By Sarah Lagan
Published Nov 18, 2014 at 2:06 pm (Updated Nov 18, 2014 at 2:45 pm)

Oscar Deuss, son of the late Dr Burnie, dresses up as his father and plays sax on Front Street
with his friends Chris Finsness, left, and Will Tucker, right. They were promoting a tribute concert
taking place at Pier Six this Saturday in memory of Dr Burnie with proceeds going toward the
Neil Burnie Foundation for marine education and research. (Photo by Chris Burville)

The spirit of Dr Neil Burnie was alive on Front Street today as his son Oscar played sax to promote a tribute concert taking place at Pier 6 on Saturday.

Some of Bermuda’s best-loved musicians are to perform at the concert in memory of the veterinarian and ocean activist.

Proceeds raised from the event will go towards the Neil Burnie Foundation, a marine education and research fund that has been established in his memory.

Oscar Deuss, son of Dr Neil Burnie plays sax on Front Street
to promote a benefit concert for his father this Saturday.
(Photo by Chris Burville)

A tribute page has been set up on Facebook carrying details of the concert and information about the foundation.

Performing at the concert will be the remaining members of the blues band Bones, for which Dr Burnie sang, played saxophone and harmonica. Uzimon will MC at the event, which features Working Title, The Kennel Boys, Duty Free, The Big Days, Life Sentence, Out of Bounds, Gavin “Djata” Smith and Graffiti Park. Reggae band Home Grown are to reunite for one last concert.

Dr Burnie’s son, Oscar Deuss, dyed his hair grey and played barefoot sax to the public — “causing a scene, just like Neil would have done,” he said — along with fellow musicians Will Tucker and Chris Finsness.

Oscar Deuss with friends Will Tucker, centre, and Chris Finsness

There are no tickets for Saturday’s event but donations are encouraged. There will be limited edition tribute T-shirts on sale. Doors open at 7.30pm and the music starts at 8pm. Space at the venue is limited and entry will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Donations to the Neil Burnie Foundation may be made to MJM Limited (BD$) Client Trust A/C #006 018279 002, or cheques made payable to MJM Limited Client Trust (in each case, reference Neil Burnie). You can visit the tribute page by searching for “Neil’s Badass Tribute Page” on Facebook for more details and updates.

Oscar Deuss and his sax

The Ocean Vet series starring will be delayed as a result of Dr Burnie’s death. While filming was completed, Dr Burnie was yet to add narration linking each episode. The post-production team at gassProductions will now have to rewrite the format of the series and structure of each episode to allow for this change in direction. The series has been very well received by the international market according to gassProductions’ Andrew Smith with the majority of the “biggest networks in the world all very interested”.