PREVIEW

Regular Glastonbury-goers may think they’ve braved watery conditions to get their musical fix - but they’ve got nothing on those who took part in the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival on Saturday (13July2024).
The “concert”, staged to promote environmentally responsible diving and reef protection, took place for the 40th time this weekend.

Performers donned their swimming gear, including fins, and picked up their instruments to play at Looe (pronounced "Lou") Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary about six miles south of Big Pine Key. The sanctuary protects the waters surrounding the entire Florida Keys island chain.
Organised by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce and Keys radio station US1 104.1 FM, the concert provided a “submerged soundtrack” for divers - including some costumed as mermaids. They swam among Looe Key’s colorful tropical fish, coral formations and other marine life - all the while playing instruments including a ukulele, harp, and trumpet.
“This is a fantastic combination of incredible music - there are songs with lots of high notes to them and they sound so wonderful underwater - with the beauty of the coral reef and mermaids, and it’s a very eye-catching experience,” said Steve Miller, executive director of the chamber of commerce. “It’s something that you’ll never forget seeing.”
Music broadcast by the radio station was piped underwater through speakers suspended beneath boats above the reef. Participants swayed to a sea-focused playlist that included Jimmy Buffett’s “Bubbles Up,” the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and the themes from TV’s classic “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Little Mermaid” film.

The music was interspersed with diver awareness messages about ways to enjoy the underwater world while minimising environmental impacts on the reef, whose rich biodiversity has inspired comparisons to an underwater rainforest.
“The conservation of the reef is one of the main things that we want to draw attention to through this, so we’re hoping that people will focus in on one of the only living coral reefs in the Northern Hemisphere,” said Miller.

There's no word yet on whether Katrina and the Waves, Seasick Steve, or The Waterboys are playing next year's event.