Friday morning, we were welcomed by a live band playing nicely by the Pier in colorful Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I. (December 30, 2011). As seen here briefly, Celebrity's SUMMIT was the only ship in the horizon.
St. Croix is home to many imported styles of music. Calypso, Steelpan, Soca, Reggae, Rock, Jazz, and many more.
The major indigenous form of music is the scratch band (also called fungi band), which use improvised instruments like gourds and washboards to make a kind of music called quelbe. Quelbe is a form of topical folk song, and is the official music of the Virgin Islands. Quelbe is commonly performed by scratch bands, though their folk origin lays in individuals, who sang the songs in informal settings, celebrations and festivals.
Note that St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, offers a tranquil tropical destination.
Frederiksted, located on the west end of St. Croix, has a long and storied history. The town was established in 1751 and it is the second largest town on St. Croix. It was originally protected by Fort Frederik, which dates back to 1700. Today, the fort houses a museum.
Frederiksted is often referred to by locals as "Freedom City" because it and the fort is the site where then Governor General Peter Van Scholten read the proclamation abolishing slavery in 1848.
