Rokisland

January 15, 2022



 

 Rokisland

2022 has seen the resurgence of live music in Key West in a big way as Covid fears have lessened, the return of big concerts at every Key West venue has returned and we have cautiously begun to return to our pre-pandemic level of attending live music. There have been plenty of options for us to choose from including the return of some old favorites and a brand-new festival that brought icons of 80s hair bands to the island.

 The Studios of Key West has brought a couple of fascinating musicians to appear on the new rooftop stage known as “Hugh’s View” starting with the return of their wonderful “Old Town, New Folk” series of Folk music. I went to check out an interview and performance by legendary folk singer Tom Chapin earlier this month and followed that up by going to see a fantastic presentation by Broadway writer and performer Michael R. Jackson. 

Jackson, fresh off his Pulitzer Prize win for screenwriting the show “Strange Loop”, performed songs from the show which will be opening on Broadway in April and discussed his life and work in what was a fascinating evening revealing the inside story of writing and producing what looks to be the next big Broadway smash.

About as far removed from that experience as possible, yet to me just as strange and wonderful was the first ever Rokisland Festival that was held at the Key West Amphitheater the week after the Key West Literary Seminar. The festival, which is organized and produced by the same people who brought the wildly successful Red Dirt music festival, Mile 0 to Key West, featured rock and roll bands that dominated the hair metal scene of the 80s. 

I received a one-day pass and was happy to go and check it out. The night I attended featured the bands Winger, Night Ranger and Bret Michaels (former lead singer of the band Poison). I had seen both Michaels and Night Ranger before but never Swinger. None of them represent my favorite type of music, but I will go see just about anything live and appreciate any band that can perform at a high level. 

All of these bands fit that bill. I was especially impressed with Winger, who remarkably still has every original member, something that is unheard of in the vast majority of bands more than ten years old, especially those on the 80s nostalgia tours. The show was actually a lot of fun and it was fun seeing the mostly out of town crowd of fans still stuck in their metal heyday. The festival was incredibly well organized and actually I had quite a great night. 

One of my favorite musicians and songwriters, Todd Snider made a two-night return to the island, this time performing at East Martello along with Chicago Framer (who I also love) for the folks at Coast and the Key West Art & Historical Society. The setting was perfect with the stage set up in the comfy confines of the fort’s interior courtyard. 

Both Chicago Farmer and Snider were terrific and Todd was especially on point as the majority of the fans on hand had traveled from around the country to attend the two nights and it was sort of a special pair of shows. The last time Todd was here, again with Chicago Farmer as opener was in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit when he played a show at the Key West Theater.