This year, the vibrant, soulful sounds of the Cayman Islands will echo through Port Townsend’s Fiddle Tunes festival, as the Swanky Kitchen Band takes the stage for the Creole & Cayman Island Dance Party. A musical journey unlike any other, Swanky Kitchen Band is on a vital quest to preserve the almost-forgotten tradition of Caymanian kitchen dance music—a lively, fiddle-driven genre that blends European and African influences, borne from the heart of the Caribbean.
The Caymans, comprised of 3 islands in the western Caribbean, were first settled by the British and Scottish in the 1600s, who then brought enslaved Africans to the islands in the 1730s. Paralleling in many ways the United States’ often fraught history, the cultural practices that developed in the Caymans were the result of a complex melding of European and African elements, with their musical traditions being no exception. In Kitchen Dance Music, the European fiddle combines with distinctly African rhythms, that in this instance, musicians created with common kitchen objects, most notably the Cassava grater.
The Swanky Kitchen Band are the torch bearers of a distinctly Caymanian tradition known as Kitchen Dance Music, which traces its origins back to the spirited social gatherings around the cooking that took place in the detached kitchens characteristic of the islands’ Afro-Caribbean neighborhoods.
As the Caymans have developed into a global center for banking and tourism starting in the latter part of the 20th century, Kitchen Dance Music, like so much of traditional Caymanian culture, has largely diminished. Thankfully, however, the Swanky Kitchen Band is faithfully keeping this music – so emblematic of Caymanian culture – alive and vibrant.
Samuel Rose, who founded the band more than 20 years ago, is a fiddler raised on the island of Grand Cayman. His passion for preserving his homeland’s musical roots grew stronger as he noticed the genre fading away. At a time when rapid development and societal change threatened to swallow this unique art form, Samuel, alongside guitarist Nicholas Johnson, set out to breathe new life into Caymanian kitchen dance music.
Drawing inspiration from the late Radley Gourzong, an expert fiddler who played at the Grand Ole Opry in 1987, Samuel’s playing echoes the legacy of past masters. Though most of the old fiddlers had passed away by the time Samuel came of age, his music serves as a reminder of their contribution to the island’s musical soul. Swanky Kitchen Band now stands as essentially the last remaining champion of this genre, keeping it alive for new generations to enjoy.
The band’s lineup brings together an extraordinary group of musicians, each contributing to the uniquely infectious sound of Caymanian kitchen music. At Fiddle Tunes, festival-goers will get a taste of Swanky’s powerful ensemble, featuring Samuel Rose on fiddle, Nicholas Johnson on guitar, and Paula Scott, a master on the grater and a descendant of musicians from the sister island of Cayman Brac. Lammie Seymour, a legendary bassist, and Jared Tibbetts, an accomplished drummer, round out the full band’s lineup.
In true kitchen dance music fashion, the sound is all about rhythm and feeling. The grater, used traditionally for coconut and cassava, acts as a percussion instrument, its rhythmic scrape blending seamlessly with the fiddle, guitar, and drums. The music tells stories – stories of love, loss, and the island’s history – woven together through a captivating pulse that encourages everyone to move.
Swanky Kitchen Band is not only preserving a cultural tradition but sharing it with the world. They are on a mission to show the world that the music of the Cayman Islands is vibrant, powerful, and essential to understanding the cultural crossroads that shaped their people.
Don’t miss the chance to experience this living tradition at the Creole & Cayman Island Dance Party on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. at McCurdy Pavilion. Opening for the dance will be the Preston Frank Zydeco Band! Come ready to dance, listen, and be transported to Louisiana and the Cayman Islands – if only for an unforgettable night – at this year’s Fiddle Tunes festival!