From Jimmy Buffett himself to calypso and reggae bands, the Florida Keys are known for their island feel and island sounds.  However, spending time in the Keys you’ll find that many other genres of music are prevelent – from folk, to country, to hard rock, to jazz and blues – the Keys has it all! 

If you know the Keys, you’ll know that directions are based on your ‘mile marker’.   Key West is at mile marker ‘0’, and Key Largo is at mile marker ‘120’.  In between you’ll find Tavernier (mm90-95), Islamorada (mm78 - 89), Duck Key (mm60), Marathon (mm47 - 55), Summerland Key (mm24), Sugarloaf Key (mm17 - 20), and Boco Chica Air Base (mm7-8) along with many other wonderful small keys.

An RV Resort at mile marker 20, Lazy Lakes, is starting to get noticed as the music venue in the Keys with spectacular music events.   February 13 will be the next extravaganza with seven musical acts in a day long show!    And if the music isn’t enough, the $30 ticket price gets you free food and beer!  

The lineup for February 13, 2010 has Jerry Jeff Walker (of Mr. Bojangles fame) headlining, with Mac McAnally (2008 and 2009 GMA Musician of the Year, and 2010 Grammy nominee), and Cowboy Troy – the ‘Hick-Hop’ artist from Big & Rich fame.   Quite a lineup – and although I’m a bit worried you’ll think I’m tooting my own horn, I have to add that my band “Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band” will be appearing too, and I’d be neglecting my reporting duties if I didn’t mention that my band won Trop Rock Song of the Year, Trop Rock Album of the Year, Trop Rock Band of the Year, and Trop Rock Entertainer of the Year – all at the 2009 Trop Rock Music Awards sponsored by the Margarita Mafia. 

The show will open with local artists, CW Colt, The Horse Pistols, and Chris Cook.   This just shows that the vast arrays of genres you can find in the Keys will be at this February show.   CW Colt is known for his Blues and Americana music; The Horse Pistols for their ‘Country meets wild guitar’, Chris Cook for ‘Marvin Gaye meets the Allman Brothers with a bit of Merle Haggard peppered in’.  Add that to the Yawlternative Music and Hick-Hop from Cowboy Troy and the Trop Rock island music that my band is known for, and continue with Mac McAnally and Jerry Jeff Walker and you have a full day of Florida Keys entertainment!

And that’s just one show!   Lazy Lakes will soon be known as the music venue to search out!   Their stage is a 16 x 24 foot tiki hut, at the end of a penisula surounded by palm trees and water.  The venue will hold upwards of 5000 people and they allow you to bring your own lawn chairs, your own cooler of food and drinks – although, remember, food and beer are provided free with the price of admission.   It’s a tropical sensation! 

Watch their website for future shows.   We have heard rumor of a late March show, and a July 2010 show!   This is the venue in the Florida Keys to watch, and hopefully you’ll be able to check it out soon!

By Howard Livingston

Howard is a native of the mountains of eastern Kentucky. His mother spawned his love for music by introducing him to the guitar at age five. While the love of music never did leave him, his career pushed him in a different direction. While building his business, he traveled to the Florida Keys, where he developed a severe case of “Keys Fever” He never wanted to leave. The more he visited, the more music, and the keys called out to him. Finally, he surrendered. The islands called both he and his guitar. He teamed upo with this group of talented musicians and Mile Marker 24 was born and the island music goes on and on.

http://milemarker24.com/index.php

More Featured Articles