SunFest 2024 reveals lineup: Nelly, Billy Idol, Cole Swindell, Rebelution, Bryce Vine

Billy Idol, Shaggy, Yung Gravy, Dylan Scott and more than two dozen other acts will play at SunFest in May on the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront, festival organizers revealed Tuesday.

It will be a balancing act between attracting new fans and keeping long-timers. Bands and artists meant to attract younger fans will perform on the same day as acts that, SunFest organizers hope, will bring in older attendees. Unlike years past, artists are being grouped by day and stage to attract fans of individual genres. Hip-hop acts will perform opposite country singers on one day. The next day, reggae will groove on one stage as '90s and 2000s rock bands scream from another.

Dashboard Confessional, Matisyahu, Bryce Vine and others playing

Rappers Nelly and Kritikal, a West Palm Beach artist, will play one stage during SunFest’s first night on Friday, May 3, along with reggae rapper-singer Shaggy. Eighties rockers Billy Idol will play another stage that night.

Country singers Dylan Scott will sing Saturday night, May 4, on one stage, followed by Cole Swindell. Hip-hop artists Paul Russell, Bryce Vine and Yung Gravy will play that night on another stage.

Reggae artists Rebelution, Matisyahu and The Elovators play Sunday night, May 5, on one stage, with rock bands Third Eye Blind, Dashboard Confessional and Boys Like Girls rounding out the final acts on the other stage.

Smaller acts during daylight hours those three days include Fox Maple Band, The Aces, The Revivalists and more.

Photos: Best images of Sunfest Palm Beach County's biggest musical event of 2023.

How did SunFest 2024 choose these acts?

SunFest chose this year’s acts based on fan surveys, organizers say, and to spend less than what it did last year. SunFest 2023 “went all in on music and tried to focus on our signature headliners,” Executive Director Dianna Craven said. “This year we tried to go deeper.”

Acts such as Yung Gravy, Craven said, is “for our younger demographic,” while country artists playing Saturday afternoon, and '80s rockers, are “to appease older audiences.” Sunday’s reggae-heavy lineup is for SunFest’s most loyal fans, who love that music, Craven said.

SunFest attendance fell in 2023 to less than half of what it was in 2017. Craven, who has led the festival since fall, hopes to turn things around for the nonprofit, which has lost more than $6 million over the past seven years. While the festival won’t return to four or five days this year, its organizers have been boosting it earlier than ever, with hopeful results, Craven says.

SunFest started selling advance tickets Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving, and had three times as many sales compared with the previous year’s Black Friday promotion, Craven said. The festival also released its headliners Jan. 13 — Nelly, Cole Swindell and Third Eye Blind — earlier than it has in years past.

More: SunFest 2024 to cut spending on big music acts by $1 million, bring in locals, high schools

SunFest 2024's advance ticket prices - cost will go up Feb. 15

Advance ticket prices are lower this year, too. Adult three-day early bird tickets are $120, while a one-day pass is $60. Each is $10 cheaper than 2023 advance prices. The cost will rise on Feb. 15, Craven said. Tickets can be bought online at sunfest.com/tickets.

SunFest cut $1 million from its entertainment budget this year to book less expensive acts and help keep ticket prices down. In the past, they’ve had expensive bands such as The Killers (2023) and Boyz II Men (2022).

The festival’s art village, which is making a comeback this year after being cut in 2023, will have “interactive” art, Craven said. Details have not yet been released.

The festival is also seeking acts from Palm Beach County and across Florida to perform on one of its three stages. Applications close Feb. 9 and can be filled out online at sunfest.com/how-to-perform.

This year will be SunFest’s 40^th festival. It started in 1982. Organizers canceled it in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

The musical acts, dates and times for each day at SunFest 2024

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: SunFest 2024 lineup: Nelly, Elle King, Yung Gravy, Shaggy