Tortuga Music Festival — Fort Lauderdale Beach

Tortuga Music Festival is back on Fort Lauderdale Beach this weekend, bringing three days of live music and nightly road closures around the barrier island. (tortugamusicfestival.com) (fortlauderdale.gov) The 13th annual festival is running April 10-12 at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, 1100 Seabreeze Blvd., with gates and performances scheduled from about noon to 10:30 p.m. each day. (nbcmiami.com) (fortlauderdale.gov) This year’s headliners are Post Malone, Riley Green and Kenny Chesney, with Ice Cube, The Fray and Colbie Caillat also on the bill. Organizers describe Tortuga as a three-day, multi-stage festival focused on country, rock and roots music. (nbcmiami.com) (tortugamusicfestival.com) For Fort Lauderdale residents, the bigger immediate change is traffic. The city said drivers should expect delays on A1A, Seabreeze Boulevard, Southeast 17th Street and Las Olas Boulevard throughout the event. (fortlauderdale.gov) Each night from 9:15 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., northbound and southbound traffic is scheduled to close from Harbor Drive to Southeast 5th Street so crowds can leave the venue. During that window, traffic south of East Las Olas Boulevard is routed north on A1A or west off the barrier island over the East Las Olas Boulevard bridge. (fortlauderdale.gov) The city also said there is no designated event parking. Officials are steering attendees to rideshare pickup zones at Las Olas Oceanside Park and the Harbor Drive loop, and warning that pickups outside those areas can bring fines for drivers. (fortlauderdale.gov) Festival organizers and local tourism officials are pushing alternatives to driving, including Water Taxi service, Brightline into Fort Lauderdale, the free LauderGO shuttle and the Circuit electric microtransit service. Water Taxi festival service is set to run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. between Riverside Hotel, Hilton Marina and GalleryOne DoubleTree. (nbcmiami.com) (visitlauderdale.com) The festival also changes beach access. The city said part of the beach is reserved for the event and will not be open for normal public use during the weekend. (fortlauderdale.gov) Tortuga’s pitch has long extended beyond the lineup. The festival brands itself around ocean conservation through Rock The Ocean, and its website says last year’s event diverted almost 115 tons of material from landfills while operating during sea turtle nesting season under special permits and protections. (tortugamusicfestival.com) Police are also treating the weekend as a large-crowd safety operation. Fort Lauderdale officers told attendees to watch for pickpocketing, keep drinks in sight, travel in groups and verify rideshare license plates before getting in. (local10.com) For fans, Tortuga is a beach weekend built around big-name sets. For everyone else near Fort Lauderdale Beach, it is three days of detours, restricted access and a nightly traffic squeeze after the music stops. (cbsnews.com) (fortlauderdale.gov)