Countdown Seaside Features Big Family Fun

The Merchants of Seaside are proud to present a fantastic, family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration in the twinkling, holiday town of Seaside. On Thurs., Dec. 31, the 6th Annual Countdown Seaside activities will welcome in 2016 with live entertainment, kid’s art projects, street performers and fireworks over the Gulf of Mexico.
 
The musical celebration kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with a performance by Nashville-based Great Peacock performing on the amphitheater stage. Guests will enjoy a blend old-school harmony duo retuned for a new generation and stemming from a handful of classic influences – the country croon of George Jones, the working class rock & roll of Bruce Springsteen, the heartland hum of Tom Petty. Expanding their sound from there, Great Peacock is the sort of band that’s simultaneously rooted in tradition and headed toward new territory. To Andrew Nelson, Blount Floyd, Nick Recio, Ben Cunningham, and Clay Houle, it’s just pop music with organic acoustic instruments. They use some fiddle, some pedal steel and a whole lot of acoustic guitar, which sounds like the traditional setup for a country band. But to the band members, it’s not really country or folk; it’s pop with folk tendencies.
 
Helping to ring in the New Year in the final hours of 2015 is the Magic City’s John & Jacob. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, the band found their roots in the sounds of back-porch pickers and harmonies of gospel singers. After ten years of playing together, John Davidson, Jacob Bryant, Jake Thrasher, Trevor Davis, and Austin Smith have zoned in on a stripped-down style with the basics of feel good melodies and lyrics. After landing their publishing deal with Major Bob Music, within two years, they wrote their first Billboard #1 song, were nominated for an MTV O-Music Award, were tapped for Red Bull’s Sound Select and were chosen by CMT Edge as their first unsigned “Listen Up” artist. “John and Jacob are known for their live energy and certainlyknow how to party with a crowd as well as keep their attention through slower and more personal songs. John and Jacob make it feel like home by rocking out with you. Their live energy will captivate you and before you know it you’ll be tapping your foot along to the beat,” says Cultured Vultures.
 
At the stroke of midnight, Seaside will then light up the skies over the Gulf of Mexico and welcome the first minutes of 2016 with its exciting fireworks display from a barge in front of Bud & Alley's—a Seaside tradition. The colorful display will be visible from the beach, as well as from the Seaside Amphitheater in Central Square. A synchronized music soundtrack will be simulcast in the Amphitheater.
 

 
For more information, visit www.seasidefl.com or call (850) 231-6179. Follow Seaside New Town Old Ways on Facebook for updates on town events. Instagram: seaside_newtownoldways. Twitter: @SeasideFL_.