MadSoul Fest returns with Aly and AJ, Magdalena Bay and more

Credit: J.D. Casto

MadSoul Music and Arts Festival is coming back to Orlando in December, and a first glimpse at the band and speaker lineup has been unveiled.

From the mind of Orlando-area Rep. Maxwell Frost, the festival marries live music with civic engagement and political advocacy. It started when Frost first launched the event with friends Niyah Lowell and Chris Muriel in 2015, and has since grown to host thousands of attendees, big-name headlining acts, and guest speakers like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, songwriter-actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, the band MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers and more.

This year’s lineup boasts music and entertainment from Aly & AJ, Magdalena Bay, Cuco (spinning a cumbia DJ set), Jay Safari, Raspberry Pie, The Pheromones, Mirror Parts, and the Renaissance Theatre Co. Speakers will include Rep. Frost, Rep. Anna Eskamani, Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, founder of Change the Ref Manuel Oliver, the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Andrea Montanez and more.

The event will take over Orlando’s Central Florida Fairgrounds Saturday, Dec. 6, from 3 to 10 p.m. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from free to $100, and a portion of the event proceeds will support immigrant rights organizations and legal aid services.

Attendees can register to vote on site, update voter registration and mingle with various advocacy groups.

Last year’s event, held in spring 2024, hosted more than 3,500 attendees and donated $40,000 to organizations related to reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ equality and voter registration.

The confirmed speakers include:

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez

Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones

Florida State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith

Florida State Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis

Florida State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani

Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad

SEIU President April Verrett

Anderson Clayton, Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party

Manuel Oliver, father of Joaquin “Guac” Oliver and Founder of Change the Ref

Andrea Montanez, National LGBTQ Task Force

Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, candidate for Florida House District 42

Tessa Petit, Executive Director, Florida Immigrant Coalition

Melissa Marantes, candidate for Orange County School Board District 1

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MadSoul Fest returns with Aly and AJ, Magdalena Bay and more

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