By Sowa Note,
Entertainment Editor
Ron Krill announced plans for the 3rd Annual
Coral Bay Brews Festival. This year “alternative” steel pan music will be the
theme. Featured will be bagpipes and harmonicas with steel pans. “I think this
will showcase the direction I’d like steel pan music to take. Bagpipes and
harmonicas just don’t get the respect they should when played with steel pans.”
Mr. Krill continued, “Brews have been a major part of music since pre-history. In a cave near New Orleans they found the remnants of a 3-string guitar and a pottery shard that analysis showed had held a brew.” And he added that they have been a major part of St. John’s history and continue to be central to its future. He wants to celebrate that fact with the Brews Festival. This replaced Steve Shaman’s Booze Festival that became totally besotted.
Mr. Krill continued, “Brews have been a major part of music since pre-history. In a cave near New Orleans they found the remnants of a 3-string guitar and a pottery shard that analysis showed had held a brew.” And he added that they have been a major part of St. John’s history and continue to be central to its future. He wants to celebrate that fact with the Brews Festival. This replaced Steve Shaman’s Booze Festival that became totally besotted.
Funding will again be provided by prominent island business
couple Niles and Susan Chair. “Brews have been the chief focus of our lives,” said
the Chairs. The local Kebin & Chong Brewery will be the sole suds supplier.
Star performers will be Pans, Goat bladders and Reeds from the
Isle of Right with their hit “Brews before Sunrise,” The Misbegotten and
Forgotten from jazz hot spot Littltit, Thailand and The Pan Perpetrators from Upper
Kaput, Nevis featuring Adele.
The venue has not been set since the regular site will be
disrupted by the construction of the eastern-most terminal of the Bullet Train.
If you have a large backyard (attendance was 3,305 last year) and have ear
plugs, you might want to consider hosting the popular festival. Krill says he
will throw in two free tickets.
July 4th was selected since there is nothing much
going on the island at that time and the weather is so reliably cool. “Unfortunately,
Niles and Susan plan to be on a Costa cruise to Somalia celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and will miss the whole festival,”
said Krill.
Plans are already under way for next year’s “Summer Brews: Carillons
and Kazoos” that will feature The Dothan Alabama Marching Comb & Paper Ensemble
and The Bells of St. Mary’s.
