This month Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Florida will host their 13th Annual Put-in-Bay Music Festival to pay tribute to their
frozen sister island up here in the north. It’s hard to believe that this event, which has become one of Sloppy Joe’s most popular annual events, began 13 years ago now.
Ray Fogg, who has performed at and been the emcee of the event all 13 years tells a great story of the inaugural event. “The first year we did it, I’m not sure if Sloppy Joe’s was completely sold on how well the event would do. So, it just a one-day festival and they put us on a Sunday! I had been in the bar for a sound check prior to opening and was standing next to the bar’s entertainment director when they opened the doors for business. Evidently, there had been a line going down the street waiting to get in. Even though it was still morning, when the doors opened, people just flooded in – running to stake out tables. Within about 60 seconds every seat in the place was filled. The guy from Sloppy’s turned to me and said, ‘man, I’ve never seen that happen before!’”
The music festival quickly became a multi-day event when Put-in-Bay T-shirts are more commonly seen than Key West Tshirts!
This year, the entertainment lineup will include Pat Sheppard (who plays at Frosty’s), Bob Gatewood (who plays at Round House, Beer Barrel, Fishbowl and Reel Bar), Ray Fogg (who plays at Reel Bar and Round House), Pete & Wayne (who play at Round House and Sloppy Joe’s) and the legendary Pat Dailey (who might be all their daddy’s).
The music festival runs from February 9 – 11, 2017. But, there will be a special “Twas the Night Before Put-in-Bay Fest” show on Wednesday, February 8th at 5:30 pm, when Pat Sheppard, Bob Gatewood, Ray Fogg and Pete Jarvis will all take to the stage for a little pre-fest party to welcome everyone to town! If you can’t make the trip you can watch the shows online on Sloppy Joe’s stage cam at www.sloppyjoes.com where you can also find the entire schedule
