In 2016, for Huffington Post, I wrote a prayer to the musical festival gods.
Here is an excerpt:
Please Music Festival Gods, deliver us to a beautiful shady grove with the grass littered with pine cones and fairy dust and the spirit of youth. Where hammocks hang from trees and LED lights explode like electric spiders across the night sky. Give us another grove to explore during the day, with a beach and access to a pond to wade in, so we can play games and float around on giant floaties.
And make the cops cool with little to no arrests.
Maybe cap the attendance at 30,000 so we’re not overwhelmed.
Maybe bring in artists that run the gamut of genre and taste. A place with Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant, Bassnectar, Mumford and Sons, Skrillix, the Avett Brothers, Kamasi Washington, George Porter, Jr., Miguel, Run the Jewels, and many more.
Our prayers were answered with the inaugral Okeechobee Music Festival. In 2016, the fest was bananas. The same could be said in 2017, also reviewed in Huff Post.
The festival has been dormant a few years but today it was announced they are bringing it back for 2026. We are very excited.
Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival
The following is direct from the PR by Big Hassle.
Florida’s beloved independent festival, the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival (OMF), has announced its return set for March 19-22, 2026, at the always magical South Florida nature paradise of Sunshine Grove. Founded in 2016 with a mandate of authenticity, kindness, and respect between each other and the environment we inhabit, OMF will once again celebrate the spirit of music, arts, and community with a diverse, multi-genre lineup and “only at Okeechobee” immersive experiences unlike those found at any other festival event.
Located in Okeechobee County – a one to two and a half hour drive from South Florida’s major cities, including Orlando, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale – Sunshine Grove is a picturesque 830+ acre natural oasis that boasts sweeping grasslands, pine and palmetto jungles, and expansive lakes and waterways that creates a truly unique tropical country landscape. From sprawling groves to undiscovered forests, the unique organic elements that inhabit Sunshine Grove inspire a profound recognition of the influence and significance of the natural environment that serve as the backdrop and home for tens of thousands of campers and music fans for four epic nights under the country starscape.
OMF Founder and Soundslinger Chairman Rechulski stated: “The band is back together! It’s a privilege to be curating OMF’s 10-year reunion since our first festival in March 2016. OMF has always been about more than just music—it’s a celebration of creative expression in all its forms, providing a safe space for the freaks that we all are. OMF is an event where art for all senses occurs. From music to sculptures, graphics, and food, you can feel the art. We are beyond excited to be working with the world-renowned 1960s authentic festival poster artist and I wish I could tell you more, but some things are better kept a surprise!”
OMF is getting back to its roots, with the March 2026 event featuring a rich and diverse multi-genre lineup that delivers headlining acts across electronic, rock, hip-hop, indie and beyond.
For more info and pre-sale tickets, click here.
