In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, costumed participants pretend to play faux musical instruments at the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, Saturday, July 9, 2022, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Big Pine Key, Fla. Hundreds of divers and snorkelers gathered at Looe Key Reef to listen to a local radio station’s four-hour, commercial-free broadcast piped beneath the sea via special underwater speakers. The broadcast featured public service announcements to promote coral reef conservation. (Mike Papish/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)

Diving into some tunes at Florida underwater music festival

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — They weren’t in a “Yellow Submarine,” but hundreds of people spent time below the waves Saturday for a music festival off the Florida Keys.

The Beatle’s hit and other ocean-themed songs like the theme to “The Little Mermaid” were part of the entertainment during the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival.

The divers and snorkelers, many dressed as mermaids and sea creatures, enjoyed music played through waterproof speakers dangling from boats floating above the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The festival took place at Looe Key Reef about six miles (10 kilometers) from Big Pine Key. The event at the continental United State’s only living coral barrier reef raised awareness on how divers can protect the reef by not touching corals or leaving litter underwater, using mooring buoys instead of anchoring when boating, respecting dive flags and other ways of minimizing environmental impacts.

Participants swam among marine life and coral formations and described the music as ethereal, a bit muted, but emanating from all directions.

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