Underwater Music Festival

LEFT/ABOVE: On July 13, snorkelers and divers can hear songs and musical pieces broadcast from US 1 104.1 FM Radio via speakers submerged in the water. The Underwater Music Festival was designed to draw attention to reef restoration. UNDERWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL /COURTESY PHOTOS

One of the Florida Keys’ more unusual musical events returns for its 40th edition. The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival was initially created to drum up interest in the surrounding reefs and create an opportunity to listen to actual underwater music.

The event was imagined by radio personality and newsman Bill Becker, and former President of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce Dr. Fred Troxel.

The two first pitched the idea of an underwater concert to Dr. Billy Causey then the superintendent of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary.

Looe Key Reef is an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary six miles south of Big Pine Key. The sanctuary protects the waters surrounding the Florida Keys, which includes the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States.

The next step was contacting Lubell Laboratories in Columbus, Ohio, a manufacturer of underwater speakers who had loaned several speakers.

“We arranged to have US 1 Radio broadcast four hours of special music suited for the underwater realm. Dive boats at the reef tuned in to the radio signal and piped the sound to the underwater speakers. Divers and snorkelers could hear the music just about everywhere on the reef,” Becker says.

On July 13, snorkelers and divers will again have the chance to hear songs and musical pieces broadcast from US 1 104.1 FM Radio via speakers submerged in the water.

Steve Miller, the executive director of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, explains that the music is selected based on how it will be heard underwater, adding that high notes travel the best.

About half of the songs played will be from local artists, including Howard Livingston and Brian Roberts. Other entries include international hits and on-theme lyrics like The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine,” Disney’s Little Mermaid “Under the Sea,” and, to get the blood pumping, the theme song from Jaws!

The broadcast will also feature messages about ways to minimize environmental impacts on the reefs.

In a colorful addition, divers and snorkelers might spot mermaids and other costumed characters having an aquatic jam session.

To learn more about reef restoration, the Mote Marine Laboratory’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration offers free presentations and tours on July 12 from 6 –8 p.m.

The Center, at 24244 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key, will showcase Mote’s groundbreaking coral cultivation and restoration efforts. ¦

LowerKeysChamber.com
Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival | SAT 13 JULY | 10 AM—2 PM

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