The Halifax Country of Florida has produced many heroes and its fair share of villains. Its history includes the plight of slaves, marauding pirates, wars with the Seminoles, the life of the Crackers,
horse and cattle thieving, moonshine bootlegging and rum running, the first automobile races on the sands, the advent of modern tourism, and even the almost extinction of unique wildlife.
The Halifax Contraband captures all of these tales in their original songs about the Halifax and Florida history. Their music is derived from the original Scotch-Irish folk sounds that were brought into the Halifax by the Florida Crackers in the early 1800s, a sound that has evolved into what we refer to as bluegrass today. Other historic influences include the drumming of the Florida Seminoles, the rhythm and blues of the slave, and freeman cultures of the Florida Blacks,
and the Latin styles of the Spanish Era. The bands sound infuses these cultural influences with vocal harmonies and its own style of folk and Southern rock-a-billy to create an Americana experience. Their music has been called Cracker Rock, Swamp Stomp, New Grass, and many other monikers, but all in all it is good ole Florida Folk Rock.
