We’re already a month into 2012 and therefore it’s time to take a quick look back at what local artists were up to in January. With such big events as Jam Cruise, Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s 50th Anniversary blowout at Carnegie Hall, the Best of the Beat Awards last weekend, there’s already been a healthy amount of big events featuring NOLA bands. As always, there’s plenty of live music filling the clubs here and with the ongoing Carnival season, the live music schedule in town is only going to heat up for the next 2 1/2 weeks leading to Mardi Gras. Check out the newly-minted tracks below and get down to some live music this Carnival season.
The final additions and tweaks have been made to the JamCruise schedule, which means we’re getting into the home stretch. Jamuary is right around the corner!
One of the best things about the cruise is the interaction with the musicians on the boat, and getting to chill with them in close quarters. Whether it’s the opportunity to sing your favorite karaoke song with members of Umphrey’s McGee backing you, or playing Bingo with Jon Fishman or Trombone Shorty calling out the numbers, the schedulers always do a great job of coming up with fun activities for the cruisers and getting the musicians involved. READ MORE
Woah, sorry for the silence around here, folks. Life has been wonderfully busy in my world, and I’ve had no time to digest all the awesome year-end stuff that’s coming out now. But more important to me looking back on 2011, I need to get on previewing the awesome year ahead in live music now that 2012 is well within our sights.
The first thing we’ll obviously have an eye on in 2012 is the annual Jam Cruise music festival, the sold-out floating music festival for funk, untz, groove and jam lovers. But the weekend before, the same boat will be departing for the Holy Ship! festival, a strictly untz, whomp and dubstep floating event. Look at the lineup they have planned: READ MORE
The onboard programming schedule for Jam Cruise was just posted. Dirty Dozen kicks off the kick-off party and it’s basically music nonstop from there on out.
Our very good buddy @PeteLikesMusic will be on the boat with the usual players and suspects (like Scotty B. from Hidden Track)…
We’ll be following along from the comfort of our own Couch Tour this year, but drop some comments for the other folks hitting the cruise and get in touch and make friends! Hope to make it some day.
Yesterday, a critical graphic on the Jam Cruise homepage changed with little fanfare, but this morning the official email went out: the tenth sailing of this musical sea odyssey is now sold out. There is a waitlist for parties that are still interested, but most people that were still on the fence at this point have now literally missed the boat. Read more…
The lineup for Jam Cruise was announced first thing this morning here on the West Coast, and I couldn’t be happier that I’ve already taken the plunge and pre-booked a cabin for the 10th anniversary of the floating festival that everybody has been raving about for years. This will be my first year on the boat, so I’ll be seeing plenty of unbelievably great music all while sailing the seas and partying with my fellow like-minded fans. Can’t wait.
One of the bigger reveals of the lineup has been the port destinations that the cruise is choosing, and this time the festival is setting sail a full week after New Year’s Eve with a January 9th departure n Ft. Lauderdale to make stops in Labadee, Haiti and then onto Falmouth, Jamaica. The whole thing winds back down on January 14th, 2012. Umphrey’s McGee, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, Galactic, The New Deal, Shpongle, New Mastersounds, EOTO, and Orgone are just some of the artists I’m excited to get a crack at seeing this year, and there’s tons more talent rounding out the lineup this year.
As hedonistic as the whole vacation is, I’m actually proud that the organizers thought to bring a stop by Haiti into the equation. More about those efforts were detailed in today’s press release… READ MORE
Jam Cruise just announced their Rock the Boat winner, and it’s a band I’m not familiar with: Papadosio, an progressive electronica act from Athens, Ohio. Here’s the description from the Cloud 9 folks:
Papadosio’s music is all about unexpected combinations. From Rock/House to Jazz/Hop to Dub/Breaks, every song has a unique approach to attaining originality. Long improvisational interludes and vocal harmonies quickly set this group in a new category of mass appeal. With an amplified message of transcendence, unity, and universal understanding, Papadosio’s mission is clear: To combine eclectic musical traditions with modern Electronica to stir the heart and fuel the mind. For more information, visit www.papadosio.com.
Sounds interesting, and I’m definitely looking forward to checking them out on the boat. With any luck, one of their gigs will be scheduled during the just-announced second night theme: Future Jam!
If you’re still considering hopping on the boat and joining us and the rest of the extended cruiser family come January, don’t delay in booking your cabin; it looks like there’s less than 50 of them left!
Are you booked for Jam Cruise 9? If not and you plan on going, it’s high time you snatch up a room with some friends and get your flights booked for Florida. There’s now less than 75 cabins left!
I really wish I could make it this year but it’s not likely in the cards with everything else I want to see next year, but we plan on having a crew on the boat this year with our very own @PeteLikesMusic in charge of sending updates from the boat and name-dropping left and right. But if you’re going, we want to meet up with you and give you free stickers and stuff when we get there! Drop some comments if you’re as excited as we are! Finally, make sure you check out the new Hidden Track “Jam Cruise Files” posts with the new one from Stanton Moore being a great read.
