Hi Tide
Shane Allenger, one-half of the musical duo known as Hi Tide describes their music as “Caribbean Pop” A fusion of many styles of music with a twist of the Caribbean added.
Indeed, since Shane joined up with Sean Hennings in 1994 to form the group, tens of thousands of tourists—as well as a loyal local following of fans—have heard these island-mainstays perform.
Although cousins, they were somewhat separated as youngsters but reunited musically in a Cayman Islands High School production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Shane was “Joseph,” and Sean was the drummer in the accompanying rock band. For the next 10 years, they played together in a variety of island bands which, like all bands everywhere, tend to reconfigure themselves from time to time with new players.
In 1994, however, Shane and Sean decided to team up as Hi Tide and gave their first performance at Rackham’s Pub. Marcus Mueri, who with his partner Neil Bryington owns Deckers Restaurant on West Bay Road, soon thereafter offered them a regular gig, and they’ve been playing at Deckers ever since.
In fact, they performed at Deckers in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The island was in shambles, but Deckers had its electricity restored early and became the eatery of choice (the only choice?) for the exhausted and the weary. Shane and Sean literally sang many residents through their misery.
Both players’ roots go deep into musicology—on and off the island. After performing at age 21 at Treasure Island in the “Nashville Now” shows with country greats, Shane moved to
Meanwhile Sean was honing his music and drumming skills at the famed Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California.
Today, Hi Tide is a mini wholly owned, wholly contained conglomerate which includes a music studio, a publishing company (Doogie Music), and a record company (Highwater Records). They write, play, and produce their own CDs and music videos as well as market T shirts, cups, clocks and other merchandise
