![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Aerial-drone-photo-Tortuga-Music-Festival-Fort-Lauderdale-2021-1024x576.jpg\")
An aerial view of the Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale in 2021 (iStock image)<\/p>\nBy Carlos Roa, VoLo Foundation\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the sands of Fort Lauderdale, something highly expected happens every spring: an already legendary music festival takes over the shoreline. But it is not just about the music. It is also about the ocean.<\/p>\n
An aerial view of the Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale in 2021 (iStock image)<\/p>\n
That is the spirit behind Rock The Ocean\u2019s Tortuga Music Festival<\/a>, a three-day gathering that blends country and rock with a deeper purpose: ocean conservation. Behind it is the Rock The Ocean Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on protecting sea turtles, marine mammals, coral reefs, sharks and marine habitats.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the 2026 edition, that will be held April 10 to 12, VoLo Foundation<\/a> has partnered with Rock The Ocean to bring some new and exciting elements to their sustainability efforts at Tortuga Music Festival. The alignment of goals between the two organizations was key to landing the partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since 2013, Tortuga has raised more than $6 million for conservation efforts, supporting more than 100 nonprofit partners and five universities across the United States, the Bahamas, South Africa and Asia. But beyond the numbers, the story of Tortuga begins with a personal turning point.\u00a0<\/p>\n The spark\u00a0<\/p>\n For Chris Stacey, the idea did not come in a boardroom. It came at sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a definite light bulb moment,\u201d Stacey, a music industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, recalled. In 2012, he watched\u202f\u201dThe Cove,\u201d the Oscar-winning documentary about dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt shook me. I have always been a boater, a diver, a fisherman. I thought I knew the ocean.\u201d The next day, he went freediving off Fort Lauderdale. On the boat ride back, something clicked.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI looked to the right, saw this beautiful stretch of beach, and I told my friend: I am going to put a music festival right there. And we are going to call attention to all the things killing the ocean that I did not even know about,\u201d he recounted.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, he decided to throw a large-scale event that could inform people while they were having a good time.\u00a0<\/p>\n A partnership built on a shared passion<\/p>\n By the time Tara Wilson became involved, the idea was already in motion. What began as occasional advice evolved into a leadership role.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe had the idea before we met, and the idea took shape over the next two years leading to the festival\u2026 And the rest is history,\u201d Wilson explained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat was one of the things we bonded over,\u201d she added. \u201cOur love for marine life and conservation.\u201d She made clear that \u201che is the big-idea guy; I am focused on strategy, numbers and execution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Stacey agreed. \u201cA dream without execution is just a dream.\u201d He brought the connections and creative direction. Wilson helped build the operational backbone, especially in sustainability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond the music<\/p>\n From the beginning, they understood that hosting a festival on a sea turtle nesting beach came with responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n At first glance, Tortuga looks like a major beach party, featuring artists across genres, including outstanding artists such as Post Malone and Ice Cube.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people think it is just a country festival,\u201d Stacey noted. \u201cThen they show up and realize it is much more diverse.\u201d Another common misconception is about environmental impact. \u201cHow do you have 100,000 people on a beach and not trash it?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n From the start, the team committed to leaving the beach in better condition than they found it. Over time, that promise has grown into a comprehensive sustainability program with recycling systems, compostable materials and creative reuse of resources across the site.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some decisions have been difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have turned down seven-figure deals,\u201d Stacey reflected. \u201cBecause the brands did not align with our values.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Wilson, integrity has been central to building the brand. \u201cWe do not expect partners to be perfect, but there are clear lines that we will not cross,\u201d she emphasized.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ripple effect\u00a0<\/p>\n Those high standards have had an unexpected outcome: Brands that participate often adapt. \u201cThey come in confused, but then they see it can be done differently,\u201d Stacey observed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson highlighted that those practices often extend beyond the festival. \u201cThe ripple effect matters,\u201d she pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n That influence is part of what sets Tortuga apart. It is not only raising money, but also shaping behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where missions meet<\/p>\n The alignment with VoLo Foundation was cemented around the experience of being part of Climate Correction. For Stacey, \u201cThe support helps us elevate our game. It raises the bar,\u201d he remarked.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson sees the connection not as scale, but as structure. Rock The Ocean sits at the intersection of live events, culture and conservation. That blend, she noted, mirrors VoLo\u2019s approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n The more they learned about the foundation\u2019s work, the clearer that overlap became. Not just in mission, but in method.\u00a0<\/p>\n A leadership parallel<\/p>\n Meeting\u202fThais Lopez Vogel, cofounder and trustee of\u202fVoLo Foundation, allowed Wilson to recognize a shared mindset: a refusal to frame challenges as dead ends. \u201cThis isn\u2019t an obstacle. It\u2019s an opportunity to find a solution,\u201d Lopez Vogel said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is a mindset Wilson brings to her own team, and hearing it echoed reinforced the parallel.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is also a broader recognition of what leadership looks like in that space. Not just funding initiatives but actively shaping them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For her, the takeaway is a sense that different organizations are moving in the same direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n What stays with fans\u00a0<\/p>\n When the festival ends, Stacey hopes attendees leave with more than memories.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf people walk away knowing just one or two things about ocean conservation, that is a win,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson emphasized that participation alone makes an impact. \u201cBuying a ticket supports the cause. That allows us to keep doing this work,\u201d she underlined.\u00a0<\/p>\n For both, the goal is to show that entertainment and environmental responsibility can coexist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Carlos Roa is senior press and PR director for VoLo Foundation. VoLo Foundation is a\u00a0financial supporter<\/a>\u00a0of The Invading Sea. This piece was originally published at\u00a0https:\/\/volofoundation.org\/news\/volo-foundation-joins-tortuga-music-festival-2026-to-expand-ocean-conservation-efforts<\/a>. Banner photo: The Tortuga Music Festival at sunset (iStock image).\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here<\/a>. To support The Invading Sea, click here<\/a> to make a donation. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Carlos Roa, VoLo Foundation\u00a0 On the sands of Fort Lauderdale, something highly expected happens every spring: an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[101516,249,251,250,101176,7513,86885],"class_list":{"0":"post-224654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-climate-correction","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","11":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news","12":"tag-rock-the-ocean-foundation","13":"tag-tortuga-music-festival","14":"tag-volo-foundation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Andrea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ocean-Entrepreneurs-1024x576.jpg\")
Andrea Garcia of VoLo Foundation (left) speaks with Jack Lighton of 4Ocean Foundation (center) and Tara Wilson of Rock the Ocean (right) during a panel discussion March 11 at the Climate Correction Conference in Orlando. (Kimberly Vardeman photo) <\/p>\n![\"Tara](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Tortuga-Music-Festival-Article-2026.webp.webp\")
Tara Wilson of Rock the Ocean and Thais Lopez Vogel of VoLo Foundation (Photo courtesy of VoLo Foundation)<\/p>\n