Spring Break is about to transform from sand and sun to an open forest and a collection of ethereal funk fusion.
Local band Flat Land was officially announced as the round-one winner of the Destination Okeechobee contest and will be performing on the main stage at Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival on March 6.
The contest consisted of 750 bands that applied from cities all across the U.S., as well as Canada. Voting was conducted through social media, and the band that received the most shares and likes on their photo was deemed the winner and given the opportunity to perform at Okeechobee.
The members of the musical quintet include Fae Nageon De Lestang, Christopher Storey, Brandon Miller, Ian McLeod and Grant McLeod. They all met on the UF campus, where some were music majors and others played in the college or around Gainesville.
Grant McLeod, Flat Land’s drummer, likened the band’s sound to soulful psychedelic rock.
“There have just been a lot of backgrounds that we’ve had, whether it’s jazz, classical, pop and even harder rock,” Grant said.
Flat Land will be performing alongside a number of notable musicians at the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, including Mumford and Sons, Kendrick Lamar and The Avett Brothers.
“Led Zeppelin is definitely one of my biggest musical influences, so I think Robert Plant would be who I’m most excited to perform with at Okeechobee,” Grant said. “I think each of us are excited for something different just because we all have different tastes.”
The band also has a nonprofit organization called Future Music Makers, which supports music education in Alachua County. The band members have raised funds for the organization, awarded private lesson scholarships and developed a partnership with the school where they volunteer.
The band has also provided music for bike enthusiasts at its open-street events downtown and partnered with different social movements in Gainesville, like the Active Street Alliance.
“I definitely recognize how much our community has helped us, and we try to give back to our community because it really does feel like a family,” Grant said.
Christina Perdue, a 21-year-old UF electrical engineering senior, is a fan of the band and went to see the band play at the Suwannee Hulaween music festival during Halloween weekend last year.
“They’re a great band — they’re just so funky and have that feel-good vibe to them,” Perdue said. “I’ll be going to Okeechobee this year, and I’m really excited because it’s going to be such a huge festival, and knowing that a talented band from Gainesville will be there is pretty awesome.”
The fun doesn’t stop at Okeechobee. On March 12, Flat Land will be playing a show at The Jam in downtown Gainesville with its percussionist’s side project, Ism, and close friends from Jacksonville, Spore.
The band is also working on a new album the members plan to release sometime in May or June, followed by a summer album tour and music video for their single, “Poco a Poco.”
“We’re all pretty silly people,” Grant said. “Behind the music, we just like to have fun.”
