They are lifelong ska fans and fell in love with the music during their time living in Tokyo for 3 years from 1993-1996. They moved to the DC area in 2000 and spent a couple decades listening to the best ska bands in the country. They somehow missed the media headlines that ska was dead and decided to start a ska festival in 2014. The festival grew over the years and it moved with them to the beach at Fort Monroe on the Chesapeake Bay.