Key West Music And Happenings: The Key West Music Scene June 21st 2020

Key West Music Scene June 21st. 2020

I saw someone from out of town post on Facebook, saying that the music scene in Key West is back where it used to be prior to the pandemic.

I wish they were right! 🙏

However, the fact is, the music scene in Key West is under recovery and is a work in progress.

Like everything else, the music scene in Key West is picking up the pieces and it is not up to speed as of yet. Having said that, everyone is working on it!

We play at Rick's every Tuesday 12 to 4. As there are no cruise ships now, they were kind enough to put us on 3 – 7. Thank you, Rick's!

Another venue usually has us on their early shift on Fridays and Sundays. They usually have four shifts, but now have three and are rotating their usual acts. I'm really pleased to say that we played there this week and drew a great crowd! That's one of our strong points. Thanks to all who stopped by!

Our private gig at the Curry Mansion is back on.

The Sunday evening gig we do is not on the schedule as of yet, but the establishment is rotating the musicians. Last week we had no gigs there, but the week before we had two.

Sloppy Joe's and Blue Heaven have not yet reopened. Lucy's, The Loose Cannon, and The Salty Angler have tragically closed. Turtle Kraals is reported to be having new ownership from The CommodoreBoathouse, however this hasn't been finalized, so I haven't heard what date they'll be opening? Other places have opened, but do not have live music as of yet, The Green Parrot being the most noteworthy.

Please understand that all the establishments and musicians are doing the best they can!

Tony Baltimore Durante

Some establishments are closing earlier and many are reducing pay to musicians. To date, I have not heard one musician complain about this. It's a tough time for all and we're working together.

Most establishments usually book a month in advance. With an exception here or there, right now most places are booking weekly, some a day or two in advance. We had one instance where the owner called us and said “Hey! I have a full restaurant! Can you come down and play?” We were there in 15 minutes.

Tony Roberts

Point being, there is a lot of uncertainty when traversing the unknown, but everyone is working in the same direction. I consider it an honor to be a part of this community!

The way I see it, it's in a total of two stages.

Crawl before you can walk

Walk before you can run

I'd say we are at the point of approaching the walking stage.

An important note: If you are coming to Key West, there IS live music!\

Some may not open quite as early, while others may not be open as late.

However live music is around town.

The Shanty Hounds at Willie T's

Here are some venues open and featuring live music:

Rick's, Two Friends, Willie T's, Smokin' Tuna, Island Dogs, Schooner Wharf, Irish Kevin's, The Hog's Breath, The Tipsy Rooster. Sunset Pier, (Hogs Breath specify locals only. I believe that may be the case with everyone at this time). Sunset Tiki is shooting for the beginning of July.

There may be others that I haven't heard about, if so, please let me know with an e-mail at chrismusicnow@gmail.com so I can update this listing. Thanks!

If you have any questions regarding the Monroe County (Florida Keys) guidelines, you will find them at this link:

https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/1169/COVID-19-Coronavirus

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