A sign in the crowd

Katie Lucey of Detroit experienced her first rock concert when she was 13. The band was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and she was taken by her mother, Barb Kawel.

Years later they are still rocking to Petty together — they were among the hundreds of members of the Tom Petty Nation! fan club who came to Gainesville this weekend to celebrate the star’s birthday with his music and the dedication of the former Northeast Park as Tom Petty Park.

“He wrote music and lyrics that are like the story of your life,” Kawel said at the park dedication. “A love gained, a love lost, the death of a friend. You could relate to it.”

Petty was born Oct. 20, 1950, in Gainesville and grew up and lived here until he left for Los Angeles to try to make it big in the music business. He more than succeeded.

Before his death on Oct. 2, 2017, Petty sold millions of records worldwide with the Heartbreakers, the Traveling Wilburys supergroup and solo. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. His music had touches of rock genres from Southern to psychedelic but was always distinctively Petty in part because of his nasal drawl of a voice.

Petty’s roots were in northeast Gainesville. His family lived a block from the park and it was a second home for him, said Bruce Petty, Tom’s younger brother.

“My brother and I grew up in this park. We played as kids. My cousin reminded me the other day of my remark that it was a sanctuary, and it really was,” Bruce Petty said. “It was a place for us to escape and be kids and have fun. The fact that we are doing this today in the park that we played in makes it so much more special.”

Adria Petty, Tom’s daughter, grew up in Los Angeles but was no stranger to North Florida, including annual trips to St. Augustine with her mom and dad.

She spoke of a previously unreleased song, “Gainesville,” that is on a new four-CD box set of Petty’s music — “An American Treasure” — that includes live versions and outtakes of previous recordings.

“Gainesville is an extraordinary place and if you listen to my dad’s music here, it has a different meaning. The idea of the air smelling good and the trees are green — there is nothing like this park to really illustrate that,” she said. “‘Gainesville’ has been blasting in my head since I landed ... It’s a very important town to Florida. Florida is a really beautiful and complex state and (Gainesville) fosters a lot of intelligence and compassion and incredible manners and incredible decency.”

Several Tom Petty Nation! members who traveled here for the weekend said the trip gave them a deeper appreciation for his music. They visited spots associated with him or mentioned in his music including bars, music venues, the University of Florida and other locations.

“Walking around the town, especially during his songs, it kind of puts it all together,” said Tiffany O’Neil of San Diego. “The Spanish moss hanging from the trees, Lillian’s Music Store — it’s like a movie set.”

Petty activities were also happening at Depot Park and at Heartwood Soundstage.

Heartwood featured several bands including The Bayjacks with Tom Leadon, who played early on with Petty in Mudcrutch.

The Tom Petty Birthday Bash at Depot Park featured bands playing Petty music and was a benefit of UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine program.

Local artists Carrie and Jesus Martinez painted a Tom Petty Mural at the Sidney Lanier Center, the elementary school Petty attended. They were asked to paint an 8-by-8-foot mural on canvas that was auctioned Saturday night to benefit the UF program.

“We hope to make a lot of money for a really good cause,” Carrie Martinez said. “We’re Tom Petty fans. Everybody is a Tom Petty fan.”