In a time of global unrest and uncertainty, it’s often best to take a step back to find respite in the simple pleasures of life.

A weekend in the sun surrounded by close compadres — or simply folks you’ve only just met because of a shared love of music and art — can, at the very least, provide a temporary feeling that things might just be okay when whatever it is that we’ve all collectively endured is finally behind us.

And, at its core, that’s what COAST Is Clear is really all about.

From the start, it has been a time and place to celebrate the end of a difficult stretch — for us, it’s that six-month period we in the tropics call Hurricane Season, that officially ends each year on December 1 — when, quite literally, the “coast is clear”.

We started this festival in 2017, just months after Hurricane Irma ravaged the Lower Keys. That year, a few musician friends of ours agreed to come down to lend a hand and lift spirits by doing what they do best. And since then, we’ve committed to bringing down top-notch, nationally-acclaimed bands, paired with local art to make COAST Is Clear an annual festival — one that has been enjoyed equally by our local friends and traveling fans alike.

This year, for the first time, we are so excited to announce that the festival will be a collaborative effort between one of Key West’s most beloved and enduring arts organizations, Key West Art & Historical Society (KWAHS) and the renegade creative forces at Coast Projects (COAST) — a pairing that offers both a timeless legacy and a raw and relevant edge with regards to the arts on the island.

So join us on the first weekend of December to dance and sing in the sun, to enjoy the fresh salt air and island breeze, and to celebrate the end of the old and the beginning of something new…