Key West, Fla.’s locally produced, hurricane-season ending cultural gathering, COAST is Clear Music & Arts Festival has shared the lineup of artists that will join them once they see the stormy summer season through. The event will take place around the two-by-four-mile island on Dec. 1 and run through Dec. 4.
This year’s COAST is Clear festival will mark the fifth time local music lovers and fans from around the country will gather for the indie-folk and Americana-centric festival. This year’s event will feature performances from Shakey Graves, Hiss Golden Messenger, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Fruit Bats, Langhorne Slim, Bonny Light Horseman, Neal Francis, Katie Pruitt, Electric Blue Yonder, Lou Hazel, Skank and Banshee Tree. More musical guests are expected to be announced in the coming months.
“Back in 2017 we started the festival — if you could even call it that back then — as a way to simply lift spirits after a heavy storm flattened the Lower Keys. At the time, I was weary of throwing it too early because storms can and do form all the way through November,” said festival founder Billy Kearins of Coast Projects in a press release. “So we decided to wait until Hurricane Season officially ended (Dec. 1) and ‘the coast (is) clear’. Locals couldn’t get enough and over the years it’s grown organically through community partnerships and word-of-mouth promotion.”
Photographer and director Danny Clinch will deliver a director’s talk and screening of his acclaimed A Tuba to Cuba on Thursday and Preservation Hall are set to follow. Over the four days, attendees will be able to enjoy intimate shows planned at the San Carlos Institute (a historic Cuban theater founded by exiles in 1871), late-night dive bar performances at Green Parrot and dinner sets at the Blue Heaven Restaurant. The main event will take place at a waterfront Civil War stronghold Fort East Martello and feature non-stop music on two stages on both Saturday and Sunday.
COAST is Clear Festival started as a backyard gathering and has expanded exponentially, when asked about its growth in a few years without growth being a priority, Kearins responded saying, “Well, it wasn’t because of me — or any demand from one of our local partners for that matter. I suppose it has something to do with the time of year and the undeniable allure of Key West as a destination. Then all we do is sprinkle an amazing lineup on top, serve hot, and we found a secret recipe for success.”
Tickets are on sale now. Find various ticketing options for COAST is Clear Music & Arts Festival here.
