Norwegian Cruise Line Blues Music Cruise With Joe Bonamassa: Go Inside

Most cruise ships clear their high decks to suit as many passengers as attainable within the pool, however on the Norwegian Gem, that worthwhile actual property is sacrificed for one thing slightly extra sacred: the blues.

That’s as a result of the 965 foot-long vessel, a part of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) fleet, is at present the house of the Maintaining the Blues Alive at Sea X cruise — a sold-out annual expedition for which the ship’s theaters, lounges and swimming pool are all repurposed for hi-fidelity performances of guitar-driven rock, rhythm and blues.

On the Norwegian Gem, what was as soon as a swim-up bar and pool is now drained and full of displays, rigging and sufficient staging to accommodate a full-scale dwell present constructed for theaters and performing arts facilities. On Maintaining the Blues Alive, up to date blues legend Joe Bonamassa headlines a lineup of greater than a dozen artists that additionally contains Grammy-winning duo Larkin Poe; rock and blues veteran Huge Head Todd and the Monsters; Grammy winner Christone “Kingfish” Ingram; and blues guitarist Eric Gales. Launching out of Miami with stops in Belize and Cancun, Mexico, the cruise is facilitated by the Atlanta-based firm Sixthman, a subsidiary of NCL since 2009. This yr, the five-night voyage is accommodating about 2,500 diehard Bonamassa followers who’ve spent roughly $2,500 per cabin to hit the seas with the blues legend and the remainder of the lineup, curated by Bonamassa and supervisor Roy Weisman.

“Initially, I used to be not taken with doing a blues cruise — I had carried out one earlier than and hated it,” explains Bonamassa, cigar in hand, talking on the open-air deck of his top-level suite aboard the Gem. “After which I received a name from Sixthman in 2015 and was pitched on an expertise that was extra artist-friendly and didn’t require me to be in it a lot. So we tweaked my schedule a bit, gave it a shot and I simply noticed how a lot enjoyable everybody was having. Not simply the followers, however the interactions with the opposite bands.” 

Every artist on the Maintaining the Blues Alive cruises is paid a pageant price and contracted for 3 appearances: usually two giant stage performances after which a smaller, extra intimate engagement. For Bonamassa, meaning two major stage performances and a dwell session of his podcast Welcome to Nerdville. 

This version of Maintaining the Blues Alive at Sea, a nod to Bonamassa’s non-profit of the identical title, bought out months prematurely. When the cruise hit the seas on March 20, the blues man already had two extra sold-out Sixthman cruises on the books, together with one to Alaska that departs from Seattle. 

“Our mannequin is that we give attention to passionate communities, and this is without doubt one of the most passionate communities on the market,” says Jeff Cuellar, who has served as Sixthman’s CEO since Jan. 17. Previous to that, Cuellar labored at pageant firm AC Leisure, founding father of the famed Bonnaroo pageant outdoors of Nashville. 

Bonamassa followers are on the older facet, averaging ages 55 to 60. Apart from an affinity for Bonamassa’s dwell performances, they’re typically taken with blues, rock and guitar-driven music. Nonetheless, Sixthman and NCL’s music enterprise goes past Bonamassa; the corporate providers greater than 35 cruises yearly, with upcoming voyages deliberate for Creed, Lindsey Stirling, Michael Franti, and Coheed and Cambria. Sixthman has additionally seen success with non-music themed voyages, together with a number of chef-driven meals cruises, a real crime podcast cruise and a just lately launched cruise celebrating the Hallmark Channel, which bought out hours after occurring sale, breaking an organization file.  

Most cruises take off from Miami and by legislation are required to make one cease at a overseas port — for NCL, that usually means Nassau, Bahamas; Costa Maya, close to Cancun; and Harvest Caye, a non-public island owned by NCL in Belize. Most cruises embody all-inclusive meals choices — alcohol packages are bought individually, usually prematurely — and a wide range of facilities together with out of doors basketball courts, mountaineering partitions, full-service gyms, specialty eating places and casinos with poker rooms that usually characteristic appearances by expertise. 

Cuellar says Sixthman operates very like a standard promoter: “For the longest time, music has been the core of what we do and can at all times be the core, however we now have began to diversify and take a look at different passionate communities, whether or not or not it’s [for baseball team] the Savannah Bananas or Jay and Silent Bob,” the cinematic duo from Kevin Smith’s cinematic universe. Costs for many cruises begin at $1,172 per particular person for inside cabins and run as excessive as $2,937 per particular person for high-end suites with meet and greets. The Norwegian Gem has a complete of 1,197 cabins, whereas bigger ships just like the Norwegian Encore boast 2,043.

“It’s loads of stock to promote, and whereas we are able to have conversations about VIP gross sales and merch gross sales, we wish to dig even deeper,” says Cuellar. “We wish to know the place followers are speaking concerning the artist. Is it on Reddit? Is it Fb? The place are different conversations occurring?” 

That data turns into important relating to promoting and advertising cruises, Cuellar explains, noting that Sixthman closely depends on the artist to assist promote cruise packages. Drawing from information factors like Spotify listens, merch and VIP gross sales, the Sixthman staff creates an index for taking part artists after which “put[s] out a few scores that we use for analysis to find out how assured we really feel that this engagement will likely be a hit,” he says.  

“We’ll really survey a piece of their viewers in order that we all know who could be keen to take part,” Cuellar provides. “Generally, you get nice responses, and we resolve to e book it instantly, and different occasions we discover it’s not the expertise followers are in search of.” 

Sixthman’s success with Bonamassa is because of “his superb connection to his followers,” Cuellar says. “When Joe talks about it, individuals reply. When he sends out an e mail, individuals reply as a result of they know they’re going to get a top-quality expertise.” 

It’s an expertise that Bonamassa and Weisman, his longtime supervisor and enterprise companion, have spent the final 26 years cultivating, evolving Bonamassa’s dwell present into a worldwide touring model with round 100 performances a yr. Bonamassa started his profession in 1989 as a 12-year-old guitar prodigy opening for blues legend B.B. King and spent his early 20s working the blues nightclub circuit. Weisman, a longtime music govt whose father was Frank Sinatra‘s supervisor for the previous couple of years of his profession, met Bonamassa in 1999 and labored with the bluesman to raise his dwell exhibits to theaters and performing arts facilities. 

Their firm, J&R Adventures, is house to Bonamassa’s file label, artist administration group and vertically built-in touring entities that promote, market and produce his dwell exhibits. Early on of their relationship, the lads found the pathway to success “was tremendous serving an underserved market,” Weisman says. “The important thing was for us to method the blues like we’re not afraid of it,” he provides. As a substitute of making an attempt to mildew Bonamassa right into a AAA-radio-friendly artist, Weisman says he and Bonamassa needed to “go into the blues like a home on fireplace. Stroll proper into it. Not be afraid or attempt to circumvent round it as a result of there’s room as an unbiased to make a wave with out being crushed by the majors.” 

Which means proudly owning and controlling each a part of Bonamassa’s enterprise, from his label to live performance promotion. J&R Adventures books the venues for Bonamassa’s excursions, takes the chance on every present and handles all the pieces from manufacturing to advertising. For Sixthman, Bonamassa’s familiarity and understanding of his viewers make him a pure companion, says Cuellar. Bonamassa’s staff books the entire assist expertise and helps curate a number of the artist-to-fan actions, like poker tournaments, cooking demonstrations, hearth acoustic performances and meet and greets.  

Neither Cuellar nor Weisman would say how a lot Bonamassa earns from the cruises, aside from to notice that the mannequin relies on revenue sharing and Bonamassa is without doubt one of the top-selling artists within the historical past of the corporate. 

“They usually give us this superb suite,” Weisman says of his lodging on the highest ground of the 14-deck sea liner that’s situated inside NCL’s luxurious penthouse complicated referred to as The Haven, which is supplied with high-end furnishings, non-public balconies and a 24-hour concierge service, all roped off from the remainder of the cruise. 

“Norwegian makes it very simple for artists who’re used to residing out of a suitcase and a lodge room,” he continues. “Being on a cruise like this lets you settle in a bit, even when it’s only for 5 days. The privateness and hospitality they facilitate makes a noticeable distinction.”