VIDEO: ‘Kindred Kilts’ Set To Perform At Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival Feb. 24-26

By Space Coast Daily // January 18, 2017

Features chart-topping music artists

ABOVE VIDEO: The Kindred Kilts will be among several local bands that will perform at the Cocoa Beach Seafood and Music Festival. Set for Feb. 24 through 26 at Shepard Park, the musical headliners will include Don McLean on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m., Dirty Heads on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. and The Original Wailers on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.

Parking at the Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival at Alan Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach will be easy as plenty of parking areas have been organized, along with free Park & Ride shuttle service. CLICK HERE TO SEE PARKING DETAILS

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA – There are a few Irish and Irish-themed restaurants and pubs in Brevard and Indian River Counties but surprisingly few bands whose “bread and butter” music is Irish like The Kindred Kilts, who will appear during the Cocoa Beach Seafood and Music Festival Feb. 24-26 at Shepard Park.

The Kindred Kilts will be among several local bands that will perform at the Cocoa Beach Seafood and Music Festival. Set for Feb. 24 through 26 at Shepard Park, the musical headliners will include Don McLean on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m., Dirty Heads on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. and The Original Wailers on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.

A Google search for Irish Bands in Brevard County yielded zero results in the booking agency Gig Salad’s website. The same search showed very similar results for Irish bands in Indian River and Martin Counties.

Last year, The Kindred Kilts came on the scene. Based out of Vero Beach and Melbourne this trio performs “a variety of the very best Irish pub music with a fresh new sound and entertaining personalities,” according to their website.

The members are Charlie Quesenberry, Brenda Quesenberry and Larry Fitch. Their name reflects what they do and who they are. What they do is perform music in the style of the Clancy Brothers, Irish Rovers and the Wolfe Tones.

Theirs is a very folksy style and much of their material focuses on the classic storytelling aspects of Irish music such as “Whistling Gypsy Rover,” “Black and Tans,” “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Only Our Rivers Run Free.”

“My brother Charlie got me into this music when he and his wife Brenda came home to Florida about three years ago,” said Fitch.

“Once I heard the stories behind the music, and found that even though we had never played together before we had a real chemistry, we were off and running,” he said.

COCOA BEACH SEAFOOD & MUSIC FESTIVAL SET FEBRUARY 24 – 26 AT SHEPARD PARK

ABOVE VIDEO: Dirty Heads will be among the chart-topping music artists that will appear during the Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival set for Feb. 24-26, 2017. Tickets are now on sale. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Shortly after Larry and Charlie started playing an open mike session here and there, Brenda decided it was time to lend her talent to the group.

“Brenda came in one day when we were going through some songs and just started playing a tin whistle, which is a traditional Irish flute,” said Charlie.

“My brother and I stopped, picked up our jaws from the floor and said, ‘You’re in the band!’ ” he said.

The Kindred Kilts had found the sound they were looking for. The tin whistle gives a very unique characteristic to the music, either light and airy or mournfully soulful.

Brenda plays a variety of tin whistles, flute and percussion and lends her voice as well. Larry provides the “bottom” via very imaginative and unique bass runs and vocals. Charlie provides the lead on vocals while playing 6-string or 12-string guitar and the unique 6-string “banjitar.”

The Kindred Kilts members are Charlie Quesenberry, Brenda Quesenberry and Larry Fitch. Their name reflects what they do and who they are. What they do is perform music in the style of the Clancy Brothers, Irish Rovers and the Wolfe Tones.

“My banjitar was made in Titusville, Florida by Gold Tone, Inc., imagine my surprise when I learned the company was founded and owned by a guy I went to high school with,” said Charlie.

“The band name was my idea,” said Brenda.

“It really reflects not only that we really do perform in kilts, but we are kindred spirits and I play with my husband and my brother in law, how unique is that? I figured the old saying If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em applied, and we have a great time performing together everywhere we go.”

The band’s name also incorporates another aspect of musicianship, in that they have had special guest artists perform with them, making them “kindred spirits” as well.

The Kindred Kilts have played a variety of venues from renaissance faires, private parties, fund raisers and of course Irish pubs.

“The best part is when we’re having fun, the audience is feeling good and they’re having fun with us,” said Brenda.

The Kindred Kilts are returning to the Brevard Renaissance Faire all three weekends of its run at Wickham Park in Melbourne this year.

ABOVE VIDEO: One of America’s greatest song writers, Don McLean, wrote American Pie, which has become one of the USA’s most well known songs. Mclean will perform all of his award-winning songs on Friday, February 24, at the Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival.

“We must be doing something right, because we’ve been invited back to every venue we’ve played so far,” said Brenda.

In addition to performing at the Cocoa Beach Seafood Festival in February at the Alan Shepard Park, the trio can be seen regularly at Shindig’s Irish Pub in Port St. Lucie. The band is also planning to record their first CD this spring and are finalizing the music that they’ll record.

“That’s not bragging, we’re very, very grateful – we have opened for, played with and/or followed some amazing acts in the area,” said Charlie.

“With luck, we’ll have even more opportunities to do so in 2017. We have been extremely fortunate to find audiences who love Irish music.”

CLICK HERE for more information on The Kindred Kilts and visit their Facebook page HERE.

Cocoa Beach’s oceanfront Shepard Park will be the venue for the Space Coast’s hottest event next year when Space Coast Daily presents the three-day 2017 Seafood & Music Festival at Cocoa Beach. Arrive hungry, because you will want to try out the many temptations. Gregory Firestone’s Golden Gate seafood, for example, will present 150 feet of drool-inducing seafood, including crawfish, crab legs, alligator, calamari, lobster mac and cheese, and seafood boil, for starters.

COCOA BEACH SEAFOOD AND MUSIC FESTIVAL MUSICAL LINE UP & SCHEDULE

• Friday, Feb. 24: Don McLean 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 25: Dirty Heads, plus guests Ballyhoo! and Funkle Fester, 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 26: The Original Wailers, 3 p.m.

Tickets on sale NOW at all TICKETMASTER locations.

Tickets now on sale all TICKETMASTER locations.

The 2017 Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival at Shepard Park is sponsored by Cape Canaveral Hospital, Space Coast Daily, Florida’s Space Coast, News 6, Miller Lite and Savings Safari.

For more information, or if you would like to register for the Arts & Crafts Show, call 1-855-386-3836 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com

CLICK HERE FOR SEAFOOD VENDOR APPLICATION

CLICK HERE FOR ARTS & CRAFTS APPLICATION

CLICK HERE FOR MARKETPLACE APPLICATION

STAY TUNED TO SPACE COAST DAILY FOR EXCITING UPDATES

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ABOVE MAP: The three-day 2017 Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival will take place at Shepard Park, a beautiful 5-acre oceanfront park located at 200 E. Cocoa Beach Causeway in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The park is named after America’s first man in space, NASA Astronaut Alan Shepard, who flew aboard a Mercury spacecraft he named Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961.

Parking at the Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music Festival at Alan Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach will be easy as plenty of parking areas have been organized, along with free Park & Ride shuttle service.

The exciting three-day Cocoa Beach Seafood & Music festival is set for February 24 to 26 at the beautiful 10-acre oceanfront Alan Shepard Park, located at the eastern-most end of State Road 520.

TRAVELING FROM THE WEST AND NORTH

Next To Sunrise Diner Parking Area:

**NEXT TO SUNRISE DINER:** Just 1/4 mile west of Shepard Park, along State Road 520, is a large parking area with FREE park and ride shuttle service, running frequently, to and from Shepard Park. You will find this parking area next to Sunrise Diner, located at 365 West Cocoa Beach Causeway (State Road 520) in Cocoa Beach.

PARKING LOT 1: Next to Sunrise Diner: Just 1/4 mile west of Shepard Park, along State Road 520, is a large parking area with free Park and Ride shuttle service running frequently to and from Shepard Park. Parking is $10 per car at this location, and the Park and Ride Shuttle service is free for people parking in that parking lot. You will find this parking area next to Sunrise Diner, located at 365 West Cocoa Beach Causeway (State Road 520), Cocoa Beach, Florida 32931.

TRAVELING FROM THE NORTH

Church of Our Savior Parking Area:

**CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR:** Church of Our Savior, located at 5301 North Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach, has a large parking area that is offering parking for $5, with a free Park and Ride Shuttle Service, running continuously, to and from Alan Shepard Park.

PARKING LOT 2: Church of Our Savior, located at 5301 North Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach, Florida 32931, has a large parking area, offering parking for $5, with a free Park and Ride Shuttle Service, running continuously, to and from Alan Shepard Park, where the seafood festival is located.

Craig Technologies and Radisson Resort at the Port Parking Areas:

**ABOVE RIGHT:** The Craig Technologies parking lot is located at 8550 Astronaut Boulevard in Cape Canaveral. **ABOVE LEFT:** The Radisson Resort at the Port is located at 8701 Astronaut Boulevard in Cape Canaveral.

PARKING LOTS 3: Craig Technologies, located at 8550 Astronaut Blvd, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920, has a large parking area, offering parking for $10 per car, with free park and ride shuttle service for people parking there.

PARKING LOT 4: The Radisson Resort At The Port, located at 8701 Astronaut Blvd, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 has a large grass parking area just south of the hotel. Turn at W. Central Blvd. and proceed west to the parking lot entrance. Parking is $10 at this location and the free park and ride shuttle service will take you to and from Alan Shepard Park, where the festival is being held. The Radisson also offers excellent accommodations for those wishing to stay overnight.

TRAVELING FROM THE SOUTH

Winn Dixie Shopping Center Parking Area:

**ABOVE:** The Winn Dixie Shopping Center in Cocoa Beach, pictured above in dark green, is located at 100 Canaveral Plaza Boulevard in Cocoa Beach. This parking area is a short walk west of Shepard Park.

PARKING LOT 5: Winn Dixie Shopping Center in Cocoa Beach, pictured above in dark green, is located at 100 Canaveral Plaza Boulevard in Cocoa Beach, FL 32931. This parking area is a short walk west of Shepard Park.

Festival and Surrounding Areas

**FESTIVAL AREA AND IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS:** Three parking areas lie within a ½ mile radius of the festival. These are noted above by the official parking symbol in the map. PLEASE NOTE: Parking restrictions in the residential area to the north of Shepard Park will be strictly enforced by the police, and will be clearly marked.

FESTIVAL SURROUNDING AREA: Three parking areas lie within a ½ mile radius of the festival. These are noted above by the official parking symbol in the map. PLEASE NOTE: Parking restrictions in the residential area to the north of Shepard Park will be strictly enforced by the police, and will be clearly marked.

Additional parking areas will be added to the list of parking lots above – stay tuned to Space Coast Daily for updated and additions. For information and assistance please call 1-855-386-3836, or 321-323-4460, or 321-302-6565 or 321-615-8111.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COCOA BEACH SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WEBSITE