Downtown West Palm Beach’s intercoastal waterfront may be best known for its yachts, apartment buildings, and restaurants, but for three days a year, it’s also home to SunFest, Florida’s largest waterfront music festival. SunFest 2024 marked over four decades since the event’s beginnings in 1982, and it hosted a wide range of musical genres from folk and country to hip-hop and rock.

Some students not only attend the event but volunteer to keep the festival running. Digital media senior Giada Robinson is a member of SunFest’s Public Relations and Photography Committee, and she spent the weekend taking promotional photos of the artists, crowds, and sponsors in attendance.

“Volunteering here is such a heartwarming experience,” Robinson said. “It really clears my head from all the other stresses that are happening in my life.”

SunFest falls within the fourth quarter, a time of year filled with testing, jury preparation, and college decisions for seniors. There were multiple exams on the Friday and Monday surrounding SunFest, including AICE English Language, AP Government, and AP Chemistry. Students who attended or volunteered went to a music festival in what is commonly a stressful time for them, but theatre sophomore Kylie Mraz said it was worthwhile.

“I’ve been so busy studying and everything, especially with teachers constantly giving (exam) reviews,” Mraz said. “(It’s good) just to have one weekend where I’m not so focused on work or studying.”

For students taking the AICE English Language exam, SunFest was bookended by the reading and writing sections of the test, with one half on the Friday of the festival and the other half on the Monday after. Communications sophomore Benjamin Seelig spent the weekend between the exam’s two sections volunteering at SunFest, including a performance with School of Rock North Palm Beach on Sunday, where he played the keyboard and alto sax.

“It’s just surreal that one moment I was thinking about participial phrases, and now I’m here until 10 every night just partying, basically,” Seelig said.

The second day of SunFest took place May 4 and featured headlining artists Cole Swindell, Elle King, The Revivalists, and Yung Gravy. The day was full of audience participation: singer Anees threw rubber ducks into the crowd, Bryce Vine had the audience bouncing jumbo-sized beach balls, and Yung Gravy tossed autographed Lunchables to his fans.

The day also had its fair share of sibling acts, from Utah indie rock group The Aces, whose lead vocalist and drummer are sisters, to Hello Sister, a local trio of teenage sisters, and the Lubben Brothers, a local folk trio whose members are triplets. The Lubben Brothers opened the day on Saturday, the triplets boasting a banjo, accordion, and fiddle as they played original folk music.

“I’ve been listening to the Lubben Brothers since 2020,” vocal sophomore Beau McDowell said. “I was one of their first listeners when they were brand new.”

This year also brought a new community stage to SunFest, featuring local artists in a smaller venue as part of the Fresh Local Artists program, which allows selected South Florida artists to perform in front of SunFest’s crowds. Saturday’s local performers ranged from aspiring artists such as Hello Sister and NIGHTBREAKERS to student groups such as School of Rock North Palm Beach and the Roosevelt Middle School band, who were able to experience festival performances as young musicians.

Down the street was a variety of local food trucks and the Arts Village, where muralists made art for the event and local artists sold their pieces. Even during a sunny day with little shade, in the midst of testing season with much of the event hinging on small local artists, students and other attendees arrived to eat, drink, listen, and party for the weekend.

“I like to put aside these three days of Sunfest,” Robinson said. “With so many stressful things like AP tests and graduation, I know that there’s something exciting that brings together everyone in the community, and I really just love to be a part of that.”