Pensacola music festival spreads out
Organizers moved Night Moves across four venues to avoid capacity limits and expand local access.
By Alina Carter ·
Music lovers in Pensacola can attend multiple shows across the city this weekend instead of visiting a single site. The change removes the attendance cap that limited last year's event. Robert Goodspeed, the organizer, stated that spreading the festival out gives more people the chance to come to Pensacola.
Night Moves is the music leg of the fourth annual Foo Foo Fest. Goodspeed runs the operation from The Handlebar, a venue and shared practice space that started as a local collaborative. COVID shut down the original space, but Goodspeed kept the concept alive. He approached Foo Foo Fest leaders, who took several years to recognize the fit. Goodspeed noted the festival had previously lacked a music component beyond the symphony.
The schedule spans four locations. A Side Quests show took place on the beach in Pensacola Beach on Halloween, drawing a large crowd. On Saturday, The Handlebar hosts an outdoor street show featuring Motion City Soundtrack and Colony House. Odd Colony will host Nick Parr and Selfless Lovers the same day. Goodspeed describes Parr as a piano-driven, jazzy musician and expects a packed house. An after-show at Betty's continues the music into Saturday night.
Goodspeed says the variety of genres mirrors the eclectic nature of Foo Foo Fest. The lineup includes styles not common in Pensacola while using the town's own venues. This approach keeps locals involved. Goodspeed calls it a long game. He aims to build on this year's expansion and eventually bring Maritime Park back into the mix.
The Australian band Lucky is the act Goodspeed is most eager to see. He had not heard much of them until this year but became hooked after hearing their songs. He compares them to Snail Mail and Mamalarky, bands that The Handlebar books often. Goodspeed is thankful the group happened to be touring the United States.
The festival runs through the weekend. Goodspeed joined Rick’s Blog Live to discuss the logistics. He emphasized that the multi-venue format addresses the previous single-day, one-location structure. The event remains open to the public across all listed sites.
