Members of Uncharted Waters are, from left: Vernon Knight, Dave Heird, Barry Stewart, and Todd Reynolds.

Three years ago, Dave Heird and Todd Reynolds were just friends who hung out at the Highlands community pool together. Now, however, they – along with Vernon Knight and Barry Stewart – are bandmates set to make their ChesterFest debut.

The four-man group calls themselves Uncharted Waters, and plays a mixture of classic rock and contemporary selections. “We like to pick stuff that’s really danceable,” says Reynolds, who plays guitar. “We play a lot of beach music, and older stuff Lynyrd Skynyrd to newer stuff like Maroon 5 and Matchbox 20. We try to play a wide variety of songs.”

A fixture at the Highlands pool, where the bandmates often gather to play for fellow swimmers, Uncharted Waters has performed in a number of venues. “We played at Chester Perk a couple of times when that was still open, and we’ve also played at the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell. Barry Moore from Haley Pontiac is a big fan, so we play at his dealership a couple of times a year,” Reynolds says. “Our biggest tour so far was an oceanside wedding in Wilmington, which was a blast! The father of the bride opted to have us play rather than hiring a DJ, and the bride told us afterwards how glad she was that we had played. It really improved her dad’s standing!”

However, for the most part, Uncharted Waters prefers to perform closer to home. “Our main focus is on local events and private parties. All of the members work full time and have families we’d like to spend time with,” explains Reynolds.

The ChesterFest celebrations, then, will be a natural fit for the members of Uncharted Waters. “We’re all really excited,” Reynolds says. “The band is always really excited when they get to play bigger venues.”

As most of Uncharted Waters’ popularity has spread via word of mouth, the band can expect a positive response from festgoers. “When we play, so many people ask us for our numbers so they can book us for anniversaries, parties, and graduations,” says Reynolds. “Every year, it seems like we get more gigs! That’s really nice, because we’re focused on the Highlands community and we’d like to branch out a bit.”

But success hasn’t gone to the heads of the Uncharted Waters members, who prefer to keep their families first and foremost in their lives. (Said family members, Reynolds notes, are often roadies who help carry band equipment – “but only grudgingly!”) “In the future,” he says, “one of our goals is to get in the studio and get a recording done. But we don’t want to make too much of it; we want to spend time with our families above anything else.”

For more information about Uncharted Waters or to book a performance, call Dave Heird at 873-8890 or Todd Reynolds at 814-0669.

The seventh annual ChesterFest is to be held on September 13 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on the Chester Village Green. Uncharted Waters is scheduled to take the main stage at 12:30 p.m.

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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