Moonsplash happens every March on Rendezvous Bay, on the beach in front of the Dune Preserve. It has run since 1991, which makes it the oldest independently produced music festival in the Caribbean.
Bankie Banx
The festival is the work of Bankie Banx, Anguilla's best-known musician, sometimes called the island's Bob Dylan for the way his songs sit between reggae and folk. He built the Dune Preserve himself out of driftwood, salvaged boats and old timber, on the sand at the western end of Rendezvous Bay. Hurricanes have flattened it more than once and it has been rebuilt each time from whatever the sea returned.
What it is like
The stage is on the beach. There are no seats, the sand is the floor, and the audience is a mix of Anguillians, people who have come over from Saint-Martin for the night, and visitors who worked out that the festival was on. Acts are mostly Caribbean — reggae, soca, and increasingly younger island artists — with a headliner from Jamaica or further afield. It runs over several nights around the full moon in March.
Practical notes
- Tickets are sold per night and at the gate; the festival does not sell out in the way a mainland event would.
- Music starts late — before ten at night there is not much happening.
- Bring cash. Card acceptance on the beach is unreliable.
- Taxis back to the east end of the island get scarce after two in the morning; agree a pick-up time with a driver in advance.
The Dune Preserve the rest of the year
Outside the festival it is a beach bar, open most afternoons, and worth the visit for the structure alone. Bankie Banx often plays informally. It is the single most characteristic place on Anguilla.
Getting there and back
The Dune Preserve sits at the western end of Rendezvous Bay, reached by a sand track off the main road; in daylight it is straightforward, at night less so. Parking is informal and fills early on festival nights. If you are staying in the east end of the island, budget for a taxi in both directions and fix the return time before you set off.
The wider music scene
Anguilla's live music is not limited to March. Bankie Banx plays the Dune through the season, Sandy Ground's bars have bands most weekends, and Anguilla Summer Festival in August brings calypso and soca competitions. For an island of fifteen thousand people, the number of working musicians is remarkable.