Sail Away With Me
"With The Rock Boat, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!"
As a mother, wife, virtual business owner and music lover who also loves to travel, I find there are a few “conflicts” that arise when it comes to balancing all of my passions. Frequent travel seems to get the short end of the stick, but over the past 9 years, I have had the absolute pleasure to be a part of one of the most incredible vacation trips ever. Thanks to the members of the band Sister Hazel and Sixthman, a new concept in “music travel” was born. They call it The Rock Boat. Dubbed “The World’s Greatest Floating Music Festival”, this event has given me the opportunity to combine a tropical vacation getaway with some of my most favorite music.
In 2001, “Rock And Roll At Sea”, a partial-charter of the Carnival Jubilee, hosted by Sister Hazel and featuring special guests Dexter Freebish was introduced to the public. The bands extended an invitation to their fans to come along and enjoy a vacation aboard a cruise ship combined with the ultimate interactive artist / fan music experience featuring special concert performances and an intimate Meet & Greet event.
The following year, the event grew significantly. An entire larger capacity cruise ship was chartered and “The Rock Boat” was born. The event has grown from 2 bands to over 30 bands, combining a mixed variety of music experiences to enjoy that spans from relaxing acoustic shows to full-on electric, plugged-in concerts. The importance of social responsibility is recognized during the cruise as well, as there is always an auction to benefit Lyrics for Life, a charitable organization founded by Ken Block, lead singer of Sister Hazel, after his younger brother’s life was taken all too soon when he lost his battle with cancer at an early age.
Tickets traditionally go on sale for the next year’s cruise soon after the the current year’s cruise returns to port – and annually, they sell out. Due to the high demand, more and more bands have been added, and various cruise ships of larger capacity have been utilized.
The event is simply unparalleled and absolutely makes up for any other travel time I might feel was lost through the year. Not only does the cruise provide a unique vacation at sea that is completely filled with great music, it also provides the opportunity to create new friendships and reunite with friends we’ve met along the way. It is the one special time each year that I, and “2,000+ of our closest friends”, always look forward to.
In addition to the website links provided above, here are some social links that you can enjoy:
MySpace:
myspace.com/therockboat
myspace.com/sixthmanllc
myspace.com/sisterhazel
myspace.com/dexterfreebish
myspace.com/lyricsforlife
Facebook:
Sixthman Facebook Page
Sister Hazel Facebook Page
Dexter Freebish Facebook Page
Lyrics for Life Facebook Page
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I used to travel a lot – adventure back roads kind of stuff. Now with a young child, I do less hitchhiking in strange lands and just have more FUN! Thanks Lisa!