SunFest always recruits musical acts from local to international for "Florida's Largest Music, Arts and Waterfront Festival." Yet a member of one band will blur the line between those geographic extremes at the 30th annual SunFest in West Palm Beach.

Urban Gypsy is a Palm Beach County-based flamenco jazz fusion group that ranges from trio to seven-piece, yet always features saxophonist and flutist John Michalak. The West Palm Beach resident has recorded and performed with the likes of Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, KC and the Sunshine Band, Patti LaBelle and Sammy Figueroa in locales that include the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Royal Albert Hall in London and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

The core Urban Gypsy trio also features nylon-stringed guitarist Islay Rodriguez and drummer Michael Rivero, and plays every Sunday-Tuesday at The Breakers hotel and every Friday at the Four Seasons Hotel, both in Palm Beach. The three came together through a tale of six degrees of separation.

"I was playing at a local green market around 2008," Rodriguez says, "and John approached me about putting together a group. When we got together with Mike, he and John realized they went way back. They hadn't seen each other in about 12 years, since they were both studying at Palm Beach Community (now State) College."

During a recent gig at the Breakers, Michalak split time between saxophones and flute, Rivero added tasteful rhythmic embellishments and Rodriguez strummed chords and finger-picked solos on instrumentals ranging from Chick Corea to David Sanborn to Christopher Cross.

Rodriguez, who also studied at PBSC later on, is part of a broad age range within the seven-piece Urban Gypsy lineup that will perform at SunFest. The veteran additions will be keyboardist Alan Palanker and percussionist Gustavo Albert, while the current students will include 18-year-old bassist Brad Miller and 20-year-old University of Miami vibraphone prodigy Nathan Skinner, who studies with Gary Burton, Shelly Berg and Martin Bejerano.

"I'll play a couple tunes on tenor sax, a couple on alto, maybe one on soprano and the rest on flute at SunFest," says the worldly and versatile Michalak, who also plays baritone sax and clarinet. "We'll likely play Spain by Chick Corea; a couple pieces each by Strunz and Farah and The Rippingtons, one or two by Marc Antoine, and maybe a pop hit.

See Urban Gypsy at 1 p.m. May 6 on the Florida Power & Light (south) Stage.

urbangypsymusic.com

OTHER LOCAL

SUNFEST ACTS

THURSDAY

TAYLOR ROAD - 5:45 p.m., Tire Kingdom (Meyer Ampitheater) Stage. A Delray Beach-based originals-and-covers rock band led by vocalist/guitarist Adam Fine, Taylor Road also features keyboardist J. Pau Pique, singing drummer Tony Berrios and bassist Victor Russo. Former West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel called them the best opening act she had seen at the Meyer Amphitheater when the trio preceded Christopher Cross in 2010.

facebook.com/taylorroadband

MAY 5

CYPRESS - 1 p.m., FPL Stage. A Boca Raton-based jam band, Cypress mixes Southern elements of the Allman Brothers, the far-reaching psychedelia of Phish, and snippets of New Orleans funk into its own unique bouillabaisse. Guitarist Jack Schueler, guitarist/keyboardist Daryl Wolff, bassist Travis Acker and drummer Cameron Troy all sing as well, adding a strong harmonic element to the quartet's original mix.

wearecypress.com

OVAL RED - 8 p.m., FPL Stage. With four members between the ages of 17 and 19, this Palm Beach Gardens-based hip-hop quartet recently shot its first video, and is consumed with making a lasting impact on the genre. "Music revolves around our everyday lives," says poetic band member Pointe Blank, "and is what lives, eats and breathes within us." Other members include Illy Nada, Rayo Leax, and Wayke.

facebook.com/Ovalred

MAY 6

TRIBUTE TO JOURNEY ODYSSEY ROAD - 4 p.m., Tire Kingdom Stage. Mimicking the arena rock sound of Journey is no easy feat, but West Palm Beach-based Odyssey Road has the expert musicianship for the task. Vocalist James Sanderford, guitarist/vocalist Paul Granato, keyboardist/vocalist Mike Soper, bassist/vocalist Robert Gugliuzza and drummer/vocalist Brian Lutz will take the SunFest crowd on a journey back to the '70s and '80s.

odysseyroadband.com

D.V.N.O. - 4:30 p.m., FPL Stage. Bands from the Kinks and Creedence Clearwater Revival to Oasis and the Black Crowes have been led to stardom by brother tandems, and West Palm Beach indie dance music act D.V.N.O. hopes to be no exception. Vocalist Marco Baez and drummer/percussionist Jacob Baez, guitarists Brock Lamon and Panch and bassist Jake Strunin released their debut CD, Dance With Me!, in 2011.

dvnoband.com