Karma Killswitch (Martha Marsden photo).
PHILIPSBURG--Just after the prizes were handed out on day one of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta 2026, the docks shifted from racing adrenaline to festival electricity. Taking the stage to open the night was new island rock outfit Karma Killswitch, and despite the name, there was nothing subdued about the performance.
Fronted by Lee Hardesty and Gian Franco, both on guitars and both singing, the band delivered a sharp, energetic set that felt like a spark across the Regatta Village. As the lights flickered on across vendor tents, beer stations and tantalising food trucks, hungry sailors – fresh off a spectacular day of racing, high winds, bright sun and dramatic shifts – found the perfect soundtrack to the evening.
With tracks from their 2025 album Pareidolia, the group proved they are a rising force on the island rock scene. It wasn’t a killswitch; it was an ignition. The regatta party festivities had officially begun!
