Celebrate 450! St. Augustine Music and Street Festival

St. Augustine's Celebrate 450! commemoration of the city's 450th birthday includes a three-day street and music festival that will take place on multiple stages and throughout the historic downtown area from Friday through Sunday, September 4 - 6, 2015.

The musicians who will headline the festival were recently announced by the City of St. Augustine and the St. Johns County Cultural Events Division, and they are all world-class performers:  Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, JJ Grey & Mofro, and Justin Townes Earle. This exceptional lineup will perform on Friday and Saturday at the main stage set up at Ponce Circle, just east of the Plaza de la Constitucion.

A pedestrian-only area will be set up for the street festival, bounded by Orange Street, Cordova Street, Cathedral Place and Avenida Menendez. Several stages will be located in this area, with the main stage on Ponce Circle offering a large audience area where purchases of food and alcohol will be permitted.

There will also be a special KidZone & Family Oasis set up on the west side of the Plaza de la Constitucion, where hands-on activities for kids as well as services for families will be available. The KidZone will be open from 3 - 7 p.m. on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and from 12 to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Other street festival venues include the Aviles Street Stage (sponsored by the St. Augustine Distillery), the Hypolita Street Stage (sponsored by VyStar Credit Union), the Colonial Quarter Stage and the Gazebo Stage at the Plaza (sponsored by Florida Power & Light). The Main Stage is sponsored by The Bailey Group, NTE Energy, Jacksonville Jaguars, All American Air, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Flagler College, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Four Star Association and Columbia Restaurant.

All of the events are coordinated by the City of St. Augustine for the Celebrate 450! festival and are free to the public. For information on parking and transit options for the Celebrate 450! festivities, visit here.

Musical Headliners

On Friday night, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples and the People Helping People Community Gospel Choir will perform on the main stage. 

Legendary rhythm and blues and soul artist Aaron Neville has had four platinum-certified albums and four Top 20 hits in the U.S., and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mavis Staples, whose career began with the The Staple Singers in the early 1950s, was named by VH1 as one of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll and lauded by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

The People Helping People Community Gospel Choir was created in 1988 by local musician and pastor E. Chris Washington with the goal of assisting others through the gift of music.. The choir performs at churches all over the St. Augustine area and works with such local charities as Habitat for Humanity, the St. Gerard House, and the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen.

Saturday night's lineup will be Emmylou Harris performing with Rodney Crowell, JJ Grey & Mofro, Justin Townes Earle, and Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers.

Emmylou Harris has won great recognition over her 40 years as a singer/songwriter. She is a 13-time Grammy award winner and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. She will perform with Rodney Crowell, who is also a multi-Grammy Award winner and whose songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Norah Jones, Etta James, and the Grateful Dead. Harris and Crowell won a Grammy in 2013 for their duo, "Old Yellow Moon."

JJ Grey & Mofro, a local band that has become nationally known for their powerful combination of blues and soul, rock and funk, is a staple at many music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Rothbuy, and Austin City Limits.

Nashville singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle is well known for his unique blend of folk, Americana, rockabilly, country and blues. He has produced seven albums and has won two Americana Music Awards.

Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are known for their California Sound, which combines folk, country, blues, rock and pop.

On Sunday, the live music will continue with an array of local and visiting artists.

And Much More

There will be over 40 performers scheduled at the five stages in the downtown area, including cultural performers with national, regional and local followings. There will also be international performers, with three bands from Aviles, Spain — The Morrigans, Alexandra in Grey, and Tejedor. For a complete list of the musicians who will be performing on the four other stages in the historic district, visit here.

Partners in the cultural and music programming are the Fort Mose Historical Society, St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, Menorcan Cultural Society, West African Drum Circles of St. Augustine, Fuego Flamenco Dance Troupe, Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, Jeffrey Spear with The First Coast Heritage Cookbook, St. Augustine Sister City Association, and many other community groups and organizations.

Admission: FREE

When? Friday, September 4, from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, September 5, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 6, from noon to 2 p.m. The pedestrian-only area will be marked off each night from 6 p.m. until approximately 11 p.m. 

Where? The Celebrate 450! street and music festival will take place throughout St. Augustine's historic downtown area.

For information on parking and transit options, visit here.

For more information regarding the Celebrate 450! street and music festival, contact Julee Cooke via phone at (904) 209-3460 or via email here.

For the most up-to-date information about Celebrate 450!, including a more extensive listing of entertainment, visit here.