A section of the crowd at a previous Art of Music Festival in Florida.
DJ Stretch and his brother DJ Brad are the members of the popular South Florida-based sound system Extatic Sound. A few years ago, they decided to venture into event promotion with the staging of the Art of Music Festival. Now in its fourth staging, this year’s event is scheduled for Sunday May 11 at the Sunset Cove Ampitheatre in Boca Raton, Florida.
The lineup features Billboard chart-topping international reggae artiste Maxi Priest, the iconic Third World, soca star Alison Hinds, dancehall artiste Tifa, Kumar Fyah, Second Chance and Visions Band.
In an interview with Observer Online on Tuesday, DJ Stretch shared what patrons can expect at this year’s event.
“The Art of Music Festival is easily considered a premier Mother’s Day event for families and friends to celebrate their love for music while showing appreciation to the matriarch of their families. We are excited that our festival will be held in Boca Raton, Florida, for the very first time. Patrons can expect an incredible lineup of multi-talented performers, an array of diverse food options, kids’ activities, and so much more,” said DJ Stretch.
The event was previously known as The Art of Reggae Festival. DJ Stretch explained the challenges faced since changing the name of the event.
“One of the challenges of putting on this event was changing the name of the festival from the Art of Reggae Festival to the Art of Music Festival to include a variety of different music styles and cultures. When we decided to embark on this journey, we had to ensure that past attendees knew that it was the same festival they had known and loved for the past four years, just more inclusive of other music to create a bigger and better experience,” DJ Stretch explained.
He also spoke about the growth of the event.
“We are thankful to be able to celebrate our fourth staging this year. From the location to the artist line-up, our festival has definitely evolved from the first staging. This year, for the first time, we’ve included a soca and a gospel artist in the line-up. Patrons can always expect something new and exciting at our festival each year, and this year is no different.”
DJ Stretch continued, “This festival was started to bring together families on Mother’s Day to celebrate the matriarch of their families through their shared love for music, food, and culture.”
DJ Stretch and his brother are originally from St Ann. They migrated to Florida several years ago.