An Underwater Encore
The Florida Keys’ Beloved Underwater Music Festival Returned With Mermaids, Melodies and a Mission to Protect Coral Reefs
FLORIDA KEYS VIDEO ADVISORY July 11, 2026
Contacts: Chad Newman, Chad@fla-keys.com (310) 283-8441 or Mary B. Haban, Mary@fla-keys.com (305) 394-3142
Story: Underwater Music Festival
Locator: Looe Key Reef, Florida Keys
Usage: HANDOUT / RIGHTS CLEARED (Unlimited Broadcast & Digital)
Video Link: Click Here
Photo Link: Click Here
Photo Captions Below
Video: B-roll and photos of mermaids and scuba divers playing instruments while underwater during the 42nd Annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival July 11, 2026, in the Florida Keys.
Technical Data:
TRT: 1:54
Filename: KeysUnderwaterMusicFest.mp4
Audio: Stereo Mix
SOTs: Clean / Isolated
B-Roll: Nat. Sound
Credit: Florida Keys News Bureau (Screen credit appreciated, not mandatory)
An Underwater Encore
The Florida Keys’ Beloved Underwater Music Festival Returned With Mermaids, Melodies and a Mission to Protect Coral Reefs
LOOE KEY REEF, Florida Keys (July 11, 2026) – The Florida Keys cranked up the volume this weekend. And the audience had fins!
Divers and snorkelers took the plunge and descended beneath the waves for the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival. Ocean-themed favorites streamed through underwater speakers as dancing mermaids strummed guitars, plucked harps and sounded trumpets...all in the name of coral reef conservation.
Colorful tropical fish swam through the melodies, transforming Looe (Pronounced Loo) Key Reef, located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, into one of nature's most unforgettable concert stages.
But this celebration wasn't all about fun. It carried an important message. Between songs, divers heard reminders about protecting fragile coral reefs by respecting marine life, using mooring buoys, and practicing responsible diving and snorkeling.
Now in its 42nd year, the annual festival once again proved that music can and does do more than entertain. It inspires people to celebrate, appreciate and protect the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States.
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These creatively costumed divers hit all the right notes at this makeshift concert on Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys during the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival on July 11, 2026. (Frazier Nivens /Florida Keys News Bureau)
Donna Whitney of Miami, Florida, strums her trusty harp, playing all the right chords during the Underwater Music Festival on Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys on July 11, 2026 (Frazier Nivens /Florida Keys News Bureau)