Foo Foo Fest | Music
Founder Robert Goodspeed is spreading the Night Moves Fest across town, and he says the point is simple: give people more reasons to come to Pensacola.
Organizers are trying multiple venues and different genres, which Goodspeed says mirrors the eclectic nature of Foo Foo Fest itself.
- One day had a ceiling. Spreading the festival out gives more people the chance to come to Pensacola.
- It is a long game. Goodspeed says the goal is to build on this year and eventually bring Maritime Park back into the mix.
- It keeps the locals involved. The lineup brings in genres that are not common in Pensacola while using the town’s own venues.
Music got Robert Goodspeed through high school. Now it is his whole life, and this weekend he is turning Pensacola into a stage.
- Goodspeed joined me on Rick’s Blog Live to talk about Night Moves Fest, the music leg of this year’s Foo Foo Fest. It is the fourth year for the festival, and this time it is not a one-day, one-location event.
“If I didn’t have going to shows and doing all this, I don’t know who the person I would be, and now it’s my whole entire life.”
From Practice Space to Citywide Festival
The roots are a collaborative. Night Moves began as a music venue and shared practice space for the local music community. COVID shut it down, but Goodspeed kept the idea alive. When he learned Foo Foo Fest was interested in nonprofits, he saw an opening to do what he and his friends grew up doing, going to music festivals with their parents.
- Foo Foo Fest came around. Goodspeed says it took some years for the festival’s leaders to see the fit, and he is grateful for the support. I told him Foo Foo had been missing a music component beyond the symphony, and Night Moves fills it.
Where to Catch It
- Pensacola Beach: Night Moves held a Side Quests show out on the beach on Halloween, and Goodspeed says it drew a big crowd.
- The Handlebar: Goodspeed’s day-to-day home base hosts an outdoor show this Saturday with Motion City Soundtrack and Colony House, set up outside in the street.
- Odd Colony: Nick Parr and Selfless Lovers play Saturday. Goodspeed describes Parr as a piano-driven, jazzy musician and expects a packed house.
- Betty’s: An after-show Saturday night keeps the music going.
“Imagine someone coming here for the first time and being like, ‘Look at all this stuff to do.’”
The Act Goodspeed Can’t Wait to See
Lucky. The Australian band is on this week’s Inweekly cover. Goodspeed admits he had not heard much of them until this year, then heard the songs and was hooked. He says they remind him of acts like Snail Mail and Mamalarky, the kind of bands the Handlebar books often, and he is thankful they happened to be touring the States.
Get the full schedule. This week’s Inweekly has the complete calendar of who is playing, what type of music it is and where. Pick up a copy or check the listings, then get out and hear something you have never heard before.
