St. Augustine is putting on the finishing touches to get ready for the Gentlemen of the Road festival, curated and headlined by folk hitmakers Mumford & Sons.
The festival, which begins Friday night and will run all day Saturday, is expected to bring about 25,000 to the city's Francis Field.
The Grammy winning British pop/folk/rock band has a loyal following, many of those who are going to the festival are coming from out of town, filling most of St. Augustine area hotels.
The festival is the last of five "stopovers" to wrap up the band's summer tour.
Bringing major concerts to smaller towns was the intention of the band. Concert promoter Jeff Cuellar says bandleader Marcus Mumford told him to find a city in Florida. When he noticed the website for the upcoming 450th anniversary of St. Augustine's founding, it became the obvious choice.
The city has been working with residents and businesses to make sure everything runs smoothly. People living in the neighborhoods nearest Francis Field were given parking passes so they can get in and out and prevent others from parking on the street.
Business owners are looking forward to swell of people expected downtown at a time when the city usually sees fewer tourists.
Cruisers Grill general manager Jay Haren says he doesn't know what to expect, but if only a small fraction of festival goers stop by it'll be a good weekend for business.
St. Augustine City Manager John Regan has advice for anyone driving to the festival — take the shuttle bus. The bus will run from the St. Augustine airport from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. both days of the festival. Shuttle wristbands can be purchased for $30 and rides are unlimited. You do not need festival tickets to ride the shuttle.
Other live music performances, many of them free, will be held at other locations in the city during the festival.
