Okeechobee Music Festival Celebrates Five Successful Years at Sunshine Grove

Since its inception, Okeechobee has delivered a wide range of talent, giving a voice to nearly every contemporary music genre. After being acquired by Insomniac prior to it’s 2020 edition, the beloved festival was given another chance at life, truly solidifying its role as the most unique and diverse festival in Florida. 

People come to Okeechobee for the music, of course, and after a star-studded lineup announcement, it’s hard to imagine the festival could get much better than that. However, Okeechobee clearly dedicated an equal amount of resources to activities, art, and logistics. Not to mention, the festival is always celebrated for the beautiful Okeechobeeings that grace the grounds of Sunshine Grove. 

Year five of Okeechobee was an upgrade for many reasons, including better stages/speakers, new and improved visual art, practical crowd control, and a fan favorite–flushing toilets. Not to mention, Okeechobee consistently invites back the most sought-after food vendors in the festival scene. But really, what’s a festival without Island Noodles?

The Grove 

The Grove is the area that housed three of Okeechobee’s main stages. The Grove saw captivating live performances by Tame Impala, Meg Thee Stallion, Papadosio, and Jungle, among others. DJs like Rezz, Porter Robinson, Troyboi, Clozee, and Four Tet also made historic performances on The Grove’s various stages. The Grove could be easily accessed through multiple entries accross the camgrounds, making for effortless travel in and out all night. 

Making its Okeechobee debut was Liquid Death Mountain Water, a frequent addition to Insomniac’s events for about a year now. Anyone who spent time in The Grove likely paid a visit to Liquid Death’s Country Club and maybe even grabbed a drink at their “Death to Plastic” bar. Plus, Liquid Death had an interactive recycling structure where attendees were encouraged to dump their used cans.

Jungle 51

Jungle 51 is where the creatures came out to play. At almost any moment, Okeechobeeings could slip into Jungle 51 and get lost in a disco fever dream. 

Plus, Jungle 51 was the home to the highly-coveted Space Fruit vendor, providing delicious sweet treats to patrons as they danced among the trees. The stage hosted a number of legendary DJs, however, one of the most memorable performances was Sven Vath’s 7 hour vinyl-only set on the festivals final night. 

Aquachobee Beach

Aquachobee is the heart and soul of the festival. The magnificent stage is surrounded by sand, water, and a show-stopping ferris wheel. Beach volleyball, sunbathing, and splashing through the lake were a few of the activities enjoyed while artists like Of The Trees and VNSSA commanded the stage. 

Hosting Charlesthefirst’s memorial set, Aquachobee was a sentimental spot for many of people. An artist even live-painted a mural of Charles nearby throughout the course of the weekend. Several live-painters curated the awe-inspiring artwork lining Aquachobee Beach.

The Incendia stage acted as an offshoot of Aquachobee Beach. Active mainly at night, Incendia hosted some of the most beloved acts in the underground bass music scene, including Eazybaked, Abelation, and Black Carl!. Not to mention, fans were blessed with a secret Yheti set at Incendia, making him the special guest of the weekend. 

Chobeewobee Village

Chobeewobee Village was home to yoga classes, immersive artwork, sound baths, and more. It also housed the majority of the festival’s food and merchandise vendors. Just walking through the village to connect from the Grove to Aquachobee was an invigorating experience. 

The Campgrounds 

As in years past, Okeechobee had a remarkable camping setup—situating campers around the stages to minimize everyone’s walks. Shower trailers were placed strategically throughout the campground so nearly every camper could access a shower easily. The campgrounds were regularly patrolled by festival security and law enforcement to ensure it remained a safe place for patrons to hang out, sleep, and secure their belongings. 

In fact, camping at Okeechobee is what makes the festival worthwhile. Anyone lucky enough to watch a sunrise or sunset at Aquachobee Beach would say the same.

Still young, Okeechobee Festival has consistently improved each year it’s reborn. We’re already eager to see what Insomniac will deliver at Sunshine Grove in 2023. 

Stay tuned for more Okeechobee announcements on the festival’s website.

Cover Photo Courtesy Ivan Meneses