In March 2021, Ben Childs and Hector Diaz had the idea to start the 561 Music Podcast to spotlight diverse local music. Five years in, the Killbillies band members couldn’t have predicted that they’d establish an authentic brand enveloping a music school, podcast and festival all into one.
The 561 Music Festival began as a 400-person festival in 2022 at Mathews Brewing Company in Lake Worth and since exploded to a 5,000-person one last year at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm. Now with three stages, the 561 Music Festival can showcase even more local and regional talent in the same space — on what was formerly prime SunFest weekend.
Diaz tells PureHoney that they locked down the Meyer last year after SunFest organizers announced in 2024 that the festival would no longer take place during its traditional timeslot — the first weekend in May — and released their reservation on the amphitheater. “I woke up that morning and called Ben, and I said, ‘Are we completely insane if we approach the city and ask if we can have the amphitheater for that same date, that same weekend that everybody expects music at?’” Diaz says. “So we did. They approved it. We paid the money, we got the permits, we got everything going.”
For year five, concertgoers can see musical acts on two additional stages besides the massive main one: one at the opposite end of the field and the other at Palm Beach Post Park, just south of the amphitheatrer. Despite adding more to the roster (art vendors, food trucks and alcohol), the amount of sponsorships keeps festival admission free.
The jam-packed 30-band lineup covers virtually every musical genre under the sun from all across Florida. You have alternative rock (ALYK, Sandman Sleeps), reggae (Roots Shakedown, Nostaljah), garage punk (Blabscam) and even surf country (Brett Staska). And if you want a taste of the finer things the festival has to offer, VIP tickets are available for $50 and include light bites, a private bar and a swag bag. (Fans can use the code MOSAIC26 at checkout for BOGO tickets.)
Diaz attributes the festival’s exponential success to its wildly eclectic lineup. “Some festivals are very specific to a genre. Ours is all over the place,” he says. “And that’s part of the charm. There’s nothing like it around here right now.”
561 Music Festival runs 11:30am-10pm Saturday, May 2 at Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Admission is free. 561musicfestival.com GET VIP TICKETS ~ Olivia Feldman
