My friend, Danny, has been a musician here on St. John since the early 1970s. He was probably the first white guy to play in a West Indian Calypso Band, when he played piano with Eddie and the Movements, the precursors to Jam Band.

Several years ago Danny got priced out of St. John and now lives on St. Thomas and is involved in the music scene there. Danny told me that the other day he was visiting a fellow musician from St. John, and the two of them were thinking of going out that night to hear some live music. The St. John musician pulled out a copy of the St. John Sun Times and started looking at the things to do section and Danny was surprised at the number of choices there were for live music entertainment on little St. John.

It beats St. Thomas hands down, where live music venues are few and far between. So much for St. Thomas people complaining that there isn’t stuff to do on St. John and that it’s boring. We have great night life options here!

And as an aside, the St. John Times, as good as they are, doesn’t list all the music happenings, neither does my site, seestjohn.com, which has a few more listing than the Sun Times, only because it’s easier to update a website than a written publication. There’s really even more music happening, but neither of us have been able to list them all.

The problem, I’ve found, in getting a comprehensive live music schedule is that the managers and owners of the St. John restaurants and bars are often not helpful in giving out this information, usually because they are two busy with the million and one other things that those in that business are faced with every day.

Of course this doesn’t make too much sense. The idea is to draw people to your establishment by offering live music, and that the increased sale,s and consequent increased profits, will more than cover the cost of hiring the musicians.

So St. John bar and restaurant owners and managers, please take note. Work with us. Its good for everybody, for you, who will make more money, for the musicians, who will also make more money and be able to play their music, something that they love, probably more than the money, for the goal of promoting St. John arts and culture with its numerous benefits, and for the visitors to St. John who will be more likely to get out and enjoy an evening in Cruz bay or Coral Bay if they knew that these entertainment options were available.  And, what’s more it’s not costing you anything.

Here’s some contact information to those who would like free advertising for their bars and restaurants as well as for St. John musicians and bands, who would like to take the initiative to advertise themselves. Let all of St. John know your schedules.

The best sources of St. John entertainment schedules would be, I believe, our website, SeeStJohn.com, (click here to send us an e-mail) and the St. John Sun Times,(click here to send an e-mail or call them at 340-779-4565).