Rendy Lovelady On Building Florida’s Gulf Coast Jam

Rendy Lovelady has spent decades managing artists and producing music events. His latest endeavor is the Gulf Coast Jam, held annually in Panama City Beach, Florida. This year’s event featuring Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, and the legendary Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd is rescheduled for March 25-26, 2021.

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Lovelady managed the country group, Little Big Town for many years, maintaining homes in Nashville and Panama City Beach, Florida. Before his foray into the music industry, the New Orleans native played college football at Ole Miss. In the mid-1970s, Lovelady began his music industry career sweeping floors for the Messina Brothers in his home town. After college, he returned as Messina’s national director of concerts before moving into touring positions with Van Halen, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and others. In the late 1980s be started managing artists.

In the heyday of large concerts, Lovelady ventured into producing festivals such as Bama Jam and Darryl Worley’s Tennessee River Run. After Bama Jam ran its course, Rendy ventured to the Florida panhandle to produce the Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach. Typically held over the Labor Day weekend, the coronavirus pandemic led Lovelady and his team, including the city’s mayor, Mark Sheldon, to reschedule the event to the latter part of March in 2021. This year’s headliners include Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, and the Southern Rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

Other acts scheduled include Cody Jinks, Cole Swindell, Joe Nichols, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others.

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Producing such a major event requires months and thousands of hours of work. Lovelady emphasized his staff is making sure the event is as safe as possible. They moved to a cashless payment system and are using the latest technology to ensure restrooms and other stations are clean and sanitized. 

“Live music is the key to the industry, especially now,” said Lovelady. “We’re doing everything possible to ensure a safe and fun experience this year. I know fans are itching to see their favorite performers. My goal is to give them the best music possible in the Florida panhandle.”

Listen as Rendy discusses the complexity of managing large concerts and artists, as well as his thoughts on the future of live music.