With a fresh head of hair dye, a guest poses for a selfie with Hailey.
Andy Grammer performs at late night karaoke.
Norman Reedus high-fives a fan during his autograph session.
Blackberry Smoke performs in the Stardust Theater on the Outlaw Country Cruise.
Kid Rock gets up close and personal during the Sail Away Show.
Surprise stowaway Joey Fatone gets crazy with The Tenderloins during karaoke.
A frosting-free Pat Monahan just seconds before his decorating companions smashed cupcakes in his face.
Kacey Musgraves teaches a sand art class.
John Popper from Blues Traveler performs as the cruise sails away from Miami.
WE ARE PARAHOY! Not a frown in sight during the Parahoy family photo.
Joe Bonamassa delighting fans during a performance.
Rob Gronkowski and Family celebrates after winning the Flip Cup Tournament on the beach.
Norman Reedus pauses to take a selfie with excited fans.
Slow Jams and Soft Serve with Steve Everett and JD Eicher.
A talented guest performing with Taylor of Paramore during Paraoke.
Cayamo 9-timers receiving robes before singing onstage with Shawn Mullins in the Stardust Theater.
The highly anticipated Sixthman Sessions performance during The Rock Boat XVI.
Horseshoe comin' at-cha! It's not just a game, it's a tournament.
Serious discussions about The Walking Dead with Norman Reedus and Greg Nicotero.
Michael Franti helps guests find their center during a yoga session on the Pool Deck.
Zombies and survivors roam the halls of the Walker Stalker Cruise.
Sister Hazel performs "The Load Out/Stay" in the Stardust Lounge, featuring all artists of The Rock Boat XVI.
Gavin Degraw performing "Brother" with NEEDTOBREATHE.
A magical moment in the Stardust Theater with Kacey Musgraves and John Prine.
Bowling at Nikki Lane(s).
Greg Nicotero smiles with fans (and Hershal) during the autograph session.
Whitey Morgan and Tony Martinez judge the Belly Flop Tournament.
GRONK's Family Feud hosted by Sixthman Bear.
Sister Hazel poses with fans as zombies for the Zombies vs. Unicorns theme night.
Tai Chi with Chai Tea taught by Jim Lauderdale.
Lexxi Foxxx of Steel Panther bringing back the glam on the Pool Deck.
Rob Gronkowski DJs with Brazzabelle in the Stardust Theater.
Just another awesome performance on The World's Greatest Floating Music Festival.
Dead to Life with Tate during the Walker Stalker Cruise.
Kid Rock performs a duet with Nikki Lane.
The Tenderloins onstage during their gut-busting performance.
Kid Rock in glam metal garb (center), fitting in perfectly with Steel Panther.
Joe Gatto serves unsuspecting guests in the Garden Cafe.
Now the world will know that this guy partied with Gronk.
Cayamo ends with a Moonlight Revival, an intimate performance under the gazebo on the Pool Deck.
Vintage Trouble performs in the Stardust Theater.
As we entered a new year, we found ourselves getting settled into a brand new office. The team members that we’d brought on months prior had gone from timid toe-dippers, to salty sailors eager to explore greater depths of our expanding company. Based on what we learned in 2014, we scaled back the number of events with the intention of working smarter, not harder. The Rock Boat hit the high seas for it’s milestone 15th voyage, and we introduced another new event, Blues Alive at Sea with Joe Bonnamassa. Our CEO, Andy Levine, joined the Sixthman Home Team for the first time ever and remained on land during the first round of cruises, leaving the events in the capable hands of his team. When he sailed later on in the season as a guest, we didn’t believe he’d stay hands-off and actually enjoy a much-needed vacation…he proved us all wrong!
After the end of a successful spring season, we headed back to Atlanta to give our sea legs a much needed break. The recently launched Sixthman Sessions gained a great deal of momentum during the next few months as bands from all over the country graced our new office stage with live performances during the work day. October arrived like a freight train and we suddenly found ourselves aboard Norwegian Pearl ready to blow our final three events of 2015 out of the water.
Honoring our three 15-timers with custom TRB guitars.
Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin.
Pat Monahan from Train performs during the Sail Away Show.
Kid Rock during the Q&A session on the Pool Deck.
Joe Bonamassa on the Pool Deck.
The original Boat the Rock, official mascot of The Rock Boat. Current whereabouts: Somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
Sixthman Sessions 2015.
Sixthman defeating Gaelic Storm once again during Flip Cup on TRB.
Boozical Squares on the Sports Court.
Basketball tournament with P-Nut.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
Show on the beach at Playa Mia in Cozumel, Mexico.
The Sixthman crew on the beach at Playa Mia in Cozumel, Mexico.
The Barenaked Ladies perform a cover of Norwegian's Washy Washy song.
Pat Monahan takes a selfie with the pool deck crowd.
Trainaoke.
Brandi Carlile during Brandioke competition.
311 Caribbean Cruise
Artists from Cayamo 2015.
Ken & Drew from Sister Hazel performing at Great Outdoors.
311 Caribbean Cruise
One of the unanswered questions in our industry is this: What is the growth potential if we were to have a partner to invest with us, allowing us to take more risk? At the beginning of 2014, Norwegian brought a new ship to Miami and the Norwegian Pearl was available for an 8 week window between January and March, so we took it. We produced our annual cruises and added some new ones that we had been curious about over the years. Our new additions included Sail Across The Sun with Train, Progressive Nation at Sea and PARAHOY with Paramore. We gained a new partner with Delbert McClinton's team and helped them produce the 20th Sandy Beaches Cruise, and we experimented with programming the entertainment on a normal Norwegian sailing with the first-ever LIVE LOUD Festival. We probably bit off more than we could chew. But we learned a ton about executing back-to-back festivals and finding the amount of new cruises that we could successfully nurture each year. After taking some time to rest and reset, we prepared ourselves for the fall cruise season and introduced the world to two new events; Florida Georgia Line’s: This Is How We Cruise and Mad Decent Boat Party. Both events were highly successful, creating two new communities we loved serving. But with new beginnings came the end of an era as the 8th Simple Man Cruise with Lynyrd Skynyrd made its final voyage, closing out the fall season of 2014 with fond memories and bittersweet farewells.
Lynyrd Skynyrd performs in the Stardust Theater.
Finalists for the Paraoke contest with Paramore.
Jack U on the Pool Deck. 7:15. Never Forget.
FGL joins Nelly during his beach show on Great Stirrup Cay.
Brandi Carlile stops by Bar City for a late night jam with guests.
Heart performing in the Stardust Theater.
Kris Kristofferson performs on in the Stardust Theater.
Crowdsurfing fun with some of Train's youngest fans on board.
Florida Georgia Line playing blackjack on the cruise.
Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Pool Deck.
Ravercise with Brazzabelle.
Some of the "merit badges" that could be earned aboard Camp Rock Boat.
Guests scramble to find an empty seat in a game of Boozical Chairs.
KISS acoustic sailaway show on the Pool Deck.
Gene Simmons during the sail away show
Train's Sail Away Show.
Paramore poses with the crowd on the Pool Deck.
A band performs in an elevator.
Kid Rock performs on the Pool Deck at night.
Starship performing all their hits on the Pool Deck stage.
Mike Portnoy performs on the Pool Deck.
Guiltier Pleasures with The Goose. Collaboration show on Great Stirrup Cay.
Tegan and Sara host a Ping Pong Tournament.
Paramore poses with fans at dinner in Teppanyaki.
Paramore bows down to the winner of Paraoke.
Kid Rock with all 5-time alumni.
Jim Lauderdale leads guests in a yoga session on the Pool Deck.
Kid Rock answers questions from fans in a Pool Deck Q&A.
Gaelic Storm celebrates our St. Patrick's Day theme night on the Pool Deck.
Guiltier Pleasures with The Goose. Collaboration show on Great Stirrup Cay.
Ready to sail away.
Norwegian Pearl
March 7-11, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
March 3-7, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
February 22-26, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
February 18-22, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
February 14-28, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
February 7-14, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
February 3-7, 2014
Norwegian Pearl
January 19-26, 2014
Norwegian made investments in the Norwegian Pearl to make it more “Music Cruise Friendly” and we moved all of our cruises over in 2013. It was nice to be such a priority on board and be able to work closer with the ship to deliver a world class experience to our guests and artists. While our guests preferred the Norwegian Pearl, there were little things that they missed from other ships we had used. We worked quickly to identify those things and fill the gaps to make it a better vacation overall. We realized the ship had 1200 crew members and we only showed up with 80 staff to work alongside them for each Sixthman sailing, and finding ways to allow them to be more engaged made a huge difference. There are 14 of them for every one of us, so we appreciated them having the enthusiasm needed to make our festivals happen. This year we added two new festivals to our lineup - ALABAMA Festival at Sea and our first bluegrass event, Mountain Song at Sea.
Kids meet & greet with KISS.
311 and their fans during their first-ever nighttime pool deck show.
Randy Owen of Alabama at the ALABAMA Sail Away show.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackberry Smoke collaboration.
KISS Sail Away Show, acoustic and unmasked.
NEEDTOBREATHE performs on the Pool Deck.
DJ Soulman keeps the vibe lively on the Pool Deck.
Artists perform a tribute to Levon Helm.
Kids dress up for the KISS look-alike contest.
Kids meet & greet with KISS.
Kid Rock's island set on Great Stirrup Cay.
Guests dance.
Guests dress up as the official Rombello bird for a costume contest.
Guests enjoy a show from the hot tub.
Guests dress up for Costume Party Night.
Finalists in the very first game of Boozical Chairs with Stokeswood.
Love Hope Strength sails to register guests as bone marrow donors.
Rickey Medlocke and Johnny Colt of Lynyrd Skynyrd have dinner with winners of a pre-cruise recipe contest.
Sister Hazel performs "Washy Washy, Happy Happy" with NCL staff.
Lynyrd Skynyrd performs the Sail Away show on the Pool Deck.
Kid Rock plays a beach show at Great Stirrup Cay.
Alabama fans play Battleshots on Great Stirrup Cay.
Horseshoe tournament on Great Stirrup Cay.
DJ Soulman starts a full blown mid-afternoon dance party while it storms outside.
Norwegian Pearl
November 1-5, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
October 28 - November 1, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
October 24-28, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
October 20-24, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
March 6-10, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
March 1-5, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
February 24 - March 1, 2013
Norwegian Sky
February 1-4, 2013
Celebrity Constellation
January 21-26, 2013
Norwegian Pearl
January 13-20, 2013
In the summer of 2011, we were approached by Norwegian Cruise Line to become a part of their family via an acquisition. After months of discussions and negotiations, we agreed to become a Norwegian owned subsidiary in February of 2012. We produced 8 cruises in 2012. It was less than 2011, but our roster was strong - The Rock Boat, Simple Man Cruise, KISS Kruise, 311 Cruise, Cayamo, TCM and Kid Rock Cruise were all solid, recurring annual events. We wrapped up our 3-year stint with Graceland, our partners for the Elvis Cruises, and also enjoyed the adventure of bringing the 1st Weezer Cruise to life. This year, we were finally able to bring The Rock Boat back to New Orleans, after our "unfinished business" there in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina.
Sixthman Sessions
Pre-Party: Guests parade through the streets of New Orleans led by a brass band.
Guests perform in an elevator.
Fans gather for Kid Rock's show in Redneck Paradise.
Sail Away Weezer Show, featuring Greatest Hits and the Blue Album.
Sixthman teams up with the St. Bernard Project and cruise guests to help rebuild houses in New Orleans before setting sail.
Celebrating the first-ever Sixthman sail away shot with Cabo Wabo Tequila.
Pre-Party: Guests parade through the streets of New Orleans led by a brass band.
Jett Beres of Sister Hazel takes part in the first ever TRB Grilled Cheese-Off.
Guests volunteer with St. Bernard Project the day before we leave New Orleans.
Guests earn a Track Jacket on their 10th TRB sailing.
Kid Rock takes the stage.
Guests enjoy Kid Rock's beach show from the ocean.
Members of Lynyrd Skynyrd judge the bellyflop contest.
Dale Rossington gets ready for her vow renewal ceremony with Gary, a surprise event to guests.
Lana Turner hosts a Halloween pumpkin carving contest.
Detroit artist, Jeff Shea, tattoos guests on board.
The Weezer Cruise
The Weezer flag emerges from the crowd.
Norwegian Pearl
October 31 - November 4, 2012
Norwegian Pearl
October 27-31, 2012
Carnival Destiny
April 26-30, 2012
Carnival Elation
March 1-5, 2012
Carnival Destiny
May 10-14, 2012
Norwegian Pearl
February 5-12, 2012
Carnival Destiny
January 19-23, 2012
Carnival Fascination
January 12-16, 2012
Kid Rock and VH1 returned for their 2nd year and we were fortunate to be able to start partnerships with 311, KISS and Turner Classic Movies to create new festivals. 311’s fans crashed our servers for the first time ever during their presale signups, but the band and their excitable fans created the most amazing, energy-filled atmosphere for any Sail Away Show we had ever witnessed. KISS attracted fans from 30 countries and performed a 2 hour "unmasked and unplugged" set for their first Sail Away Show. Our first film festival with TCM gave us a chance to work with Celebrity Cruise Line and earn our first non-music driven sold out cruise.
After our spring events ended, we worked with our new sponsor, Cabo Wabo Tequila to plan Sixthman's Summer Road Trip, our second-ever bus tour. We loved the idea of bringing some artist favorites from the cruises to guests in their hometowns!
Sixthman's Summer Road Trip · Sixthman Sessions
Kid Rock takes the stage for the Sail Away show.
Nick Hexum of 311.
Michael Franti on the Pool Deck.
Guests dance as the sun sets on the Pool Deck.
Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies.
A KISS fan sunbathes in full makeup.
A guest shows off their KISS Kruise tattoo.
Guests stay cool in the pool for the afternoon Pool Deck shows.
311's Sail Away Show.
311's Sail Away Show.
Andy gets the crowd pumped up.
The 311 Cheerleaders.
KISS face painting - one of the many activities available onboard.
KISS plays an unmasked, acoustic set as we sail away from Miami.
Rockin' the KISS sunglasses during the Sail Away show.
Danny O'Donoghue of The Script judges the cannonball contest.
Colbie Callait performs on the Pool Deck.
Yacht Rock Revue.
Kid Rock look-a-like contest.
Kid Rock poses with fans.
Barenaked Ladies on stage.
Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies.
Cayamo family photo.
Viking Kappy.
Sail Away group with Kappy the Viking.
Alumni group shot.
Sixthman Summer Roadtrip Crew in Chicago. Chuck Cannon, Tim Brantley, Trailer Park Ninjas and Sixthman.
Tour bus dance party.
Sixthman Jen with longtime Rock Boater, Gail.
Featuring Bronze Radio Return, Chuck Cannon, Tim Brantley, and Trailer Park Ninjas. With stops in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Chapel Hill, DC, Boston, NYC, Philly, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Nashville.
Celebrity Millennium
December 8-12, 2011
Carnival Destiny
October 13-17, 2011
Carnival Inspiration
September 29 - October 3, 2011
Carnival Inspiration
April 28 - May 2, 2011
Carnival Triumph
April 7-11, 2011
Carnival Destiny
March 3-7, 2011
Norwegian Pearl
February 13-20, 2011
Sixthman's first trip on The Pearl.
Norwegian Dawn
February 6-11, 2011
Carnival Inspiration
January 20-24, 2011
Carnival Inspiration
January 6-10, 2011
After holding at 5-6 festivals a year in 2008 and 2009 to build our foundation and process, we had the opportunity to take on new events in 2010. We moved all but two cruises to Tampa and spread them out over 5 months to give ourselves a better chance for success. We brought the VH1, Zac Brown Band and Kid Rock cruises to life for the first time and we also ventured into lifestyle cruising with a Jillian Michaels Cruise. One highlight during this year was when Kid Rock decided to get on the Ship’s PA System at 1:30 in the morning to invite all the guests up to the pool deck for a party while he DJ’d for 3 hours. We also achieved a milestone by celebrating the 10th Rock Boat, which was still going strong as our flagship event.
Sixthman Sessions
Sister Hazel and Sixthman celebrates 10 years with a giant "X" cake.
Kid Rock and his fans on the inaugural sailing.
Guests dancing on the pool deck.
The infamous Simple Man Cruise bellyflop contest.
Malt Shop Mike on deck.
Lifehouse turns their rained-out pool deck show into one of the most unforgettable moments of the trip by taking over the Atrium.
Guests pose for the "Zamily" photo.
A guest from the Red Deck Wars team at an outdoor cycling class.
Brandi Carlile in the Stardust Theater.
Sixthman says relax. The staff celebrates '80s Night.
Sixthman staff gets ready for the first ever Kid Rock Sail Away show.
Lyle Lovett.
One of the youngest passengers participates in a group workout with Jillian.
The Deck Wars Pep Rally & Sail Away Party.
Guests take part in a group workout on Great Stirrup Cay.
Sixthman staff dressed up for St. Patrick's Day.
Carnival Fascination
November 4-8, 2010
Norwegian Star
October 21-25, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
September 2-6, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
May 13-17, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
April 29 - May 3, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
April 15-19, 2010
Norwegian Dawn
February 21-26, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
January 21-25, 2010
Carnival Inspiration
January 7-11, 2010
We applied our lessons from 2008 and were able to execute the Simple Man Cruise, The Rock Boat, Ships & Dip, Cayamo and Mayercraft Carrier to our standards. We had only worked with Carnival in the past but selected Norwegian Cruise Line to host two of our cruises this year. The idea of going to a new cruise line was daunting but our team did an excellent job. Getting to work with two different cruise lines helped us learn much quicker and would end up being worth the extra work to build relationships and understand two styles. This was also the first time we jumped up to bigger ships, going from 2,200 person capacity ships to 2,800 person capacity ships. Our team used the term “huggable” to describe the difference between the smaller ships and the bigger ships. We felt like somewhere in the 2,500 person range, it lost a little bit of intimacy. Since then, we've mainly used the smaller ships because it felt like more of a "huggable" family.
That fall, we added one more new event to the roster with The Elvis Cruise, a partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Rock Fore! Dough · Sixthman Sessions
John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett.
John Mayer greets fans.
Aslyn and Zac Brown sing their duet, "Trying to Drive."
Elvis Tribute Artists represent the various stages of Elvis' life.
And the crowd goes wild.
Wideawake performs during the Presidential Inauguration.
John Mayer on the Pool Deck.
Fans swoon as performers pay tribute to The King.
All Rock Boat artists singing "We Are The World" as the grand finale.
Stephen Kellogg perfects 'the lift' after performing "Time Of My Life."
Sister Hazel performs an "Island Set" as we sail away from our port stop.
Backstage antics with some artists.
Guests celebrate Rubiks Cube Night.
Carnival Inspiration
November 12-16, 2009
Carnival Splendor
March 27-31, 2009
Norwegian Dawn
February 28 - March 7, 2009
Norwegian Jewel
February 1-6, 2009
Barenaked Ladies' third event despite the "V" name, and Sixthman's first charter with Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Carnival Destiny
January 8-12, 2009
Carnival Destiny
January 17-22, 2009
With 10 months to prepare, we felt that producing 5 cruises in one month was doable. In the end, it nearly brought us to our knees. The funny thing about our experience is that we were constantly in a position with our guests where we were asking them for a chance to make something right. While it took a huge emotional and physical toll on all of us, that experience had a profound impact on how we would prepare, staff and anticipate our guests' needs in the future. It’s almost like we had to go through that to see what we were made of. It also allowed our guests to see what we were made of. We never gave up and did not rest until all our guests were back on track. We still reflect back on this year as the one that defined what our recipe needed to be in order to grow without compromising the quality of the experience. Our new cruises this year, Cayamo and Mayercraft Carrier, proved to be great experiences and both signed on again for the following year. At the end of 2008, Sixthman had outgrown the little yellow house we used as an office since 2004, and moved into a bigger space next to the Zoo in Atlanta.
Rock Fore! Dough · Sixthman Sessions
TRB Family Photo.
John Mayer takes the stage on the Pool Deck.
Keith Sewell and Lyle Lovett.
Sometimes even Guitar Heroes play Guitar Hero. Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd battles against a young fan.
Our first Sixthman-hosted songwriting retreat took place in Augusta, GA.
Fans prepare for Barenaked Ladies to take the stage.
Banjos and bananas.
Fans enjoys an atrium show.
John Mayer on the Pool Deck.
Guests pose for a photo with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Lynyrd Skynyrd fans ready to sail into the sunset.
Our very first "sessions" collaboration set, just for Rock Boat Alumni.
Stephen Kellogg finishes his set in the crowd.
DJ Marc Broussard.
Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket with fans.
Drew Copeland of Sister Hazel hosts a flip cup tournament with Josh Kelley.
A crowd fills the atrium for a show.
Zac Brown makes an appearance in the finale collaboration.
Artist vs. Artist Trivia
Drew Copeland and Josh Kelly host a flip cup tournament.
Carnival Victory
February 4-10, 2008
Sixthman staff pyramid.
Sixthman staff group photo.
Carnival Victory
February 1-4, 2008
Carnival Victory
January 27 - February 1, 2008
Technically the second Ships and Dip, though Barenaked Ladies decided to call it the third.
Carnival Imagination
January 19-24, 2008
Carnival Imagination
January 10-14, 2008
Going from one cruise a year to three in one month was overwhelming. Lynyrd Skynyrd went first followed by the the Rock Boat and then the Barenaked Ladies. We pulled it off and both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Barenaked Ladies committed to doing it again because they loved it so much. That was a huge moment to see all three events become annual festivals instead of just one-offs. That’s when we really knew we had a business we could build. Within a few months of completing these festivals, John Mayer agreed to do a cruise and we decided to start another festival of our own, Cayamo, a singer-songwriter based event conceived by Ken Levitan who managed Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller.
Rock Fore! Dough
Lynyrd Skynyrd hosts an autograph session.
Heather Luttrell collaborates with Zac Brown.
Emerson Hart and Drew Copeland.
Captain Ezra. (Better Than Ezra)
Lynyrd Skynyrd's first Q&A with guests.
Family Photo.
Guests watch a band on the pool deck stage.
Cowboy Mouth's last show of the trip, complete with a drum circle finale.
Sonia Tetlow and Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth.
Marc Broussard, Andy Levine, Chris Stacy, Ryan Newell and Jett Beres.
Carbon Leaf calls numbers for Bingo.
Zac Brown signs a guests' guitar at a meet & greet.
Artist collaboration on the final night.
Impromptu jam at the piano on the Promenade Deck.
Scott Munns plays on the Atrium Stage.
Collective Soul participates in an autograph signing.
Ken Block of Sister Hazel with Zac Brown Band.
Excited for Lynyrd Skynyrd to take the stage.
Carnival Legend
January 15-19, 2007
Sixthman's first try at back-to-back cruises.
Carnival Legend
January 11-15, 2007
Carnival Fascination
January 5-8, 2007
The Rock Boat was hosted in January out of Galveston, TX due to the port of New Orleans still being closed from Hurricane Katrina. We allowed guests who had been booked on the cancelled TRB V to transfer to TRB VI, and ended up with a great crowd on board. One day, we hit some bad weather on the way back from Mexico and had to move all the shows indoors. The band Wideawake stole the show by playing in the Atrium as guests lined the railings of 7 storeis and stayed there for 2 hours. On the last night of the cruise, Sister Hazel kicked off a jam and every artist from the lineup got up and played one song. It went 'til 6:00am as we pulled back into Galveston. Sister Hazel brought their new manager on the cruise and he liked it so much he asked us if we could do a cruise for his other band Lynyrd Skynyrd. This was an exciting time for us, but the idea of doing 3 cruises in a year totally freaked us out. Each one was like giving birth - just as painful and just as rewarding.
That summer, we took The Rock Boat on the road for the first time and produced a bus tour called The Rock Bus, featuring two of The Rock Boat's most popular acts from that year, Wideawake and Zack Brown Band.
The Rock Bus · Rock Fore! Dough
Wideawake creating magic in the atrium after we missed a port, and their outdoor show was rained out.
The year we discovered the atrium as a venue.
Carbon Leaf lost their luggage. Luckily the ship had tuxedo rentals, so the band was stuck with that until we reached our port. Which we missed.
Ready to hit the slopes.
Sister Hazel signing someone's jeans.
Snow Bunnies.
Gaelic Storm PJ show.
Barry from Carbon Leaf and Chardy McEwan of Pat McGee Band jamming.
Guests chill out in the hot tub, despite the rainy weather.
Crowd gathered on the Pool Deck for Marc Broussard's show.
Ken Block's acoustic set.
Sister Hazel ended their last show in the main lounge by leading the entire crowd into the atrium, which culminated into a huge jam, complete with confetti.
Having fun in the massive hot tubs.
Showing off some fresh Sharpie ink.
Steamboat Grand Resort
March 29 - April 2, 2006
Carnival Elation
January 14-19, 2006
The Rock Boat was set to sail out of New Orleans at the end of September and sold out months in advance. We decided to add a 2nd Rock Boat in January of 2006, thinking we would have one event every 6 months. One month before we were scheduled to sail, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Carnival rented our ship to FEMA so they could use it to house relief workers and families that had lost their homes. The Rock Boat was cancelled. We were sure we'd go out of business. Even though the cruise line owed us our charter fee back, we were still out all the money in marketing, artist fees and a year's worth of general operating costs. After a trip to Miami, Carnival agreed to pay us all our unrecoverable expenses and allow us to stay in business. Guests were calling us saying, “keep our money... just don’t go out of business." This is when we realized we were in the community business, and that was a defining moment for sure. In an effort to make the best of a bad situation, we invited guests and artists to Atlanta during the weekend we were supposed to be on the cruise, and 500 guests traveled to "Rock For Relief," a concert with most of the bands scheduled to play on board. We ended up raising $55,000 for Hurricane Katrina Relief that weekend. At the end of December, Andy got a call from the Barenaked Ladies manager asking if we could help them host their fans on a cruise. We said “We’ve been waiting on your call.” We also decided that we would no longer represent Sister Hazel as a management client, but help them find a new manager and continue being their partner on The Rock Boat.
Rock For Relief · Rock Fore! Dough
Sister Hazel spends the day in Atlanta's Piedmont Park playing kickball and other games with fans.
Zac Brown performs at Park Tavern in Atlanta, where displaced Rock Boaters gathered to raise money for Katrina victims.
Francisco Vidal performs at Park Tavern in Atlanta, where displaced Rock Boaters gathered to raise money for Katrina victims.
Sixthman Jen pitches during the Rock For Relief kickball game.
Cowboy Mouth performs at Earthlink Live along with other Rock Boat artists.
Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish.
Edwin McCain takes the stage.
Steamboat Grand Resort
March 17-20, 2005
We put The Rock Boat on sale in November of 2003 and it sold out within a few weeks. The hard work and patience had paid off. Gavin DeGraw joined us for this sailing with 20+ other artists. Zac Brown performed on his first cruise with us after winning a Battle of the Bands contest in the Southeast. We were learning so much about producing a vacation rather than just a concert. We didn’t have to vote anymore about whether to do it or not. The Rock Boat was here to stay, and we even ventured into producing a similar festival at a ski resort in Colorado, and called it The Rock Slope.
Rock Slopers from a land far, far away.
Welcome sign at the Steamboat Grand Resort.
Guests hang out in the hot tub.
Guests report to their muster stations for the safety drill.
Chardy crowd surfs.
Zac Brown becomes a late night staple on the Promenade Stage.
Artists wrote lyrics on guitars that were part of a silent auction benefiting Lyrics for Life.
Our CEO Andy, trying to look official.
Will Hoge's first Rock Boat.
Pre-Party at the hotel pool.
A fancy cucumber creation.
Toga Party by Toons.
Sister Hazel
Steamboat Grand Resort
March 20-23, 2004
Carnival Imagination
October 7-11, 2004
We couldn’t wait to announce the next Rock Boat. We invited a lot of the same bands and Tonic jumped in on the fun. The event grew a little, but it didn't sell out. It was a lot of risk and work, so we had a meeting afterwards to vote whether to keep it going or shut it down. In the end, we determined that we'd give it one more year.
Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth.
Francisco Vidal and Edwin McCain share the stage.
Guests get ready for the Safety Drill, which used to require wearing life jackets.
Despite being full-festival style these days, The Rock Boat used to require wristbands to get into some of the main lounge shows. Shows were assigned based on guests' dinner time.
Guests get their posters signed at an artist meet & greet.
Collaboration finale.
Ken and Drew of Sister Hazel.
Ryan Newell & Brian Fechino jam.
Guests line an upper deck, looking down on the show below.
Carnival Sensation
August 28 - September 1, 2003
We launched the first Rock Boat and sailed out of Tampa on Labor Day Weekend. We made so many mistakes, but we had over 2000 guests and a festival was born. We even ran out of beer and had to borrow some from another Carnival ship when we were in the Bahamas. Pat McGee led an all night jam playing covers, and Edwin McCain delivered a Braveheart speech while standing on the bar, inspiring the bartender to stay open.
Sister Hazel fans unite on board.
Ken Block of Sister Hazel on the pool deck, before we had an actual stage.
Pat McGee on the Pool Deck.
Late night collaboration.
Guests hang out on the plank in the pool between shows.
Chuck Carrier on stage.
Sister Hazel makes an appearance at their fan club meet-up.
Andy with Gnorman the Gnome.
Brian Fechino of Pat McGee Band.
Carnival Sensation
August 29 - September 2, 2002
During a weekly message board chat with the Sister Hazel street team, fans requested a weekend hang with the band since they had been working so hard to promote them. Andy relayed the message to the band and they simply said, “lets do it”. Andy didn't know where to start, but while traveling on a flight from New York to Atlanta, fate placed him in the seat next to a travel agent who suggested a cruise. So... we did it! We invited 400 fans on a cruise over Labor Day for what we dubbed, “Rock and Roll at Sea". We had no idea what we were in for, but it was a ton of fun. It was while we were stopped in Key West on that trip that Andy decided he wanted to build a business based on bringing fans and bands on vacation together. The cruise returned, and we soon set our sights on chartering an entire ship for the next year so we could make it a real festival. We called Edwin McCain, Pat McGee, Cowboy Mouth and asked them to join us in 2002. If they could bring 400 fans each, we could fill an entire ship. We began getting prices from cruise lines to rent the ship on September 10th, 2001. The next day, the world changed and a cruise was the last thing we could think about. When we picked conversations back up with the cruise lines, prices had dropped significantly. We still had to come up with $750,000 to rent a ship, and none of us had the money. So we built a website and asked 1,000 fans to put down a $99 deposit, and then took our plan to a local Atlanta businessmen who loaned us the money. We were on our way!
Sister Hazel on stage in the main lounge.
Piñatas on the Pool Deck.
Otherwise known as "Rock & Roll at Sea"
Carnival Jubilee
August 30 - September 3, 2001
Andy Levine played in a band called Waterdog with Jett Beres and Ryan Newell from Sister Hazel. He wasn’t very good, but he booked all the gigs so they let him stay in the band. When the band dissolved in the Spring 1994, Andy began promoting concerts for a local Gainesville club called Richenbachers. Sister Hazel was starting up and Andy had a great relationship with the band so they decided to work together. In 1996, Sister Hazel released an independent album and sold 10,000 copies in 90 days, leading them to sign a record deal with Universal Records. From the beginning, Andy and the band invested heavily in connecting with their fans and organized an official street team to help spread the word about Sister Hazel. In 1997, the band earned a #1 song, “All For You”, which propelled the album to Platinum status. As the band toured, the street team, called “The Hazelnuts”, continued to grow.
Promotional shot of the band.
Mark and Ryan from Sister Hazel with Andy Levine
Waterdog with Blues Traveler
Andy's band, Waterdog, which included Jett Beres of Sister Hazel, and Sixthman's current CEO, Anthony Diaz.
Andy's band, Waterdog, which included Jett Beres of Sister Hazel, and Sixthman's current CEO, Anthony Diaz.
Sister Hazel's "...Somewhere More Familiar" album.
