Bar Dad Backup: The Man Who Never Misses a Big Show
If you spend any real time in the bars and music rooms around Panama City and St. Andrews—The Dive, Salty Goat, Ms. Newbys, Whiskey’s, and a handful more—you eventually run into a familiar figure weaving through the crowd with a phone in his hand, eyes lit up like he just discovered electricity for the first time. That’s Michael Santiago, better known as Bar Dad Backup.
And around here, he’s become part of the scenery.
Before Michael ever hit “record” on a band in a bar, he lived a full life of service: U.S. Army veteran, followed by a long career as a USPS city carrier. He’s a guy who spent decades doing work that most folks don’t see and rarely thank you for. Now that he’s retired from both, he’s traded the uniform and the mail bag for something completely different—a self-assigned mission to be the unofficial chronicler of PCB’s local live music nightlife.
And in classic St. Andrews fashion, he didn’t ease into it—he dove in headfirst.
He’s there for the big nights, the packed rooms, the bands that bring a crowd. He’s the guy who never misses a big show, and he doesn’t just watch from the back. He tries to be part of it—filming, hyping, cheering, and giving half the bands in town their own personal ring announcer. One minute he’s capturing a guitar solo; the next he’s shouting about being “in Superman mode.” It’s energetic, it’s enthusiastic, it’s pure Michael.
The man gets around, too. He’s everywhere—one night at The Dive filming Scratch 2020, the next at Salty Goat with Sons of Saint, then over to Ms. Newby’s posting “Bar Dad Backup Exclusive!!!” with the kind of excitement the rest of us usually reserve for touchdowns or fireworks. Add in his veteran events, charity promotions, and festival coverage, and you start to wonder if he ever actually sits down.
Whether you love the spotlight or avoid it like a Monday morning, you can’t deny he adds a certain flavor to the scene. He’s loud in the best ways, he cares deeply about the musicians, and he works his tail off turning Panama City’s bar circuit into something bigger than just a list of nightly shows. In a world where too many folks complain from the couch, he’s out there hauling his phone from venue to venue, making sure the local music community gets attention, support, and a little hype.
And that, honestly, is what makes him fit right into the Keep St. Andrews Salty spirit.
St. Andrews has always thrived on its characters—people with stories, edges, quirks, and enough personality to fill a stage. Michael Santiago is one of those. He’s taken his decades of serving others and turned them into a new mission: lift up the bands, celebrate the bars, and shine a light on the nightlife that keeps this little waterfront community energetic, weird, and proudly independent.
You don’t have to agree with his style to appreciate the hustle.
You just have to look around any given night and see what he’s doing for the scene.
Because in a town where the music never really stops, it takes all kinds to keep St. Andrews salty. And Bar Dad Backup—well, he’s doing his part with gusto.
