Supergroup Ezra Ray Hart Will Bring Nostalgia Aplenty to Tortuga

Are Y2K-era rock jams still living rent-free in your head? You're in luck. Supergroup Ezra Ray Hart is hitting the sands of Fort Lauderdale Beach for the Tortuga Music Festival this weekend.

Comprised of Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, Emerson Hart of Tonic, and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Ezra Ray Hart is the musical equivalent of throwing your favorite decades into a blender with a heap of on-stage charm. Think "Fly," "Good," "If You Could Only See," and all the vibes that come with them.

"What's exceptional about the three of us is that we've always been friends. All of us are cut from the same cloth," Griffin tells New Times. "When I first reached out to Mark about putting together kind of an all-star band, he was just instantly like, 'I totally get that. I want to do it.' We got together for the first time, like six or seven years ago, and rehearsed. It's hit after hit. And the vibe, what I love about it, what we all love about it, is we only have to be frontman like a third of the time."

At Tortuga, you can catch these hitmakers swapping mics and stories as they burn through the kind of setlist that sounds like the mixtape gifted to you by your high-school crush, including Sugar Ray's "Every Morning" and "Fly," Better Than Ezra's "Desperately Wanting" and "Good," and Tonic's "You Wanted More" and "If You Could Only See."

The band's Saturday night set is part of a stacked Tortuga lineup featuring country powerhouses like Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Luke Combs, and Shaboozey. The festival also keeps its reputation for booking curveballs, with acts like Ludacris, Gavin DeGraw, and the Original Wailers also on the bill.

For Griffin, the Tortuga set comes at a nostalgic time. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Better Than Ezra's breakthrough album Deluxe, which introduced the world to "Good" and proved alternative rock didn't always have to be full-on angsty and brooding.

Beyond fronting one the Nineties most successful bands, Griffin is also a prolific songwriter, writing for everyone from Sugarland (yes, that's his stamp on "Stuck Like Glue") to Howie Day ("Collide") to, yes, Taylor Swift, who covered his song "Breathless." When asked who he hopes to work with in the future, Griffin lists Harry Styles, Damien Rice, and George Strait without missing a beat.

Whether it's belting choruses or charming crowds with his legendary banter, Griffin knows how to work a stage.

"There was this famous movie called Spring Break, and it was about spring break gone awry in Fort Lauderdale," he says, laughing. "I've heard things have changed, but maybe I'll have to bring some of that Eighties-era Fort Lauderdale debauchery back."

Of course, sometimes the banter doesn't land. Griffin recalls a close call at New Jersey's storied Stone Pony. "I was telling a story that had something to do with Bruce Springsteen. And if you didn't know me, you might think I was setting it up to dis Bruce. This guy in the back just goes, 'Careful, careful.' I had to jump in, like, 'Don't worry, I'm a fan.' The enthusiasm and the love of an audience can turn quickly on a dime."

This weekend, at Tortuga, come for the country twang, stay for the rock nostalgia. But on Saturday night, don't be surprised if Ezra Ray Hart steals the show with one catchy hook and sunny sing-along at a time.

Tortuga Music Festival. Noon Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, 1100 Seabreeze Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; tortugamusicfestival.com. Tickets cost $199 to $1,609 via tortuga.frontgatetickets.com.