Shut Up & Play was an all day music festival held at 11/12 Lounge (843 Lee Road Orlando). There were three stages with music being performed non-stop. As one group broke down their equipment on one stage musicians would be set up and ready to go at the stage on the opposite end of the room. People seated in the center of the room only had to rotate their chairs. The first performer I saw was Dominic Gaudious who had an amazing branching Didgeridoo which had a deep mesmerizing tone that complimented his guitar playing. I had seen him perform once before at Downtown Disney. Bruce Bentner was the artist on stage. He used a projector to transfer the Shut Up & play poster onto canvas. He used black light paints to give the painting some added punch.
Lindy Romez, a fabulous trumpet player was seated right in front of me as I sketched. She and her Sol Y Mar band jumped on the stage once Dominic was finished with his performance. I had sketched Lindy Romez & Sol Y Mar once before at the White House.
Across the room Decoy Beat performed. Jeremy Birdsall who organized the whole event was on guitar. Jeremy was a consummate performer, arching his body to the flow of the music. He was fun to sketch. When he introduced the group he thanked his wife Lynn Halter Birdsall who had worked so hard to make the event possible. There was plenty of applause. I glanced over at Lynn who was busy getting a band checked in. Lynn had given me a slick Shut Up and Play lanyard that proudly announced that I was an artist. It was such an awesome design that I wouldn’t mind wearing it all the time. If anyone were to ask if I were an artist, I could just point to the lanyard. Come to think of it, mo one ever asked if I was an artist at this event.
Dawn Schreiner was the artist hard at work as Decoy Beat played. She finished a quick portrait she had started of Martin Luthar King by adding radiating lines around his head. Then she started a whimsical piece with a turn of the century couple and birds. I loved the way she boldly drew in the faces with a brush. Her lines danced.