Tampa’s festival season just got its first big save-the-date. The Gasparilla Music Festival will return to downtown Tampa on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28, 2027, taking over Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Gardens along the Hillsborough River, according to the official announcement shared by Visit Tampa Bay.
The two-day celebration is one of the anchors of the city’s beloved Gasparilla season, and the 2027 edition is shaping up to be its biggest yet: more than 60 live acts across five stages, all surrounded by the flavors that make Tampa proud. Local restaurants and food trucks will serve the city’s favorite bites between sets, and families will find a dedicated Kids Zone so the youngest festivalgoers can join the fun too.
The setting could hardly be better. Curtis Hixon’s broad green lawn, right on the Tampa Riverwalk and framed by the downtown skyline and the minarets of the University of Tampa across the river, was made for weekends like this one — picnic blankets, river breezes and music drifting over the water from morning to night.
The festival is presented by the Gasparilla Music Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission goes beyond one weekend: it supports music education and local musicians in the Tampa Bay community, so every ticket helps keep music in local classrooms and on local stages all year long.
Organizers say the full artist lineup and ticket details are still to come, so for now the happiest move is the simplest one: circle February 27-28, 2027 on the calendar and get ready to welcome Tampa’s favorite music weekend back to the riverfront.
Photo: Michelle Maria via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
