The best part about our huge driving day from Atlanta to Key West was watching the thermometer slowly climb in our van as we headed towards the southernmost point of continental USA. We took a couple short breaks to run around and play frisbee, but for the most part we just stopped for gas and to change drivers. We arrived late Sunday night, and it was very nice that Dad had made it about two hours prior to us. We stayed in a hotel with dad the first three nights down in Key West, and the latter two at a nice campground.
We had the pleasure of running around the island with Mike Zehr, who is known as the "Minister of Sound" in Key West. Mike is an old college friend of dad's, and happens to be the best sound man in the Keys. This is great news if you're an amateur band. We played four consecutive nights at bars: Island Dogs on Monday and Wednesday, the Green Parrot on Tuesday, and Sunset Pier on Thursday. It was a treat to have a sound man, and to be able to simply focus on our music for a brief stint on tour.
Our mornings in the Keys were spent relaxing outside, eating and hanging out with Father, and seeing some of the sites of Key West. Then early afternoon we would pack up and setup and play gigs as the sun went down. Playing at these bars was a real test for us, a good chance to see how we were stacking up with the local talent, since music in Key West has a great reputation. It felt great to be received as well as we were, and be asked to return by some of the bars!
Our favorite venue was the Sunset Pier, where we played for an ever-changing crowd beneath an ever-changing sky as the sun set. For a while it looked like the clouds would obstruct most of the light, but then the cloud bank moved just above the horizon at the critical time, and we watched the glowing orb set as we played "Slow Burn" by Kacey Musgraves. It was a magical moment, and it felt wonderful to have a captive audience for the whole two hours we played.
Friday morning, we packed up the camp site and traveled to Everglades National Park, where we enjoyed observing the abundant wildlife on our day off.
Peace and love to all!