• Day 1 Review

    The Blues Magazine deputy editor Emma Johnson braves big waves and conspicuous flip-flop abuse to report on Joe Bonamassa's blues cruise...

    Day 1 - Monday, Feb 15, 2016: For the second year running, the undisputed blues ringleader of the United States, Joe Bonamassa, has set sail with a couple of thousand of his closest friends and fans to take the music that they all love to the high seas (and on Wednesday, Mexico). What we’re expecting is a week of live blues jams from artists including Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Shemekia Copeland and Selwyn Birchwood, a little bit of sun and some preposterously enormous margaritas, all in a setting where flip-flops are actually an acceptable option for your feet, rather than the sartorial monstrosity they’d be on dry land.

    As the crowds troop onto the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, they’re met by Jarekus Singleton in the atrium, starting the trip in style with the first live show of the cruise. It’s a magnificent, soulful, high energy set, fans stopping in their tracks on the way to their cabins to howl their appreciation, particularly for Singleton’s incredible drummer who makes her complex but fluid, jazzy style look as easy and relaxed as a dip in the pool.

    By the time the anchor has been raised and we set sail, Blues Traveller have taken to the main pool deck, frontman John Popper only coming up from his harmonica for air to ask, “Is it the tequila, or is this boat rockin’?!” We suspect, given the shots being handed out by the boat’s staff, it may be a bit of both.

    Shemekia Copeland, back in the main atrium bar, is celebrating. This weekend she was nominated for three awards at this year’s Grammys - and as the number one artist in our poll of the albums of 2015, we have to say we saw it coming, and it couldn’t be more deserved. It seems the holidaymakers here agree too, shouts of “we love you Shemekia!” honking across the room from the moment she hits the stage. What a voice this woman has, Married To The Blues and The Devil’s Hand showcasing her incredible range and power and sending shivers down the spine. She’s funny too, her between-song banter - paying tribute to her famous father Johnny Copeland, reliving a hilarious conversation on the blues with a skeptical eight-year-old girl, and raucously recounting her steps into country music on a trip to Nashville (as her lyrics in the following song says, ‘country isnt’ nothin’ but blues with a twang’) - crammed with a warm wit that makes her the life and soul of the party.

    By the time Joe Bonamassa’s show outside on the pool deck is ready to ignite, the boat really is rocking - the wind has worked itself up into a rage, and as we lurch from side to side like a drunk just trying to make it to a bus stop at the end of the night, the cymbals on stage threaten to take off and throw themselves into the Atlantic in protest. But the show must go on, and, with a backwards baseball cap crammed on his head to stop his hair whipping into his eyes, Bonamassa gives the ecstatic crowd exactly what they’ve been waiting for, embarking on a high energy performance with licks so technically perfectly executed they’re almost a mathematical equation.

    The other bands on the bill are out in force to enjoy it too - at one point we spot Beth Hart dancing wildly in the crowd, while sharp suited Vintage Trouble frontman Ty Taylor busts some insanely cool moves by the bar, charming the socks off the many fans who approach him as he makes new friends and snaps selfies and generally acts like a thoroughly excellent human being. Bonamassa’s set is a triumph over weather, and as he peels out a flawless Little Red Rooster, everyone goes reliably bananas, particularly the crowd in the hot tub who’ve jumped in fully clothed to demonstrate their appreciation. And as he ties up his first show of the week and welcomes us to his floating festival and temporary home, his fellow mariners head off into the depths of the ship to discover more bands tucked away in all corners of the Norwegian Pearl, ready to keep the good times rolling all night.

  • Day 2 Review

    Our deputy editor Emma Johnston continues her adventures on the high seas in the company of Beth Hart and Vintage Trouble...

    Day 2 - Tuesday, Feb 16, 2016: As day two of the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea cruise comes around, the shipmates aboard the Norwegian Pearl have found their sea legs, and as today’s theme is buccaneer’s ball, the motley crew of salty dogs are working on the old pirate trick to avoid the dreaded scurvy and downing mimosas for breakfast. Yaaaargh. Etc.

    Up on the pool deck, Eric Bibb is making the most of the sunshine alongside Michael Jerome Browne by cooking up a laid back blues feast tailor made for lounging about too. Bliss. Down in the atrium, meanwhile, his namesake Eric Gallas is at the other end of the energy scale, tearing through a crackling Boogie Man to get even the most lily livered landlubber howling in response.

    There’s plenty going on outside of the live sets today too. Alligator Records’ Bruce Iglauer is imparting his blues wisdom in the Stardust Theatre, before Robert Randolph gives a masterclass in slide guitar - a subject he knows more about than most. Johnny A is getting grey matter throbbing with his blues trivia quiz, and some of the more romantic pirates aboard are renewing their vows on the upper deck. It’s all less smoochy - but arguably more fun - in the Bliss nightclub though, where a beer tasting session in aid of Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation is getting just the right level of rowdy, and by the end of it more than a few participants need to head off for a tactical nap.

    This evening’s Bonamassa show sees the man whose name is on the door step back and allow Beth Hart to take the limelight, leaving her to provide the vocals while he gets on with the guitar heroics behind her. And what vocals they are, with a knockout punch that has passing dolphins sticking their heads above the waves to catch a piece of the action.

    Relaxed and clearly enjoying herself, Hart belts out classics such as I’d Rather Go Blind and Nutbush City Limits like she owns them, while her own songs take her from a heart-wrenching croon to a tooth-rattling crescendo, sometimes in the space of the same song. And yet, despite being a masterclass in stagecraft, it’s not the highlight of the evening. That accolade goes to Vintage Trouble in the Stardust Theatre.

    If the world was a kinder place, Vintage Trouble would be huge. It’s not just a name, this band are timeless, and in Ty Taylor they have one of the greatest frontmen working in blues and soul today, a killer mix of James Brown, Otis Redding and a smidge of Tina Turner. Within seconds he has the entire theatre on its feet, as he slaps hands with the front row and slips and slides across the stage like his bones are made of rubber. He owns the place, climbing across the seats to mix with the audience, dragging us all along in his aura of pure charisma, angel wings of sweat forming quickly on the back of his powder blue suit.

    It’s always a joy to see a singer having an absolute ball, but when they do it this slickly, and with a voice made of molten gold, it takes things to another level. And the band are no slouches either, a unit drilled to military precision, although the drummer looks more than a little taken aback when Taylor gives the audience his room number and invites them to carry on the fun there. As they bring this to a boiling close with Run Like The River, and we’re given a heartfelt message of togetherness and positivity from Taylor, it’s hard not to wish they’d start it all again so it doesn’t have to end. You’d sell your parrot and your wooden leg for another go on this amazing ride.

  • Day 3 Review

    It's all ashore before a dressed down Joe Bo commits to next year's cruise...

    Day 3 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016: It’s land ahoy as we head into day three of this floating blues festival, and as we disembark on the little Mexican island of Cozumel 50 miles south of Cancún, bands and fans scatter (after making their way gingerly past some frankly terrifying human statues lurking outside the ship) to enjoy a spot of snorkelling, exploring or a serious session of filling themselves up to the eyeballs with cheap local tequila.

    For our own part, your representatives of The Blues Magazine take bold steps to strike out on our own, and promptly get lost, finding ourselves stranded on preposterously beautiful beach in the middle of nowhere with only a very large and inquisitive iguana for company. He didn’t say much but we think he was called Juan. Luckily, a kindly taxi driver sets us back on track, and after a visit to the Mayan ruins there’s just time for tacos and a look around the pretty town before getting back on board - alongside some distinctly wobbly shipmates - to get back to the matter in hand.

    Robert Randolph And The Family Band ease us back out onto the waves up on the pool deck, while inside in the theatre, Simo (one of our bands to watch for 2016 in issue 26) are whacking up the decibels with their hairy, flare-y, not very sweary take on 70s blues-rock, frontman JD Simo breaking down any barriers by perching on the lip of the stage to peel out a solo like a barefoot, guitar-toting Kermit The Frog.

    It’s Joe Bonamassa’s last show of the cruise, and it’s one for the hardcore fans in awe of his technical prowess as opposed to the casual fan. Solos string out for what seems like days, meandering off until it looks like they’ll never find their way back to where they started. Of course, though, the miraculously do. The theme is Laid Back Luau (as evidenced by Bonamassa’s dressed-down look - he’s getting more casual in his attire by the day), and as the faithful lose themselves in a strung-out homage to Are You Experienced, there’s clearly not much to stress about at this moment in time. Finally snapping out of his reverie, Bonamassa announces that the cruise will return for a third year in 2017, and several hundred people plan their next holiday on the spot.

    Things are getting a little more country up in the Spinnaker Lounge, where sister act Larkin Poe are busy making the slide guitar look incredibly cool, and country-blues sound incredibly mainstream. By the time they’re done, most people have disappeared off into their cabins, having peaked too soon on dry land (let’s blame is on the heat eh?), but in Bar City the Homemade Jamz Blues Band are rewarding those still conscious with a rousing take on Bill Withers classic Ain’t No Sunshine. Sadly for Blues Traveler, by 11pm they’re playing to an empty Stardust Theatre, and it’s time to call it a night in anticipation of one more day at sea tomorrow.

  • Day 4 Review

    Guitar geeks, car-sized reptiles and drunk Elvis. It's the last day of the cruise...

    Day 4 - Thursday, February 18, 2016: Our adventure is coming towards its end, and as the Norwegian Pearl powers its way through relentlessly choppy waters towards Miami, it’s a last chance for cruisers to get up close and personal with the stars of the show.

    Up in the Stardust Theatre, Vintage Trouble are kicking off the day with a soothing round of bloody Marys and bingo. “What happens if someone shouts bingo without having a full house?” asks frontman Ty Taylor. You have to buy the whole room a round of drinks or run around naked, comes the reply. “That’s a punishment?! Bingo!”

    Beth Hart is opening up about her life and her craft in a Q&A, while Joe Bonamassa is living the guitar geek dream, hosting a chat with Norm of Norm’s Rare Guitars in California, the pair reminiscing about the precocious 12-year-old Joe coming into the shop for the first time and presenting its owner with a signed headshot. He’s in his element discussing the history of some of the finest axes known to history, and so, it seems, are his followers.

    Some of the smaller bands on the bill are given a final chance to shine, Daptone’s The James Hunter Six bringing some UK soul into the mix, their frontman exuding twinkly, cheeky charm and the band belting out diesel-powered R&B with enough punch to power the ship.

    Young Canadian power duo Black Pistol Fire, meanwhile, are an electrifying revelation, offering up a set possessed by the demons of rock’n’roll and forcing them out through their amps to run riot. Drummer Eric Owen is a whirl of limbs and hair, hammering out a ferocious beat while singer/guitarist Kevin McKeown contorts his lean frame, howls at the moon and beats screams of fury from his instrument. Expect them to be the next bass-free blues-rock stars to tear open a portal into the wider musical consciousness.

    It’s fancy dress night, and so a pair of Elvises (Elvii?) and Sonny And Cher are whooping wildly in appreciation, which is something you don’t see every day. So, as Keeping The Blues Alive II draws to a close and preparation for Keeping The Blues Alive III begins in earnest, here are 10 things we’ve learned from this year’s adventure.

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