Ready to rock? Or get your country on? The 2018 De Soto Seafood Fest has you covered

Seafood fans delight because the annual Heintz & Becker De Soto Seafood Fest returns to Sutton Park in Palmetto from Friday-Sunday.

And if you are a classic rock fan, you’ll love Maiden Cane rocking out as the Friday night headliner.

Moreover, for the first time since moving the event from the Bradenton Riverwalk to Palmetto’s Sutton Park five years ago, admission is free.

“We loved being on the waterfront but we love the space we have and Sutton Park is a beautiful park that provides us everything we need,” DeSoto Historical Society president Jeff Rodgers said. “We’ve had to charge a couple of dollars admission in the past, but our sponsorship is to the point where we can make it free again and we are happy to be able to do that.”

Sunday’s Kids Zone also is free. The event will feature more than 20 food vendors, 50 arts and crafts vendors and more.

Great seafood and great music is always the expectation for the annual seafood festival and this year’s lineup shouldn’t disappoint.

Maiden Cane can cover all of your favorite classics from Journey to Boston to Foreigner and more, and the band will take the stage from 8-10 p.m. on Friday.

Dewey Buxton, a local rock favorite, will open for Maiden Cane.

If country music is more your cup of musical tea, then one of country music’s rising stars is sure to grab your attention when Eric Paslay headlines the Saturday night lineup.

A prolific songwriter, Paslay has written top five singles for the likes of Jake Owens and Rascal Flatts. Paslay released his self-titled album in 2014 and “Friday Night” skyrocketed into the top five and included other hits such as “Song About a Girl” and “She Don’t Love You.”

Prior to releasing his first album, Paslay was featured on Amy Grant’s 2013 album “How Mercy Looks from Here,” on which he shared lead vocals with Grant and Sheryl Crow on a song he wrote called, “Deep As It Is Wide.”

In 2016, Paslay was nominated for a Grammy for a song he sang with Charles Kelly and Dierks Bentley called “The Drive.” Paslay is scheduled to open for Brad Paisley this winter.

Opening for Paslay on Saturday is Craig Wayne Boyd, the season seven winner of “The Voice,” and there will be plenty of musical action throughout the festival with entertainers such as Kasey Williams, Rebel Heart and Carrie Welling.

Williams and Welling are coming from Nashville, Tenn. After a brief absence from the festival, a past favorite rock band returns to the stage on Sunday in The Dweebs.

“We have great music, local artisans, great seafood and it’s going to be a really good event with a national recording artist on Saturday,” Rodgers said. “The Dweebs haven’t been here for a while but they’ll play Sunday. They are a high-energy rock band out of Minnesota and have a big following out of that area.”

Thousands attend the event each year, but Rodgers said now that they have been able to make the event free again, “We are really excited this year and it’s going to be bigger than ever.”

The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday with the first night wrapping up at 10 p.m. Gates reopen Saturday at 11 a.m. and stay open until 10 p.m. Sunday’s hours are from noon until 6 p.m.

And don’t forget, “This is an alcohol friendly event,” Rodgers said, so beer and drinks will be on sale.

For more information, visit desothq.com.

This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Ready to rock? Or get your country on? The 2018 De Soto Seafood Fest has you covered."