Perdido Key Music Fest postponed until 2025

Perdido Key Music Fest postponed until 2025
Mark McBride founded event has raised more than $157,000 for FBISF Foundation & other charities

The Perdido Key Music Festival, the centerpiece for fundraising efforts that have raised more than $157,000 for the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival Foundation and other charities in just three years, has been postponed until 2025 when it will be held at Warrior Beer Company in Pensacola, 10 miles east of its original Play Del Rio RV Park home.
“It’s a great venue with parking for hundreds of cars and space for thousands of festival fans,’’ said event founder Mark McBride. “It is time to take the festival to the next level. We still plan to do the summer concert series at Play Del Rio.
“Also, we do have some special ticketed events we are planning that will be coming up at Warrior Beer Company to continue raising money for charity efforts,’’ he added.
The PKMF, first held as Hoodstock, features top regional bands, and is dedicated to the legacy of Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival founder, Joe Gilchrist (pictured w. McBride), who passed away in May of 2022.
Through the efforts of McBride and his fellow sponsors, the fest was able to donate $20,000 in 2021 and $80,791 in 2022 to the FBISF Foundation. The fest raised $55,705 to disperse among 16 charities and causes in 2023.
“Even though we have postponed the fest for 2024, we are still raising money and donating to our causes and charities, and even though we will not have any revenues from the festival in 2024, we are already at around $50,000 in donations,’’ McBride said.
McBride said the FBISF and his friend Joe Gilchrist will always ge close to his heart, but he is also glad he was able to add a plethora of other worthy local charities that needed help in 2023.
“It makes me happy to help so many different causes, needs and charities in addition to the Frank Brown Music Foundation,’’ he said.
“The Perdido Key Music Festival has become a great platform for raising money and we are helping so many causes. We allow folks to make donations directly to our selected organizations through PKMF.’’
McBride said parking and venue construction issues are behind his decision to relocate his festival to the soon to be open Warrior Beer Company, a craft brewery will be located five miles east of the Theo Baars Perdido Key bridge.
“This will allow us to grow the festival from 200 attendees to 2000,’’ he said. “It will always be a small festival, but it has outgrown the Playa del Rio, for sure. But one thing will not change. The fest will always be an annual charity event that will always be all about giving and helping others.’’
More info: perdidokeymusicfestival.com.