TAMPA — The Gasparilla Music Festival presented by Water Street Tampa will showcase more than 40 musical acts from a wide variety of genres on several stages and cuisine from the region’s top restaurants. The three-day festival will run Friday through Sunday, April 10-12, at Meridian Fields, 101 S. Meridian Ave., Tampa.

Gates open at 3 p.m. daily. Single day general admission tickets start at $55. For information, visit gasparillamusic.com. For tickets, visit gmftickets.com.

The annual festival is organized by the Gasparilla Music Foundation, a Florida 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that supports music education through its Recycled Tunes program. As part of its mission to support and promote music and education, the organization operates throughout the year providing musical instruments, repairs and equipment to local school music programs and paid performance opportunities for local musicians. The Gasparilla Music Foundation was founded in 2011 with financial support from many Tampa Bay area based businesses and the organization’s founding members, The Ring of Fire.

For the 2026 Gasparilla Music Festival, event organizers have curated an entertainment lineup that includes headliners Mt. Joy on Friday, Two Friends on Saturday, and Gov’t Mule on Sunday.

The festival will take place across 11.5 acres just north of the Water Street Tampa District at Meridian Fields, placing the festival in the heart of downtown Tampa’s most energized district. Additionally, the festival will include live performances and a free stage in the Water Street Tampa district. The free 2026 Kids Fest will be part of the fun, presented on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at Sparkman Wharf. Kids Fest activities include a Kids Rave on Saturday, live family-friendly music, an instrument petting zoo, face painting and more. Visit GMFkids.com.

“We are really excited for what we have in store this year,” said David Cox, the executive director of the Gasparilla Music Foundation. “We really think Tampa is going to be blown away not just by the incredible musicians but also by this amazing venue right in the heart of the city.”

The full schedule with daily schedules and performance times is listed on the festival’s website and on its app.

6 hot acts to catch at the Gasparilla Music Festival

Friday’s headliner Mt. Joy currently calls Los Angeles home, but the band’s roots are in Philadelphia.

The band features Matt Quinn on vocals and guitar, Sam Cooper on guitar, Sotiris Eliopoulos on drums, Jackie Miclau on keys and piano, and Michael Byrnes on bass. They take their name from Mt. Joy in Valley Forge National Park, an area right outside of where Quinn and Cooper are from in Philadelphia. Forming in 2016, the band made their mark two years later when their self-titled debut album spun off platinum single “Silver Lining,” an uplifting power ballad that went to No. 1 at AAA radio and has eclipsed over 300 million streams across platforms. Their second album, “Rearrange Us,” drew widespread critical raves, with the title track gaining 100 million Spotify streams since the release.

Their third LP, 2022’s “Orange Blood,” produced another No. 1, “Lemon Tree,” at AAA. The band’s fourth album, “Hope We Have Fun,” was released in 2025 and spawned six singles, including “Lucy.”

Future Joy is a future-funk hybrid duo hailing from wherever their mobile RV stage is parked.

Planting their home base roots in both Denver, Colorado, and St. Petersburg, has allowed Emily Cooper and Zach Simms to travel the country playing shows and connecting all the cities in between and beyond. Blending elements of funk, house, bass, pop, drum and bass, hip-hop, techno, jazz, dubstep and more, Future Joy takes the listener on a joyous adventure with no musical boundaries. Both artists DJ, sing, and play keyboard while Zach shreds tenor, baritone, and bass saxophones in the key of fun.

Saturday brings the dance vibes with headliner Two Friends.

Two Friends is the project of lifelong best friends Matt Halper and Eli Sones. The DJ duo has turned friendship into a full-blown movement. Known for their infectious songs like “Way It Was” with Quinn XCII, “If Only I” with Loud Luxury & Bebe Rexha, and their crossover country-dance smash “More Than Yesterday” with Russell Dickerson, the pair delivers feel-good anthems built for both massive stages and everyday playlists.

Mercy McCoy is an Indie Americana-Rock band from St. Petersburg known for genre stretching song craft and gritty musicianship.

The band was founded by songwriter/producer, Stefan Scheuermann, and life-long friend and bandmate, Collin Ryan, in 2012. Their first band parted ways following a run of shows that included opening for The North Mississippi All Stars and performing as the backing band for Col. Bruce Hampton. No longer a supporting player, Stef soon began finding his writing voice and Mercy McCoy started taking shape.

Sunday’s closer Gov’t Mule will be ending the weekend on a high note.

Gov’t Mule members include Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals, Matt Abts on drums, Danny Louis on keyboards and guitar, and Kevin Scott on bass. The outfit released their 12th studio album, “Peace … Like A River” on Fantasy Records, in 2023 to high praise. The 12-song rock collection is highlighted by the singles “Dreaming Out Loud” featuring Ivan Neville and Ruthie Foster, “Same As It Ever Was” and “Made My Peace” as well as additional guest appearances from Billy F. Gibbons, Billy Bob Thornton and Celisse.

The truth, it seems, has set The Suffers free. Racism, misogyny, and the ugly underbelly of the music industry are all in the band’s crosshairs on their 2022 album “It Starts With Love…”, but so are growth and evolution and self-acceptance. Written in the midst of a tumultuous stretch that saw the Gulf Coast Soul powerhouse reinvent themselves personally and professionally, the record is a fierce, defiant ode to resilience and commitment, to the passion and drive that brought them together in the first place.

The band includes Kam Franklin on lead vocals, Juliet Terrill on bass guitar, Kevin Bernier on guitar, Jon Durbin on trumpet, Michael Razo on trombone, Jose Luna on percussion, and Nick Zamora on drums.

Founded in 2011, The Suffers built a devoted local following before breaking out internationally in 2015 on the strength of their extraordinary debut EP, “Make Some Room,” which helped land them performances everywhere from Letterman to NPR’s Tiny Desk.