Brian Futch and his brother, Bobby, are local guys who grew up in St. Augustine. Brian left in 1986 to see the world via the U.S. Army and then settled for a while north of Florida. Whenever he visited St. Augustine, he and Bobby would get out the instruments and play covers and original music — just as they did in high school.

Brian kept playing and honing his music and songwriting skills while living away, spending time as a staff writer in Nashville and continuing to write and perform.

Robbie's songs reveal themselves to him. For example, when he wrote "Fifteen Years" he thought it was about a relationship, but it was really about another life transition, a mashup of life events. Robbie seems a bit astonished by his own songwriting, in that "I learn about what I write later down the road - sometimes - if I'm lucky, and sometimes it just don't make no sense at all."

While it's common for St. Augustine bands to have what we call "intermingled alliances" — no group (and we use the term loosely) has more mingled music alliances than The Free Rangers.

Essentially a pick-up band of musicians who supposedly focus on music of the folk, bluegrass, and Americana genres, The Free Rangers have been known to play gospel, rock, pop, country and even a bit of jazz.

St. Augustine’s only pirate musical group, the Pyrates of Iniquity performs family-friendly shows for friends, private parties, and non-profit events. With singers, and self-described “musical scallywags” on fiddle, guitar, flute, bass, and percussion — Pyrates of Iniquity offers up tribal drums, sea shanties, pirate tunes, and a few parodies.

They can be found busking on the corner, playing for rum in a few taverns, and at several festivals, and private gatherings hosted by people with a sense of fun and a desire to delight all who attend. 

The Steel Wheels kept rolling with changes in life through the pandemic, with a podcast and remote recording in home studios and yard stages. In their first post-pandemic tour, their new set list included a number of the 60 songs they had written in 2020 and 2021.

To simply describe Shema Shine as a rock guitarist doesn't go far enough. This singer and guitarist has said that her favorite musician is Jimmie Hendrix, and Shema shows that every time she plays one of his songs — brilliantly.

Folks who have followed this versatile and accomplished performer know that they will hear great music when she is on the stage. Since 2016, Shema has joined with three other musicians who share her love of and talent for playing classic rock favorites.

Nevidon was formed in 2019 when Dan Callahan (now the bass player) and Devin Hembrock (now lead vocalist) met at an open mic. Dan started playing "Zombies" a hit by the Cranberries, and Devin jumped up to add vocals —and magic happened. Withing a few months the band had filled out to include Stuart Mowrey on drums and Randy Hammond on guitar and backing vocals. 

In addition to performing at clubs and local festivals, this high-energy band plays at private parties and corporate gigs.

Back Alley Cadillac offers classic rock and  blues covers, preformed with high energy and great joy. Members are Gemini Mims, lead vocalist; Jay Kenton Schroer on bass, David Ametrano on drums, and Frac Robert on guitar and vocals. 

A native son of St. Augustine, Jonathan Lee Dotson has earned multiple music degrees, including his Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance. In addition to teaching music at the college level, Dotson writes and arranges music for guitar, and is skilled at music production and recording. Dotson has played classical guitar on four continents and has a particular passion for Spanish guitar.

This energetic and talented band of musicians have roots on two continents but all of them now hail from the Gainesville area. The band members are Tim on lead vocals and tambourine; Julia on violin and fiddle; Todd on guitar, Irish bouzouki, and backing vocals; Will on lead vocals, whistles, and melodica; and T.C. on lead vocals and bodran.