British Virgin Islands - Music and Performing Arts

Each May, the islands host the BVI Music Festival, a four-day event that features both local and international talent. Local folk music is called Fungi (also, "scratch"), and it is similar to Jamaican mento. Scratch bands often incorporate a squash, washboard, or tambourine; congo drums; string instruments such as the ukulele or banjo; and a saxophone or flute. Scratch music evolved out of the slave era and scratch bands often perform Quelbe, indigenous folk music that is the official music of the Virgin Islands. Also popular here are reggae, calypso, and soca.