There’s a music festival that takes place under the water: Here’s all about it
Have you ever had the opportunity to attend a music festival? It can be an experience of a lifetime where professional and amateur singers come together to celebrate the very essence of music. Some of the most prominent music festivals in India include Sunburn Festival of Goa, Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh, Mahindra Blues Festival of Mumbai and the multi-city NH7 Weekender. But today we are going to talk about a music festival that takes place under the water. It takes place in Florida in the month of July. Curious to know more about this unusual event? Keep reading.
The Underwater Music Festival of Florida
Back in 1984, American disco jockey Bill Becker and his friend dentist Fred Troxel introduced the Underwater Music Festival in Florida’s Looe Key Reef. For those unaware, it is the world’s third largest and North America’s only living coral reef. The duo founded the festival for tourist entertainment and create awareness for the conservation of coral ecosystem. Over the last three and a half decades, this music festival has united water adventurers with musicians at 20 feet below the ocean. The event is spread across six miles south of Big Pine Key, one of the islands that make up the entire Floridan archipelago. It is currently overseen by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, founded by Becker and Troxel.
What happens in the festival?
This two-day free music festival happens every year on the weekend right after the 4th of July (USA’s Independence Day) during the daytime. It brings together daring musicians who dive underwater with guitars, horns, drums and other musical instruments to play water-inspired songs, such as Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Octopus’s Garden and Jimmy Buffet’s Fins and Gilligan’s Island. These songs are pre-recorded and played underwater via waterproof speakers, hung from boats floating above the reef. The local radio station called US-1 Radio 104.1 FM broadcasts the event live for people who don’t wish to get wet.
August Powers and his unique artistry
Over the years, the festival has only grown in size and popularity and now draws hundreds of scuba divers, snorkelers and boaters from all around the world. One of the local craftsmen named August Powers also gives a special touch to the festival. He makes ocean-inspired musical instruments from non-corrosive tin and copper. Some of his creations are bass-oon, trom-bonefish, manta-lin, sea-phan-flute, fluke-a-lele and obloe-fish (fusion of oboe and blowfish).
Saving coral reefs
Apart from inviting underwater enthusiasts to listen to music while enjoying the sea life, the festival aims to preserve the local coral reefs and the sensitive aquatic environment that also comprises of the nearby Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area. As per Florida Department of Environmental Protection, it is the only state in the USA with extensive shallow coral reefs near its shores. As a result, it is imperative to protect them at all costs from human activities. Maybe that’s why the festival happens in a sandy area away from the coral reefs so that they are not disturbed in any way. Also, if you think about it, the whole experience of listening to music underwater will be different. It may not be super clear, but remember, sound travels faster and farther underwater!