disconnected” which was recorded in 1995 and brought the band national attention with radio play and being used on the soundtracks of movies, Tank Girl and National Lampoon’s Senior Trip.
Trever Keith – lead vocals, guitar
Scott Shiflett – bass, vocals
Danny Thompson – drums
Dennis Hill – guitar, vocals
1.A-OK
2. I Want
3. No Way Out but Through
4. Keep Your Hands to Yourself (The Georgia Satellites cover) (Partial)
5. Ordinary
6. Blind
7. Bent but Not Broken
8. Velocity
9. Walk the Walk
10. You’ve Done Nothing
11. Disconnected
By now the crowd was feeling good, the wind was blowing, the temperatures were dropping, libations were being consumed, and the vibe was a positive one. Story Of The Year was next on the stage and they were feeling it from the opening note until the end of their set which included their hits “Anthem of Our Dying Day” and the final song “Until the Day I Die.”
Dan Marsala – lead vocals
Ryan Phillips – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Adam Russell – bass guitar, backing vocals
Josh Wills – drums, percussion
Story Of The Year Setlist:
1.And the Hero Will Drown
2. War
3. Anthem of Our Dying Day
4. Real Life
5. Tear Me to Pieces
6. Until the Day I Die
The sun was setting, neighbors even rode their boat across Lawne Lake for a closer advantage point to hear the band, Goldfinger. Upon coming on stage, John Feldmann, lead vocalist/guitarist, along with guitarist, Philip “Moon Valjean” Sneed were dressed in black suits with white shirts and black ties, very 1990 punk, and the crowd knew they were in for a performance. Their 10-song set included four cover songs, two being humorous snippets, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica which segwayed into The Rembrandts‘ “I’ll Be There for You” which brought laughter from the crowd. The set went on, and then John gave the crowd a choice between “Superman” and “99 Red Balloons”. The fans screamed for the Nena cover, “99 Red Balloons” and they ended their show with “99 Red Balloons.” Goldfinger put on one of the strongest performances of the day with the two heavy-weight bands still to come.
John Feldmann – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Charlie Paulson – lead guitar, backing vocals
Philip “Moon Valjean” Sneed – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals
Mike Herrera – bass, backing vocals
Nick Gross – drums
Goldfinger Setlist:
1.Spokesman
2. Counting the Days
3. Get What I Need
4. A Million Miles
5. Here in Your Bedroom
6. Enter Sandman (Metallica cover) (snippet)
7. I’ll Be There for You (The Rembrandts cover) (snippet)
8. Open Your Eyes
9. Song 2 (Blur cover) (sung by Moon)
10. 99 Red Balloons
The sun had set, temperatures dipped into the 70s, and it was now time for a rock and roll show with brilliant stage lighting. The crowd was ready and you could feel anticipation in the air. The Nebraska powerhouse band with over 10 million in record sales was up next. It was time for 311 to grace the stage. The band played 14 songs including “All Mixed Up” and “Down” from their highly acclaimed triple platinum self-titled released in 1995. There was however a pause in their set, During The Cure‘s cover, “Lovesong”, Hexum stopped the show to allow emergency personnel to get to a fan who was in need of help. The set went on and the fans got their money’s worth and so much more.
Nick Hexum – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Aaron “P-Nut” Wills – bass
Chad Sexton – drums
Tim Mahoney – lead guitar
Doug “SA” Martinez – lead vocals, turntables
1.Beautiful Disaster
2. Freeze Time
3. All Mixed Up
4. Come Original
5. Do You Right
6. Lovesong (The Cure cover) (restarted due to fan injury)
7. Don’t Stay Home
8. One and the Same
9. Applied Science (full band drum solo)
11. You’re Gonna Get It
12. Amber
13. Creatures (for a While)
14. Down
At 10:00, a shirtless Jakob Nowell ran on the stage looking as if he had just left the beach wearing pink flowered board shorts. The crowd was in a frenzy as Subline had disbanded in 1996 after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, Jakob’s father just two months after the band’s release of their third and self-titled album. The reunion of the band came in December of 2023 with one show, a benefit in Los Angeles. It was then announced that Sublime would be joining this years 2024 Coachella Festival earlier this month and maybe other festivals. I am sure the ticket sales exploded when it was announced that they would be headlining Brightside Music Festival.
It was uncanny as Jacob sang “Doin’ Time”. He sounded just like his dad. The crowd showed their approval with roaring ovations during “Doing Time,” “Wrong Way,” “Badfish,” “What I Got,” and the last number of the night, “Santeria.” It felt like the early nineties hearing Sublime’s hits and being delivered flawlessly just as they had when they were first released almost 30 years ago.
Eric Wilson – bass, organ, percussion, congas, synthesizer, backing and occasional lead vocals
Bud Gaugh – drums, synthesizer, sampler, occasional backing vocals
Jakob Nowell – lead vocals, guitar
Trey Pangborn – lead guitar
Doug “DJ Product © 1969” Boyce – turntables, samples
1.Garden Grove
2. The Ballad of Johnny Butt (Secret Hate cover)
3. Doin’ Time
4. Burritos
5. Pawn Shop
6. STP
7. Greatest-Hits
8. Date Rape
9. Badfish
10. Jailhouse (Bob Marley & The Wailers cover)
11. What I Got
12. Wrong Way
13. Same in the End
14. Romeo
15. Santeria
The festival was run very well except for a few minor glitches that are easy enough to iron out by next year. I would be happy to cover the Brightside Festival if it returns next year to Orlando, Florida. I just hope the weather is as pleasant as the temperatures in the mid-eighties. The festival at the same venue a week earlier saw temperatures in the mid-nineties without a breeze. I would like to see better media accommodations in the future with free parking and more stringent following of photo pit rules. All in all, one of the best festivals I have covered in years!
Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
