By Destinee A. Hughes and Malischa Ogé
Photography by C&I Studios
Fort Lauderdale opened up its heart to nearly 1,000 people on March 12 to celebrate the second year of the For The Love Music Festival. Those anticipating a Saturday filled with sounds of more than 30 diverse bands certainly received it at the For The Love Music Festival at C&I Studios. For the festival founders, the day was centered around one aspect:
“It’s just about the love,” says Joshua Miller, executive director at C&I Studios. When longtime friends Miller and Sara Shake, founder of Exposed PR, dreamed up this daring venture, it was all about their love for music and Fort Lauderdale, the city they call home. After the success of the 2014 Summer Soundtrack, a four-week, pop-up music series featuring Fort Lauderdale artists, the dynamic duo agreed that they want to do more–and they did.
The For The Love Music Festival, which debuted in 2015, is an all-day event featuring nationwide musical acts, local vendors, food trucks, and industry demos and talks. This year’s headliners featured Further Seems Forever and MeWithoutYou, plus returning disc jockey Tonx, all drawing a diverse crowd of 1,000 festivalgoers filled with ripped jeans and full beards.
The musicians played on five different stages throughout FATVillage, which was dotted with food trucks such as Box of Chacos, Paradise Cups and Churrasco Grill. If the sign of success for a music festival is cheering audiences and happy faces, then this year’s edition was one. “The artists deserve so much love and respect for playing,” Shake says. “These are bands that work so hard on their music.”
Musician Love, Abbey performs inside C&I Studios at For the Love.
C&I Studios and Exposed PR were also supported by sponsors School of Rock, Underground Fort Lauderdale, W Fort Lauderdale hotel, FATVillage, Influence Culture and Doubletime Digital, as well as this publication.
DJ Tonx, who kept the crowd swaying all day long, confessed that he overlooked the congruence between the festival and the city. “I just realized how the acronym ‘FTL’ is the same for ‘For the Love’ and ‘Fort Lauderdale,’” he says. “[It] signifies the essence of this event and this community.”
The For The Love Music Festival was a day full of infectious energy and abundant talent, thanks to the musical notes by the independent artists and founders who have a love for the city.
The Goddamn Hustle take one of the outdoor stages at the For the Love Festival.
