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Okeechobee Festival Founders Propose New Fest In Miami Beach
Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/MetLife Blimp/Getty Images – Miami Beach
An aerial view of Miami Beach and South Beach is seen in this photo from the MetLife blimp on March 8, 2014 in Doral, Fla., as the third round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship is held at Blue Monster, Trump National Doral.
Steve Sybesma and Paul Peck, who founded
The organizers offered a wishlist lineup for the festival that name-checked headliners such as Bruno Mars, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, Jimmy Buffett, Justin Timberlake, Luis Fonsi and Nicki Minaj, according to the Miami Herald. The Dec. 14-16 festival would take place on the beach between Fifth and 10th streets, with a capacity of up to 30,000 fans per day, following the annual Art Basel art fair.
After developing a proposal for the festival with Miami Beach-based ACT Productions, Sybesma and Peck approached local government. City commissioners determined in December that feedback from the public was needed. The city will begin reaching out for public input regarding the festival in February.
The commissioners want to make sure issues such as traffic congestion, increased litter and drunken behavior are addressed.
Bruce Orosz, CEO of ACT Productions, speaking with the Miami Herald, cited his company’s Miami Beach Centennial, which utilized shuttles to cut down on congestion.
Sybesma and Peck are the co-founders of Frameless Creative, which handles special events, venue development and original content for live presentations and broadcast. The pair resigned from Soundslinger, which was founded to produce the 2016 debut Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, in October 2016, citing “philosophical differences.”
Sybesma co-founded Sunshine Promotions, which he built into one of the country’s most successful promotion companies before selling to SFX for $50 million. He also spent more than a decade promoting events and concerts in China.
Peck joined Blackbird Presents as the Partner and President of Live Production and Programming in June 2017. During his nearly 14-year stint at Superfly Productions, where he was the Director of Development & Production, he helped launch Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and was the creative force behind the Roo’s “SuperJam” series.
Southern Florida currently hosts a number of major contemporary music festivals including the Ultra Music Fest in March, Tortuga in April and Rolling Loud in May.
The Miami Beach Pop Festival name evokes the Miami Pop Festival, which as the Herald noted, took place in May and December 1968 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., and featured artists such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Chuck Berry and Fleetwood Mac.
Peck was not immediately available when Pollstar reached out for comment.