LOWER KEYS UNDERWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010

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The quirky underwater concert took place at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key. Each year, the subsea songfest draws as many as 600 divers and snorkelers to explore the colorful diversity of marine life that characterizes continental America's only living coral barrier reef.

The 2010 festival offered an offbeat salute to the classic children's tale "Alice in Wonderland" and the 2010 film it inspired, with underwater appearances by divers costumed as Alice, portrayed by Brittani Cotton, the Mad Haddock, portrayed by Bob Rowland, the Cheshire Catfish by Alicia Merel; the Red Angelfish of Hearts portrayed by Cassie Nichols; the White Rabbitfish portrayed by Eric Rolfe; the Sun-Fish-Flower and the Sun-Flounder-Flower portrayed by Kylee Tippett and Katie Jennele and of course, the Underwater Music Festival would not be complete without our underwater mermaid, Samantha Langsdale.

This zany cast of characters partook of an invitation to attend the White Rabbitfish's Tea Party underwater at Looe Key.  Security divers, Zack Woodnancy, Marshall Ruffo, Katrina Nesbitt and Darryl Boyd of Florida SeaBase - Brinton Environmental Center kept an eye on the cast as well as ferrying up to nine underwater music instruments to the troupe underwater created by sculptor August Powers just for the Underwater Music Festival with this year's instrument, the Sitar-Fish, made especially for 2010's festival.

More than 500 divers and snorkelers listened to local radio station's (US1 Radio) underseas concert in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Saturday. Attendees enjoyed the four-hour festival amid calm seas and 60 to 70 feet of subsea visibility. Music that was broadcast underwater by Lubell Lab speakers suspended from boats included ocean anthems such as the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and Jimmy Buffett's "Fins."

"We look for something with a water theme to it, something quirky of course," said festival founder Bill Becker, news director at radio station WWUS. "Music that has that kind of ethereal quality that makes you think of being underwater." Diver Darryl Boyd of Gainesville, Fla., said listening to music underwater was better than expected. "It's almost a built-in surround sound you have going underwater, but it's still crystal clear and you can hear the words," Boyd said. "I saw a couple of fish moving to the beat down there."

While many participating "afishionados" are drawn by the undersea fun, the concert also promotes the serious cause of preserving the Florida Keys' unique coral reef ecosystem. The musical broadcast incorporates diver awareness announcements, prepared by Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary officials, offering tips on how people can enjoy the ocean while minimizing their impact on the reef and marine environment.