The Gamble Rogers Music Festival returns to St. Augustine after 2-year hiatus

As life in St. Augustine slowly returns to normal, a city favorite is returning this weekend after a two-year hiatus: The Gamble Rogers Music Festival.

The event takes place Friday through Sunday at the Colonial Oak Music Park in downtown St. Augustine. More than 30 musical acts, with headliners The Steel Wheels, an Americana band from the Virginia mountains who performed in 2015 as a festival headliner at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, will perform over the three-day stretch.

St. Augustine is well-known for talented musicians in local venues, and James Gamble Rogers IV was one of those talents who made it to much bigger stages in his time — he performed on "The Tonight Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," National Public Radio, and folk festival stages throughout the United States.

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A native Floridian, he was a singer-songwriter, storyteller, playwright, guitarist and humorist.

Jimmy Buffett dedicated his 1994 CD "Fruitcakes" to Rogers. The two musicians played concerts together in St. Augustine at Trade Winds Tropical Lounge, along with other musicians including Bob Patterson and Vaughn Cochran.

"Gamble Rogers taught me how to move an audience with dialogue and delivery as much as with music,” Buffett wrote. "I attribute a lot of my ability to remain true to my vision to Gamble Rogers and what he taught me."

Gamble Rogers died trying to save a drowning swimmer in 1991 at Flagler Beach. His friends and fellow musicians came together in 1995 to honor the late music legend by creating the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival (changed to the Gamble Rogers Music Festival in more recent years). The event was first staged at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, and later moved to the Colonial Quarter.

His name is well-known in the area, with a school and state park also memorializing him: Gamble Rogers Middle School and Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach.

“The festival celebrates someone who is so near and dear to so many people in the community,” said Lolly Rogers, Gamble Rogers' daughter, who joined the festival’s board of directors in 2019 after moving back to St. Augustine. “The event honors all the people of that genre of music … and all the music that came after that. I was really excited about moving home and being able to participate in the work that continues the legacy of my father.”

Two stages will feature local, regional and national groups including Michael Reno Harrell, Pierce Pettis, Veronika Jackson, Red & Chris Henry’s All Star Band, Remedy Tree, Belle and the Band, Frankie J and the Chicken Parade, Passerine and many others.

The music lineup and tickets are available at gamblerogersfest.org.

“I grew up in this world but there is so much new music that I’ve been introduced to … like the Steel Wheels and Harpeth Rising, which are now two of my favorite bands,” Lolly Rogers said.

Along with three full days of music, the Gamble Rogers Music Festival will offer plenty of food and drink available at the Colonial Quarter’s restaurants and beverage sales areas; merchandise; and new 2022 shirts designed by Skinny Lizard T-shirt Printers.

New this year, the Riberia Gardens stage, located across the street from Colonial Oak Music Park on Saint George Street, will feature family-friendly performances and youth activities, including a ukulele workshop, storytelling and hands-on music making.

Scott Sweet, formerly of Grandpa's Music, is bringing his “instrument petting zoo,” and two local schools will offer crafts: Forest Flatwoods School and Star Song School.

A portion of the proceeds from each festival helps music programs at local schools.

Lolly Rogers and Steve Lowe, both on the board of directors, are helping to organize the youth portion.

“I hope that post-COVID, the festival regenerates and grows … that we reach out to young people to understand this kind of music and this kind of entertainment,” Lolly Rogers explained.

In addition to the annual festival, the board of directors will host the inaugural Gamble Rogers Gala on Oct. 8 at the St. Johns County Agricultural Center, with live music by Medicine Springs and a silent auction.

If you go

When: Friday, May 6: 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 7: 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 8: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: Colonial Quarter, 14 S. Castillo Drive

Information: gamblerogersfest.org

Tickets: $60 for the three-day event; $20 for Friday; $30 for Saturday; and $20 for Sunday. Purchase tickets at gamblerogersfest.org.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine concert: The Gamble Rogers Music Fest hosts Steel Wheels