Weather sends music fest fans, band to house party

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Thousands of people flooded into Tampa this past weekend for the Sunset Music Festival. But, Subtropical Storm Alberto was a last-minute addition to the set list. The second day of the festival had to be canceled Sunday due to the severe weather threat.

That didn't necessarily mean the show was over. One of the acts decided to play on, at a house in St. Pete.

This was no intimate set list. There were hundreds of people flocking to the 48th Street South neighborhood after the EDM performers Bonnie X Clyde tweeted they'd be there. 

Not all the neighbors were fans of the impromptu show. Police actually shut it down. But, one of the people who hosted the show says it was a one-time thing and a memory that'll last a lifetime.

"We had been so excited and ready to perform on the main stage at SMF,"  said Paige Lopynski of Bonnie X Clyde. "And the moment we heard, we were sitting in our hotel room and we were so bummed."

"We couldn't do nothing," said Daniel Litman of Bonnie X Clyde. "So, we had to go out there and create some excitement and try to touch as many people as we could."

The electronic dance music duo held an impromptu meet and greet at a Ramada Hotel. They pulled off three last-minute performances at local venues. And, in the meantime, they asked fans on Twitter who would be willing to host a house after party.

"I got a call from my roommate around 10:00 p.m.," said Ron Eddleman. "He says, 'we are going to have a few people over. One of the DJs couldn't play at his venue and they are going to come over here at play a few sets for about 50 people'."

Or, so he thought.

Bonnie X Clyde tweeted the St. Pete address to their nearly 20,000 followers. You can guess what happened next.

"More and more people started showing up," Eddleman said. "50 turned into 75. 75 turned into 100. Outside, it was chaos. Literally, another 150 people were outside trying to get in. You had fans coming up offering us money to get in the house, hundreds of dollars just to come in and see these guys."

When Bonnie X Clyde showed up around 2:45 a.m., things got louder. "We got to the house party and literally, the street, it was just flooded with kids," said Litman. "I'm like, oh no. We walk in the door, all these kids are like 'rahhh,' all the excitement. We go in and we played 4 of our songs."

"I think it was surreal the whole time," Eddleman said. "The whole time, I'm going, this is something out of Hollywood. This is insanely cool and crazy at the same time."

It was also crazy for neighbors trying to get some sleep. Chris Lindemon was awake at the time, feeding his newborn baby when he looked out the window.

"There must have been 30-50 people in the front yard and just cars coming and going back and forth down the street, so, it was pretty insane," Lindemon said. "The noise wasn't really as big of an issue. It was just a lot going on."

Eventually, someone had enough and called the police. Officers arrived, the party was shut down and Bonnie X Clyde headed to the airport to board a 5 a.m. flight to Los Angeles.

"Being able to reach as many people, I think was really special, and I think it turned a crappy day into a fun day," Lopynski said. 

A wrinkled SMF wristband remains in Eddleman's driveway, a souvenir of the show Alberto just couldn't blow away.

"I had to walk around to about 12 neighbors this morning and apologize and say look, this was a once in a lifetime one time thing. It'll never happen again," Eddleman said.