Q&A with the Tobacco Rd Band

Tobacco Rd Band

Like a little country music mixed with some Florida rock and roll? On Friday, April 14th, Tobacco Rd Band will rock the Gulf of Mexico at the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival! We talked to Eric Durrance, CMT artist, co-writer of Jake Owens Top 10 Single “Eight Second Ride”, and founder and songwriter for the Tobacco Rd Band, to get an idea of what we’ll see on Friday, April 14th on Clearwater Beach.

The name of your band is very catchy. How did you come up with it?

Tobacco Rd Band is the rode we grew up on, lived on, loved on, and realized real life stuff on.

How would you describe your music? Who are your major influences?

We love all music! But, anything from southern rock to country and anyone from The Eagles to Leonard Skynyrd, Cash, and Haggard and Jones.

How long have you all known each other?

The band is been together for seven years.

Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers?

We love playing originals because people seem to like those the best. Although, we do like to play covers to classic country and any popular current songs that we feel fits the style of the band.

What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?

The topics of our songs are real life situations, working class people songs and songs for military. Songs about survival and overcoming hard times as well as having fun on the weekends. We are currently writing for a new album at it it is almost complete.

So get out of your shell, come to Clearwater Beach, and visit the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, a ten day beach-wide celebration! Listen to some of their songs now on Spotify to get ready!

Why You Should Spend Easter on Clearwater Beach

Hop on over to Clearwater Beach for Easter weekend! There is no shortage of Easter-themed activities for the whole family to enjoy! Check out our basket of ideas on what you should do for Easter!

Easter Egg Hunts & Crafts

The Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach offers a host of eggcellent Easter activities for its
guests. For your little peeps, there is an egg hunt by the pool, egg decorating, and easter crafts! For those wanting a special experience, the Easter bunny can actually deliver your Easter basket to your room!

Easter Brunch

Why spend all day in the kitchen when you can have a decadent gulf-side meal? Carambola at Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa offers a delicious Easter Sunday Brunch with variety of food for the whole family to enjoy! Dine on delectable entrees such as lamb osso buco, oysters, lobster bisque, cane syrup glazed ham, Israeli couscous, stone crab, key lime tarts, and more.

Another Easter brunch favorite is Shephard’s Beach Resort. Enjoy mouthwatering meals like their famous herb crusted prime rib and crab legs along with many more culinary delights like coconut mascarpone french toast, whiskey apples, pesto butter mussels, hand rolled sushi, homemade desserts, and much more!

Considering that Clearwater Beach is a great destination to spend your Easter weekend, we suggest you take your cotton tail and call ahead to make a reservation.

Easter Movie & Fireworks

Bring out all your peeps to see the movie HOP on Clearwater Beach! Sunset Cinema will be showing HOP, a movie following the Easter Bunny’s teenage son’s quest to save Easter. Movies start at dusk and are weather permitting. Bring a blanket or a low sitting chair and watch the movie on the big screen on the beach! Popcorn, soft drinks, and concessions will be available.

To close out the Easter festivities, the Sugar Sand Festival will blast off fireworks at 9PM! The best viewing spot for the fireworks will be near the Pier and the Pier 60 Park area.

Instead of staying at home, come create experiences and happy memories for Easter 2017 on Clearwater Beach with the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival! Check out our accommodations page for some sweet hotel deals and the latest tips on avoiding traffic for Easter weekend!

Skip the Line, Buy Online!

It’s one of Clearwater Beach’s most anticipated events, and this year it’s even bigger, better and easier to attend. The Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival presented by Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater will transform Clearwater Beach into a fantasy world April 14-23, 2017. This year’s theme will be Sugar Sand FantaSEA, “A Magical Adventure Above and Below the Sea.”

Due to the overwhelming interest and success of the festival, online ticket sales are being offered to visitors in an effort to enhance the guest experience. Visitors can pre-purchase tickets so they won’t have to stand in line to buy tickets. These ticket holders will have their own, seperate, “fast entrance” to the event, and will receive a $5 discount on all festival merchandise.

New this year is the Shephard’s VIP Lounge Experience, where visitors will be able to enjoy the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival in style with a swanky experience from our friends at Shephard’s Beach Resort. VIP access gets you into the tented bar area with private air-conditioned restrooms, lounge seating and live DJ. VIP ticket holders will also get admission to the Sugar Sand Walk Exhibit, a Shephard’s 40th anniversary T-shirt and swag bag, complimentary beer or wine drink tickets, admission to Shephard’s Wave Nightclub and more.

Admission to the sculpture exhibit will be $10 for adults, $6 for students ages six to 17 years old, and $8 for those 55 and older, military personnel, police officers, firefighters and teachers (proper identification required). Children five and younger will be admitted free of charge with adult purchase. Adult and senior tickets include a complimentary souvenir photo.

Written by Jason Beisel, Public Information Coordinator, City of Clearwater

Featured Buskers

Street performers entertain and dazzle guests year round during the Sunsets at Pier 60 Daily Festival. During the Sugar Sand Festival, two guest performers are flown in from around the world to amp up the entertainment offerings! Check out the Opal Sands Street Theater Experience during your visit to the 5th annual Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival April 14th-23rd 2017!

WACKY CHAD

Laugh until it hurts as stunt comedian and former Super Bowl and America’s Got Talent performer, Wacky Chad rides on his tiny bicycle and handstands on a skateboard. Wacky Chad will reach neck-straining heights during the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival on his tall unicycle and will defy gravity on an air powered pogo stick. Prepare to be amazed!

NICOLAS TWEEDY

The Nicholas Tweedy show is not your typical magic show. Nick is a mentalist first and magician second. At the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, you will see some of the most unbelievable demonstrations of levitations, mind-reading and body language interpretation skills in the world!

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What is Sugar Sand?

Imagine you are on the #1 Beach in America,
listening to the gentle ocean waves, taking in the sunshine, and sinking your toes into the soft white sands of Clearwater Beach. Sounds like a dream,
right? Lucky for you, it’s reality! Clearwater Beach is the #1 Beach in America! It’s surrounded by the warm gulf, boasts year-round sunshine, and has absolutely stunning “sugar” sand beaches. But, what exactly makes Clearwater Beach so unique? And, why do we call it “sugar” sand?

Sand color and consistency is determined based upon what components the sand is made of. Corals and shells control the texture and color of sand. Most beaches in Florida are made up of quartz crystals mixed with coral and shells. However, this is not the case on Clearwater Beach!

Clearwater Beach’s sugar sand is one of the purest and whitest sands anywhere in the state of Florida! This is because sugar sand is primarily made of quartz crystal and contains barely any shells and/or coral, giving it a colorless tone and a “sugar” like feel. The sparkling quartz crystals that cover Clearwater Beach originally came from the Appalachian Mountains, washed down into rivers that led to the Gulf of Mexico, and were swept onto the shores of our pristine beach.

And best of all, when you sink your toes into our sand, it’s cool to the touch! No shoes required! Come leave your footprints on Clearwater Beach April 14th-23rd, 2017 during the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival.

Top 5 Reasons to Add the Sugar Sand Festival to Your Bucket List

1. Location, Location, Location!

The Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival is on the #1 Beach in America! Clearwater Beach, located a quick 20-minute drive from the St. Pete-Clearwater Airport and a 30-minute drive from Tampa International Airport in Florida, is a place like no other. This 2.5 mile stretch of beach offers soft and sugar like sand as well as breathtaking sunsets!

2. It’s TEN days long!

Conventional weekend and one night events can take a back seat! The Sugar Sand Festival celebrates the sand and the sun for ten jam-packed days! Mark your calendars for April 14th-23rd, 2017!

3. It’s affordable!

While other events charge you at every corner, the Sugar Sand Festival wants everyone to experience the best of Clearwater Beach! Sand sculpting classes, demonstrations, movies in the park, a giant sandbox for children, and fireworks are just a few examples of the free activities this event has to offer. Since the ten day festival is produced by a not-for-profit arts organization, they only charge a low-price for entrance to the Sugar Sand Walk Exhibit.

P.S. Your Exhibit ticket includes a free souvenir photo. What a deal!

4. There’s almost too much to do!

Starting at 10AM on Friday April 14th, the Sugar Sand Festival is packed with activities for the whole family to enjoy. Dance in the sand at a live concert, grab a craft beer at the Sugar Sand Bar, or take the kids to see the daring live performers in Pier 60 Park! Check out our Schedule of Events page to learn more!

5. Sand Sculptures GALORE!

Obviously, the #1 reason to add the Sugar Sand Festival to your bucket list is to see the Sugar Sand Walk Exhibit! Eleven world-class sculptors will sculpt elaborate sand sculptures from Clearwater’s internationally famous sugar sand. The works of art will be on display for ten days in a 21,000-square-foot tent. More than 1,000 tons of Clearwater sand will be brought to life, taking visitors on a magical journey through the sea.