Sunshine Hootenanny Music & Art Festival returns to the scenic Florida Sand Music Ranch in Brooksville, FL on November 13th, 14th, and 15th, 2025 with nearly two dozen artists due to perform.
Produced by Obsession Productions, which also puts on the annual Sunshine Get Down Music & Arts Festival on the same 80-acre wooded grounds each May, Sunshine Hootenanny has increasingly made a name for itself as one of Florida’s premier showcases of today’s national jam band scene—a space with ever-expanding sonic boundaries that still manages to stay connected via the common thread of collaboration.
Just take the three headlining acts at this year’s Sunshine Hootenanny Music & Arts Festival—Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, the outfit known for applying an exploratory, psychedelic approach to the classic sound of country music; Eggy, the ever-rising rock quartet whose thoughtfully honed songwriting plays an exciting foil to its fearless improvisation; and The Terrapin Family Band, the group of Phil Lesh disciples who backed the late Grateful Dead bassist in his later years, alongside a pair of guests from stalwart jam-rock outfit moe., drummer Vinnie Amico and guitarist Al Schnier: While these top-billed acts have largely different sounds, they have all notably shared the stage on multiple occasions in the past.
Eggy w/ Daniel Donato – “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (Crosby, Stills & Nash) [Pro-Shot] – 7/1/22
Eggy and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, two of the hottest rising acts in today’s extended jam scene, have forged a cosmic connection since they first crossed paths at the 2022 edition of The Peach Music Festival. That weekend, Daniel Donato, the Cosmic Country guitarist and bandleader, joined in with Eggy for a memorable late-night rendition of Crosby, Stills & Nash‘s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” before Eggy’s Jake Brownstein returned the favor by sitting in on a winding segment that took Phish’s “Back On The Train” through Waylon Jennings‘s “Waymore’s Blues” and back again during a Daniel Donato & Friends performance. In the time since, the two bands have linked up onstage several times, including for a full co-headlining tour in late 2023.
moe. w/ Eggy – “Ophelia” (The Band) – 8/16/25
[Video: shinepigeon]
Both Eggy and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country have also joined moe. on tour in the last few years. In 2024, Donato and company linked up with moe. for a summer outing billed as the Best.Summer.Ever. Tour which featured a number of collaborations between members of the two bands. This past summer, Eggy assumed a similar role as moe.’s opener for a stretch of dates. Since those shows aligned with Eggy bassist Mike Goodman‘s brief hiatus from the road, Eggy performed as an acoustic trio throughout the run and consistently drafted members of moe. into the lineup for sit-ins on classic rock favorites. The members of Eggy returned the favor with moe. as the run went on—a milestone guitarist Jake Brownstein had been manifesting for more than a decade—making for a thoroughly unique and collaborative outing for both the bands and their fans.
Mountain Grass Unit – “One Way Track” – DelFest Sessions
The collaborative mojo on the Sunshine Hootenanny lineup isn’t confined to the headliners, either. Of particular note, Alabama progressive bluegrass quartet Mountain Grass Unit has quickly been making a name for itself as one of the hottest rising acts on today’s extended jam circuit through statement-making live shows and high-profile collaborations with the likes of Billy Strings and more. Recently, during Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, Daniel Donato got Mountain Grass Unit guitarist Luke Black involved in a guest-filled Cosmic Country set—and even got the acoustic-favoring MGU flat-picker to trade Donato for his Telecaster mid-song. Plus, don’t forget that Donato and yet another Hootenanny performer, guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, previously toured together as members of Allman Brothers Band tribute Trouble No More.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Luke Black (Mountain Grass Unit), Kyser George (ShadowGrass) — “Big River” (Johnny Cash) — 8/9/25
[Video: Eric Pirwitz]
Of course, moe.’s representatives on the top line of the 2025 Sunshine Hootenanny lineup, Vinnie Amico and Al Schnier, will not be performing with their usual touring group but rather with the Terrapin Family Band—a favorite of last year’s Hootenanny and yet another outfit that represents the interconnected nature of today’s jam band scene. While the Grateful Dead proper haven’t performed since Jerry Garcia‘s death in 1995, the band’s legacy has informed virtually every stage of the modern jam scene’s development in the ensuing decades.
The billed guests on the Terrapin Family Band set at Sunshine Hootenanny 2025, Amico and Schnier, recently flexed their Grateful Dead chops during New Orleans Jazz Fest as part of A Dream We Dreamed: A New Orleans Tribute to Phil Lesh, but they’re not the only names on the lineup with Dead-adjacent experience: Of note, both Daniel Donato and Jake Brownstein in 2024 took part in Mahalo Dead, a run of shows in Hawaii led by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann.
“The scene we are in is a genuine subculture of America,” Daniel Donato reflected to Live For Live Music ahead of Sunshine Hootenanny. “The idea of America is a subculture in relation to our shared history of humanity across time. One of the great ideals of the idea of America is the celebration of the individual harmonizing with the whole. The music we make is both subjective and collective simultaneously. From sharing the stage with Eggy, moe., [and] all of my friends in the Terrapin Family, I can gratefully say that we are manifesting a tradition that has an aim that is upward and heavenly. It is a blessing to create music with them and for everyone with ears to hear, and I hope to do it again, for this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago.”
Added Vinnie Amico, “As an ‘elder statesman’ of the jam scene, it is great to see a new, younger generation of musicians that are such great players. These ‘kids’ are making such great music, writing great songs, working hard and playing impressive improvisation. They have obviously been influenced by the Grateful Dead but have their own styles, both writing and playing, and they are really great people to hang with, tour with, and collaborate with. It has been thoroughly enjoyable to tour with Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country last summer and with the Eggy guys just recently, [and I] am looking forward to playing with the famoe.ly band this fall…”
When asked whether he had anything to add on Eggy’s behalf, keyboardist Dani Battat said, “Wait, you’re telling me that Vinnie Amico and Daniel Donato are gonna be there? What more could I even say?”
This year’s event, produced as always by Obsession Productions, will also feature performances by guitar ace Brandon “Taz” Niederaurer, Denver jam staple Magic Beans, and Louisville-based quintet Houseplant (which just added former Goose drummer Ben Atkind behind the kit), plus Seranation, Jessica Jones Project, Ship of Fools, Electric Kif, Moonstone Riders, Prodigal Sons, Bonnie Blue, Have Gun Will Travel, Round Trip, Blackwater Grease, Face the Fence, Dandy Lush, late night silent discos with DJs MorGanja and True Self, and artist-at-large Willow Osborne. With so much talent on tap, so much history to pull from, and so much collaborative energy at play, Sunshine Hootenanny 2025 is a modern jam scene summit no fan should miss.
Tickets for Sunshine Hootenanny 2025 start at $46 for single-day and $175 for full-weekend access. Primitive walk-in camping is included in GA ticket prices, with primitive car camping passes and reserved electric RV sites available for an additional cost. Various glamping and hotel options are also available. In addition, fans can combine their ticket and merch with available Music & Merch Bundles, including shirts, posters, stickers, and koozies.
Check out the complete lineup for Sunshine Hootenanny 2025 below. For complete ticketing details, head here.
View this post on Instagram