The secret is out. St. Johns County is the place to see live music this fall as the Sing Out Loud Festival welcomes headliners The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons, Lord Huron, Maggie Rogers, Yola, War Hippies, Elle King, Amos Lee, S.G. Goodman, Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Keller & Keels and many other great performances.
The multi-weekend festival features various artists at locales throughout St. Augustine and the county.
FREE LOCAL SHOWCASES
The Sing Out Loud festival begins with free local showcases. Since 2016, local showcases have placed hundreds of local singers, songwriters and musicians into the spotlight.
With genres that include indie rock, bluegrass, hip hop, country, comedy and spoken word, performers are featured at over a dozen venues throughout the festival. These free concerts are a staple of the Sing Out Loud Festival and allow visitors to explore the vibrant musical landscape of the area.
The local showcases begin Sept. 8, and shows are featured every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 1. A listing of concerts and locations is available at SingOutLoudFestival.com.
FEATURED EVENTS
Featured events include:
- 16: Sing Out Loud Festival’s newest event, Lincolnville Porch Fest, celebrates the unique history of one of St. Augustine’s most historically and culturally significant neighborhoods. Featuring 25 local musical acts performing on five porches against the backdrop of the Lincolnville neighborhood, Porch Fest takes place from noon to 5 p.m., culminating with a finale at Colonial Oak Music Park later in the evening.
- 19: artisan shopping and live music take center stage at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre Night Market. This free event takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. and features live music, handmade arts, crafts and goods and local food trucks.
MAIN EVENT
The Sing Out Loud Festival main event, The Francis Field Showcase, takes place Sept. 22 and 23 at Francis Field in downtown St. Augustine.
- 22: The Francis Field Showcase will welcome headliners The Black Keys, a Grammy Award-winning American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, consisting of band members Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. The Black Keys are known for songs like “Tighten Up,” “Lonely Boy,” “Howlin’ for You,” and “Fever.” Other performers for that night include indie rock band Lord Huron, English singer-songwriter Yola and country music duo War Hippies.
- 23: The Francis Field Showcase will welcome headliners Mumford & Sons, a British folk-rock band founded in London in 2007, consisting of members Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwayne and Ben Lovett. Mumford & Sons are known for tunes like “I Will Wait,” “Little Lion Man,” “The Cave” and “Hopeless Wanderer.” Other musicians that will take the stage on Saturday night include American singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, blues rock musician Elle King, folk soul-rocker Amos Lee and Southern songwriter S.G. Goodman.
Two-day tickets for The Francis Field Showcase include general admission for $235 each, general admission+ for $395 each, and platinum for $760 each. One-day tickets can be purchased at $125 for Friday and $155 for Saturday. Tickets are available online only.
THERE’S MORE!
- Record Fair: Music lovers can expand their collections at the St. Augustine Record Fair. This free event takes place 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and is one of the area’s largest fairs featuring limited-edition vinyl, ‘90s tour posters, vintage rock T-shirts — and even cassette tapes and record players.
- Songwriters Festival: 29 through Oct. 1, another foundation of the area’s music scene, the St. Augustine Songwriters Festival, celebrates the craft of songwriting. Top-notch country songwriters will perform their hits throughout the St. Augustine’s historic city, accented with the stories and anecdotes behind the hits. These free concerts occur at the Colonial Oak Music Park, Trade Winds Lounge, Prohibition Kitchen and the St. Augustine Distillery.
Introduced in 2016, the Sing Out Loud Festival is an annual celebration of live music in St. Johns County. The festival takes place over multiple weekends and features dozens of musical genres and more than 100 local, regional and national artists. It is produced by St. Johns County Cultural Events, which curates and operates The St. Augustine Amphitheatre and Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, in partnership with the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council.
The festival has welcomed more than 1,300 musicians from around the world and raised more than $300,000 for local nonprofit organizations.
