The music of the Cayman Islands, a Caribbean island chain, includes a wide selection of international pop music as well as unique folk styles. The

Cayman National Cultural Foundation The Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) is the official arts council for the Cayman Islands. It was founded in 1984. The Cayman National Cultural Foundation manages the F.J. Harquail Cultural Centre and the US$4 million Harquail Theatre. ...

, established in 1984, helps to preserve and promote Cayman folk music, including the organisation of festivals such as Cayman Islands International Storytelling Festival, the Cayman JazzFest, Seafarers Festival and Cayfest. There is also a Pirate's Week Festival. The Cayman JazzFest, founded in 2004, is a well-known

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

festival, that draws on the islands' "deep connection" with jazz. The official

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of the Cayman Islands is "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

". "

Beloved Isle Cayman "Beloved Isle Cayman" is the official national song of the Cayman Islands, composed by Leila Ross-Shier in 1930. As a British Overseas Territory, the official national anthem is "God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/ ...

", words and music by

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

Leila Ross-Shier Leila Elberta Ross-Shier (born McTaggart 16 November 1886 - 26 September 1968) was a musician, educator and composer from the Cayman Islands. Ross-Shier wrote the national song of the Cayman Islands, "Beloved Isle Cayman". Biography Ross-Shier w ...

is the official national song. The fiddle is a popular folk instrument. Christmas music is an important part of the Cayman folk tradition, and it consists of ''

serenading In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian ...

'', or group singing of

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s on Christmas Eve. Instruments include the fiddle, accordion,

mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed. Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, a ...

, ''

grater A grater, also known as a shredder, is a kitchen utensil used to grate foods into fine pieces. Uses Food preparation Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of ...

'' and drums. There is a Cayman Music & Entertainers Association which represent local musicians' interests, and professional studios such as Hopscotch Studios offer recording and post-production services. Several local popular musicians are well known, including Business Time, Natasha Kozaily, Bona Fide, Cloudburst, The Barefoot Man, Chuck and Barrie a.k.a. Sea N' B, Heat, and Nicholas Johnson.

References

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Notes

Music of British Overseas Territories, Cayman Anglophone Caribbean music {{music-genre-stub