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Labor Day weekend at Fort Myers Beach is about to get louder, brighter, and a whole lot more fun. We’re gearing up for Bash on the Bay at Matanzas on the Bay, a waterfront festival where you can roll in by car or pull up by boat and settle in for a full day of live music, cold drinks, food, vendors, and on-the-water activities. If you’ve been searching for things to do around Fort Myers Beach that actually feel local and alive, this one is built for you.
We also sit down with headliner Jacquie Roar, the Oregon artist who turned all four chairs on NBC’s The Voice and brings a fearless country rock sound to every stage she touches. Jacquie breaks down what goes through your mind when a crowd does not know you yet, how she earns their trust fast, and why she leans into bold choices like heavier guitars, genre-blending originals, and even a Tool cover that no one expects at a “country” show. She shares the reality of performing outdoors, the importance of keeping energy high, and the moments in a set that make a crowd jump to its feet.
Along the way we talk setlist craft, songwriting, and the simple goal behind a great live show: leave people saying, “What did I just see?” Whether you’re coming for Jacquie, the Ben Allen Band, or the all-day waterfront vibe, Bash on the Bay is shaping up to be a family-friendly Labor Day weekend highlight with music, contests, and plenty to do between sets. Subscribe for more Buzz on the Bay, share this with your beach crew, and leave a review, then tell us: are you coming by land or by water?
Buzz On The Bay 414 Crescent Street Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 (239) 463-3838 matanzasonthebay.com Matanzas On The Bay Matanzas Inn Petey’s Upper Deck @MatanzasInnResort
Welcome to Buzz on the Bay. Sponsored by Matanzas on the Bay. This is your tropical escape into all the fun flavor and waterfront energy happening in and around the bay near Fort Myers Beach. From island-inspired dining and cool drinks to boating, music, sunsets, and local happenings, we're bringing you the stories and experiences that make life on the water so special. So sit back, relax, and let's enjoy where the bay comes alive.
Welcome to Buzz on the Bay. Today we are promoting our upcoming Bash on the Bay event that runs Labor Day weekend, September 5th through the 7th here at Matanzas on the Bay. Labor Day weekend at Fort Myers Beach. It's about to get a whole lot bigger. The Bash on the Bay, we're gonna have live music, food, drinks, vendors, boating activities, contests, more happening right here in the waterfront. Something where anybody and everybody can come down and spend the entire day. You can come by land, you can come by water, come however you need to come. Um, but we've put together some serious entertainment, uh all-day entertainment per se. And uh we got headliners like our very own Ben Allen, and then we have Jackie Rohr coming all the way from Oregon. Um, one of the reasons you want to come out and see Jackie Roar. Well, she came out of Oregon, turned all four chairs on the NBC's The Voice, finished fourth. She describes herself as a country rock entertainer. Her career has included appearances or shared stages with people such as Reba McIntyre, Jelly Roll, Alan Jackson, and others.
Yeah, well, I guess you're not on Fort Myers Beach yet. Well, you will be soon though, right?
SPEAKER_01
Yes, not this weekend, but next weekend. I'm excited.
"Cabo" Jim
There we go. So you're coming all the way from Oregon to Fort Myers Beach. First of all, what have you heard about us? And what do you you ready for a little bit of Florida Island life?
SPEAKER_01
Okay, well, I mean, I've already been to Florida four times this year. It's one of my favorite places to play. They keep calling us back, so I just keep saying yes because I love going and soaking in that sunshine. I love being on the water, I love the seafood. Yes, yes, yes, more, more, more.
"Cabo" Jim
So, all of the above, absolutely. So, I mean, you said four, you've been in Florida quite a few times already, but for somebody here in Southwest Florida who's you know maybe discovering you for the first time, how would you describe your music and maybe a live show?
SPEAKER_01
I would say it's pretty much full energy the whole time. I mean, it's really rare that we ever play a ballad, it has to be specifically uh requested during our set. Uh, otherwise, it's always upbeat. You're gonna expect a lot of high kicks. I love my ninja moves. Um I rock out, you know. So it's gonna be, you know, a little bit of uh variety because we're gonna sing some rock songs, we're gonna do some uh country covers, of course. And then my music, my originals is a mesh between rock and country as well. So that's what you can expect.
"Cabo" Jim
I love it. I love it. Well, you walked into the voice and you you sang here for the party. You got all four chairs to turn. What was going through your mind when that happened?
SPEAKER_01
My daughter was, I don't know, maybe six feet away from me off the stage, and I was thinking I cannot fail in front of her because one of the biggest things that I tell her is, you know, you gotta keep working hard for that yes, and you'll get that yes. So I really wanted to show her that you can get that yes with that hard work. And when I did, I was like relieved because I could have sang all bad notes after the butt. It wouldn't have mattered because all of them had turned.
"Cabo" Jim
So it's just really get the no turn quick. There you go. So Reba called you what a country rock diva and a show dog, right? Yeah, ask, what does what does being a show dog mean to you?
SPEAKER_01
I mean, exactly what I was talking about. You know, you're getting high kicks, you're getting high energy. Like, I'm there to put on a show. You know, I think show dogs, the only thing different really is that I'm not there to be pretty, I'm there to get super ugly. You're gonna see a lot of stank faces because I'm singing some hard notes, you know. So I'm just gonna be like, really, if you take pictures, it's gonna be a lot of ugly pictures.
"Cabo" Jim
But you're gonna sound great. That's all that matters, right?
That's it. So so you mentioned it. Your sound has a country foundation, but you're pretty strong on the rock side. Where did that combination come from?
SPEAKER_01
You know, um, I grew my mom went through a lot of phases. She went through a rock phase with like Metallica, she went through an 80s phase uh with Madonna, she went through a country 90s country phase, which is where I learned a lot of the country music that I that kind of is infused in my music. Um, but you know, I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so Grunge was born here, and um, it's really huge still. I mean, people still listen to System of a Down. They're still blasting Tool, Pantera, all that Metallica, you know. So those are the bands that I really connect with, and I love to bring that into my music when I am writing and when I think about production, I'm like, those guitars need to be heavier. That needs to be a little weirder. Like, we gotta have some ear candy that's not usual. So when we're working, it's it's definitely there's a lot of thought that I put into it to bring that rock and country together.
"Cabo" Jim
And you do. I've seen some of your videos, and and one in particular. I mean, you do you do get a little bit harder, and so some people don't know tool. You do a tool cover, don't you?
SPEAKER_01
Yes, we do. And that kind of was nagging at me for a while. I was like, I really want to do a tool cover. And the boys they were up for it, but I was just like, when do we play this? Like, how many times do we have to rehearse this before we finally show it? And it was like our fourth rehearsal, and I said, Do you think that we're ready to show it? And it was for uh the Washington County Fair here in Oregon. And the boys were like, Well, if we mess it up, we mess it up, might as well just pull it out. They'll we'll ask for forgiveness later. And ever since then, we've been playing it, and people love it.
"Cabo" Jim
Uh and I love that they love it, so right, yeah, it's that it's something you wouldn't expect coming to see a quote unquote country show, right?
SPEAKER_01
Exactly. They're like, uh, what is it?
"Cabo" Jim
Right.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
"Cabo" Jim
So you've performed on some big stages. What do you love, you know, during that moment when you walk on a stage and a crowd might not know you yet, but you have to kind of win them over, right?
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah. I mean, most recently, um, two shows in a row. We Hunter Hayes, I opened for Hunter Hayes a week before I opened for Easton Corbin. Mind you, their country music is very traditional country music. So when I came out there, people were like, What is going on? Why is she playing tool? Why is she playing corn? You know, so um, but at really at the end of it, people were up on their feet, they were going crazy. We had huge tears. I had a huge meet and greet after the Easton Corbin. Now that one was the hardest one because they were sitting down, and a crowd that sits down is already going to be a hard crowd. Um, so I had to pull teeth that one, but I had a very long meet and greet line after that, and people were like, dude, where did you come from? You know? So it just makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I'm you know validated and I'm going in the right direction still with my music.
"Cabo" Jim
So and like you said, it's about building that energy and getting the crowd to interact with you, which I love.
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
"Cabo" Jim
So you're also a songwriter, you know, and when somebody comes to see you here at the Bastion of Bay, how much original Jackie Roar are they gonna hear?
SPEAKER_01
I try to do 50-50. So I try to, you know, usually we'll do like every other song is a cover, and every other song is an original, just to kind of keep it fresh and keep it, you know, so they they don't feel like they're going like this the whole time trying to listen to my lyrics, you know, like what is she saying? I haven't heard this song before. And then, you know, we do a really cool cover, and they're like, Oh, I I know this one, you know, so they can bop and get out get into it. But I really want to show them my music too, because I really believe in the music that I write. And I I believe that no matter what in my set, you're gonna find one that really resonates with you.
"Cabo" Jim
And then speaking about that, you know, on the bay in Fort Martyrs Beach here, we got boats, palm trees, cold drinks, the Florida sunshine. Does that setting change the energy, your performance a little bit?
SPEAKER_01
Uh, I'm gonna be a lot sweatier. I mean, I know I uh when I sang in Kentucky a couple weeks ago, it's probably the most I've ever sweat in my entire life. It was humid, the bugs were eating us, and I was just pouring sweat like out of even my arms. I'd never had sweat come out of my arms before. So I know that that's what it's gonna be like in Florida because of the humidity and stuff like that. But I it doesn't matter. I have a show to put on, and I just want the people to have just as much energy and give me that motivation. They're the motivation to keep me high energy, you know.
"Cabo" Jim
Absolutely, absolutely. So you're sharing the bash the weekend with uh our local Ben Allen band. Have you the chance to connect with them yet?
SPEAKER_01
Or I have not, but I do know that they were also on I think the voice as well. Yeah, yep. So we have not connected, but I'm sure we will once we meet in person.
"Cabo" Jim
Yeah, chance of a surprise collaboration, maybe, or something.
SPEAKER_01
You never know, right? I really I mean, I I was just talking with one of my friends because sometimes our the music is just so different that you can't do a collaboration. Yep. Um, and so one of my friends was like, Like, what are we gonna do? Are you gonna either have to sing really traditional country or I'm gonna have to come over to rock and both of our fans are gonna be like, what the heck? Um, so I was like, Yeah, you're right. So I called up my other friend who's a little bit closer to me in sound, and she's like, Yes, let's do a collaboration immediately. So I think it just depends on where he's at as well. If he wants to do a collaboration, I'm up for it. I could always use a male vocalist on some of the duets I've written that I haven't even released yet.
"Cabo" Jim
So there you go. You need that, you need that. Um, what am I looking for? Um I don't even know what I'm trying to say right now. I don't know. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01
We need we need somebody who can give me some of that sultry, smoky, grovelly Chris Stapleton sound. And uh I hope, you know, I'm sure I love a good male voice. I mean, those are hard to beat, and that's why there's so many more male artists in the industry than there are women, you know. So I think it's like 10% of music is women music that gets played, and then the rest is all male, 90% of radio play is male.
"Cabo" Jim
So that's crazy. That's crazy. I like the I like the female voices better. And speaking of that, what I was trying to say is you guys need to do a mashup, you know, where you got two different genres and you're mashing them together, right?
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah. Genre blending. That's what I like to do.
So, what song do you perform that the second it starts? You know the crowd is about to go crazy.
SPEAKER_01
Well, I like to kind of lead them into okay, so Gide Up, one of my originals, is is a really good one because I prepare them for it. I tell them the parts that they need to be yelling back at me, and I do a little training session before we start to play that song. But besides the original, the one that always gets everybody going is when I play Pink Floyd's Brick in a Wall. People just enjoy it. And we do like a little solo section. I let the boys kind of rip and go wild there, and uh the crowd gets up off their butts, they start dancing, and and that's my favorite. Even though it's not my song, it's my favorite time of the show because I just see everybody having a good time.
"Cabo" Jim
So everybody can be themselves. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
"Cabo" Jim
So Country Girl from Oregon, Lands of War Myers Beast. First choice: a boat ride, a beach day for seafood or frozen cocktail. Seafood, boom, seafood. We do have our pink shrimp here, so you're gonna have to try some of those.
SPEAKER_01
But anyway, I am all about crab, crab, crab. I eat so much crab. I eat crab at least twice a week. Um, we have dungeonous crab, like literally this Friday. I'm going a day early into the beach because I have a show this this weekend at a beach here in Oregon on the Pacific West Coast, and um they have like a huge Dungeness crab boil being ready, being prepared for me for my arrival, because they know that we need to crab.
"Cabo" Jim
Very nice, very nice. So if someone has never seen you perform live, what's the one thing you hope when they what they're saying when they're you're walking away, you know, from the show?
SPEAKER_01
I want them to say, like, whoa, wow.
"Cabo" Jim
What did I just see, right?
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, you know, like be, you know, I get some comments on the internet, like, oh, all she does is scream, which is totally funny because I I used to read that like on Kelly Clarkson's, you know, page or like on Ann Wilson, is like I don't know, some people can't hear the music, they just hear like a screaming voice, which is fine, like not everybody likes chocolate cake. But I do more than just scream, I also shout. So I just really want to show people the variety.
What is something about a Jackie Roar offstage that people would never guess in a million years from you seeing perform?
SPEAKER_01
Okay, so I'm a huge foodie, but besides that, I also I pickle my own pickles. I love yeah, I'm I'm half Polish and I'm half Italian. So the Polish side of me pickles in cans, and the Italian side of me eats a lot of salty food.
"Cabo" Jim
So there you go. What a great combo.
SPEAKER_01
Yes, exactly.
"Cabo" Jim
So finish the sentence. The Jackie Rohr show isn't complete until everyone's on their feet. There we go. Get them up, get them dancing, have a good time, and that's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
"Cabo" Jim
So there are a lot of choices for Labor Day weekend here in Southwest Florida. Tell everybody why they need to be at Bachelor's Bay, why they need to come out and see you.
SPEAKER_01
All right. So it's not just gonna be me as the reason. There's gonna be awesome venue vendors, there's going to be a boat event, there's gonna be a fishing contest, there's gonna be so many things for kids to do. So this is a family-friendly event. I'm gonna make sure that I don't cuss one little cuss word on that one, what I'm saying, which is very hard for me to do. And you're gonna have a variety of music. It's not just gonna be me performing that day. There are three other acts earlier in the day. So there's music all day long, and I'm just really excited to be the headliner and be a part of that and enjoy the sunshine with you guys.
"Cabo" Jim
We're excited to have you here down here in Fort Myers Beach and listen to you and see you perform. So everybody there to have it, Jackie Roar, the Ben Allen man, three days of music, food, drinks, boats, entertainment, a whole lot of fun right here in Fort Myers Beach. The Bash on the Bay Labor Day weekend, September 5th through the 7th here at Matanzas on the Bay. Jackie, thank you for joining us. And we'll see everybody here on the bay during Labor Day, right?
SPEAKER_01
Yes, thank you.
"Cabo" Jim
Thank you, Jackie, and we'll see you soon. Bye-bye.
Intro/Close
Thanks for joining us on Buzz on the Bay, sponsored by Matanzas on the Bay. We hope you enjoyed this look at the people, places, and waterfront experiences that make life around Fort Myers Beach so special. From great food and island drinks to boating, music, and local happenings. There's always something happening on the bay. Until next time, stay tropical, stay connected, and keep enjoying where the bay comes alive.
