Festival Review: The 10 Best Performances of Big Guava Fest

Big Guava Festival! For those unfamiliar with the name, this was a first year festival taking place in Tampa, Florida. It was produced by Live Nation, who didn't seem too phased by the lack of success of music festivals in Florida. Instead, they spent some money and put together a pretty decent lineup, even earning a spot in my top 10 festival power rankings.

So after a successful Bruce Springsteen kickoff concert Thursday night, it was time for my first three-day music festival of the year. Now as you can see from the lineup below, there were 40+ bands performing on 4 stages throughout the weekend, so seeing everyone was impossible.

I was able to see the following bands: Smallpools, Twenty One Pilots, Cake, Outkast, Hunter Hunted, Jacuzzi Boys, American Authors, Bear Hands, Haim, Blue October, Tegan & Sarah, Slightly Stoopid, Vampire Weekend, MS MR, Magic Man, Timeflies, Morning Parade, Walk the Moon, Grouplove and Foster the People.

I present my top 10:

10. Haim

Festival favorite Haim had a great crowd at the largest stage Saturday afternoon. This rock band composed of three sisters is frequently compared to Fleetwood Mac, combining folk-rock with some R&B influences. They released a critically acclaimed debut album last fall and performed all the highlights from that album at their Guava set. Look up "The Wire" to get a good taste of the band. 

9. Blue October

I was most pleasantly surprised with the set of Blue October. This alt rock band proved to be much deeper than their big hits, "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean." Front man Justin Furstenfeld provided plenty of emotion to captivate the respectable audience they attracted. They definitely increased my interest in the band. I'll be looking for them on their next tour.  

8. MS MR

Getting the day started Sunday was MS MR. I received a taste of this alt-rock band when they opened up for Two Door Cinema Club last summer, so it was great to see them play a full set. Vocalist Lizzy Plapinger had tons of energy and genuinely seemed happy to be performing. She's already receiving comparisons to Florence Welch. 

The group played a collection of songs off their debut album, released just about one year ago. They also threw in an smooth Arctic Monkey's cover of "Do I Wanna Know?" 

7. Magic Man

Remember this name. Magic Man doesn't even have a wikipedia page yet, nor a full length album, but they put on an awesome set mid-day Sunday. This synth-rock band from Boston is composed of five members and have a 5-song EP out called You Are Here. 

All of those songs sounded excellent live. Front man Alex Caplow reminded me very much of Brandon Flowers, displaying great stage presence and extremely high energy. This is one of my bands to keep an eye on. I can't wait for their debut album. 

6. American Authors

Like many of the fans in attendance for American Authors, the only song I was familiar with was their Top 40 radio hit - "Best Day of My Life." After seeing them though, I must say they are more that one song. The NYC rock band, led by Zac Barnett, seemed to perform great sounding song after song for their Saturday afternoon set. 

All members of the band sang backup at times, showing some great talent. The band also featured a great Imagine Dragons-ish moment when everyone found a respective drum and began a collaborative pounding drum beat. Highlight of the set was their newer song, entitled, "Luck."  

5. Twenty One Pilots

I know I may be biased, but I can't deny a great performance. Twenty One Pilots scaled down their epic Connecticut show that I just reviewed, to a very high energy one hour production. Despite a crowd that was noticeably calmer than the usual Tampa scene, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun once again killed it. I promise, this was show number seven for me, and these guys are amazing every time. Go see them on their fall tour! 

4. Grouplove

It's very difficult to be better than a headliner, but Grouplove nearly did it. This fun, hippie group from California took on the large Amphitheater stage on Sunday afternoon and kept the crowd very entertained. Front man Christian Zucconi and keyboardist Hannah Hooper jumped around and sang all their best tunes. Highlights were "Itchin' on a Photograph," "Ways to Go," and ever favorite - "Tongue Tied." 

These guys drew one of the largest Sunday crowds. After two successful albums, they may just be headlining Guava someday. 

3. Foster the People

So Sunday night headliner was Foster the People. They had by far the lowest attendance out of any headliner. I was lucky to have a ticket for the pit, but it was quite sad when I looked back at the half empty amphitheater that Marc Foster and company were about to take the stage for. 

Regardless of attendance though, Foster the People did not seem affected. They came out jamming and put together a great set. I for one, forgot how amazing their debut album, Torches, was. They went through all the best of Torches - "Waste," "Call It What You Want," and a three song encore of "Helena Beat," "Pumped Up Kicks," and "Don't Stop."

The Los Angeles group also spent some time performing songs off their new album, Supermodel. Their lead single is called "Coming of Age." The new songs sounded decent live, but couldn't generate any reaction in comparison to the Torches tunes.

Overall, well done Foster the People. You were better than I expected.  

2. Outkast

Yes, there was quite a bit of hype around this performance. I wasn't sure what to expect from Outkast after their lousy Coachella reviews, but I must say that they are professional entertainers.

Big Boi and Andre 3000 had everyone up for their rap-heavy Friday night headlining slot. The Amphitheater seemed to erupt when the duo took the stage and jumped straight into hit "B.O.B." Although most attendees didn't seem to know all the songs, Outkast kept the casual fans entertained by touching all their greatest hits. 

Both members took about 20 minutes solo on the stage to perform some of their own material. Big Boi stayed more on the rap side, while Andre 3000 showed off a bit of his R&B side. 

Probably the most entertaining part of Outkast's near 100 minute set was simply watching Andre 3000. The guy couldn't seem to stand still. He patrolled the stage, often awkwardly dancing, jumping, thrusting and even breaking out some pushups at one point during the night. 

These guys definitely have the energy to headline 40 festivals this summer. They should receive better reviews moving forward. 

1. Vampire Weekend

Ever since purchasing and reviewing the third studio album from Vampire Weekend, entitled Modern Vampires of the City, I have been anxiously waiting to see them. Their Saturday headlining performance did not disappoint. The four piece band from New York attracted the largest crowd of the festival and put on the best show. 

Vampire Weekend played a great mix of their material, touching on all three albums. Although only their most recent has been recognized as a Grammy winner, the crowd's favorite tunes seemed to be selections off their debut album. Most notably, "A-Punk," "Oxford Comma," and "Walcott."

The 90 minute set did not have too much flash to it, as the guys basically stood in their positions and played their instruments. But the music made up for it. Everyone in the amphitheater was up singing and dancing, making a truly memorable set. 

They may have not only put on the best performance of Big Guava, but potentially the best concert I've seen throughout all of 2014.



In conclusion, this was an overall successful festival! The usually sunny Tampa, FL did battle some weather issues on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday was beautiful. I hope ticket sales were strong and that we'll see Guava back even stronger next year. This was a great inaugural event, and maybe even the first step towards building an actual successful music festival in Florida!