WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — The Deadman Walking Music Festival returns to Wakulla County this weekend, supporting local musicians and growing the area’s music scene.
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Deadman Walking Music Festival returns to Wakulla County to support local artists and grow the music scene
The fifth installment of the festival takes place this Saturday, starting at 3 p.m. at the Pavaler Tree Theater in Crawfordville.
Panacea local and musician CJ Beach founded the event to create performance opportunities for artists in Wakulla County and Tallahassee.
“So it’s kind of just trying to have like a melting pot of the two music communities, and trying to bring them together, and have some kind of a middle ground where we can all come together and enjoy the same things and meet the same people,” Beach said.
The festival will feature a mix of rock, country, and new age music. The lineup includes Apalach Sound, Blairstone, Palace Rats, Madden Metcalf, and others.
Beach says he noticed Wakulla County had a smaller music scene and hoped the festival would help it grow.
“It’s the way that, like, I show my emotions to people. It’s the thing that, like, if I’m having a bad day, it’s hard for me to internalize those emotions and even work through anything. And music helps that a lot. Like, it is almost a catalyst for progression. It’s a catalyst for growth for me,” Beach said.
Herb Donaldson, the owner of the Pavaler Tree Theater, says hosting the festival is his way of giving young artists a place to perform that he did not have.
“When I was here growing up in Wakulla, we didn’t have a large artist representation, or so I felt we didn’t. So I went to Atlanta, went to New York, came back here, and started this theater because I wanted people to have the opportunity that I had to go away to try to find for myself,” Donaldson said.
Beach encourages the community to attend and support the musicians, noting that community support pushes artists to grow.
“Not only does it motivate the bands, because they see that there’s some support from their communities. And even communities like the Tally bands coming down, they see that even people outside of their immediate circles and places they usually play in Tallahassee or their fan groups are still enjoying their music,” Beach said.
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