Birthday bash

On what would have been Tom Petty’s 69th birthday, thousands of friends and strangers alike gathered in the rock star’s hometown to pay tribute to a local legend.

The third annual Tom Petty Birthday Bash, honoring the late Gainesville-born, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, concluded Sunday with a happy birthday sing-along, fireworks and a concer featuring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band Heavy Petty on the stage at Depot Park.

Heavy Petty frontman Jason Hedges founded the celebration in 2017 after the musician, known for “I Won’t Back Down,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “American Girl,” and many more hits, died Oct. 2, 2017, at the age of 66. His birthday would have been just weeks later, on Oct. 20.

Hedges and others organized a free six-hour show of Petty tunes, in which 2,500 fans participated.

By 2018, the concert evolved from a showcase of fans’ grief and grew exponentially into a proper rock and roll festival. More than 8,000 people gathered from across the nation to celebrate Petty’s life and legacy.

“I never dreamed it would be like this,” Hedges said.

This year's party unofficially began with a symposium at the Matheson History Museum on Thursday, during which friends of Petty discussed his character, influences and poor driving skills.

Sean O’Dwyer, a Matheson Museum volunteer and Petty fan, attended the symposium and said he is ecstatic the museum is hosting a temporary exhibit on Petty beginning next month.

Classic photos, a 1955 Fender guitar and his guitar strap as well as the handwritten lyrics to a popular hit are among the memorabilia the museum brought over to the Boxcar at Depot Park over the weekend.

“I just about died when I saw the lyrics were from ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More,’” O’Dwyer said.

The 24-year-old saw Petty and the Heartbreakers play in West Palm Beach in 2017 and said the music’s messages can touch anyone.

“Those themes were so resonant,” he said. “It transcends generations.”

Dozens of bands played outdoors at Depot Park over the course of the weekend, and others took to the stage at Heartwood Soundstage.

Music fans laid out on blankets and sat in chairs sipping drinks and eating treats from food trucks set up at the event.

Fears over weather concerns pushed back Saturday's schedule slightly. Rain rocked the stages Friday night, and wind gusts over 40 mph were predicted for Saturday. Crews had to disassemble the stage and put it back together once it was deemed safe, which took hours. The first three bands were scheduled to perform Saturday at 1 p.m. but had to be canceled.

"That sucks,” Hedges said. “But we fought through, and we did it. In Florida, the weather changes constantly.”

Another activity that had to change plans because of the weather took the form of an 8-foot-by-8-foot blank canvas that slowly came to life with Petty’s image over the weekend.

Gainesville artists Carrie and Jesus Martinez painted the bright image over the course of the weekend, both indoors and outdoors on Sunday when the sun shone, for an auction benefiting the UF Health Shands Hospital’s Arts in Medicine program.

For the past 30 years, 16 artists across multiple disciplines including crafters, writers and musicians, have visited with patients to provide creative outlets for those staying at the hospital.

Hedges, the festival organizer, has performed with the program for the past five years and decided to sell VIP tickets for the event to collect proceeds for its benefit.

“Music is medicine,” he said. “It helps people.”

Much of the weekend went on without a hitch, according to fans.

Gainesville resident Carol Robles attended for the second year in a row with her husband, Joe.

“I couldn’t wait to come back,” she said. “It was just so pleasant, and we love Tom Petty.”

Robles said her children grew up listening to music from musicians like Petty and Steely Dan.

“It was a lot of fun, singing along,” she said. “But maybe not for the kids.”