Travelling Trunks

It was meant to be a sunrise vodka party but no one wanted the night to end. As vodka in all its forms – neat, mixed, jello shots – were passed around, there was a scramble for that last more. More music, more camaraderie and madness, more conversations and of course, more vodka. It was almost the end of a week-long blues extravaganza on the high seas.

The blues in various flavours and forms

As I succumbed to the night (or was it morning), I wondered what my most memorable takeaway from the cruise would be. Was it when Ruthie Foster set fire to the night with her rendition of Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, the power of those lyrics piercing the stillness and silence all around us in spine-chilling fashion? If I had been moved by the poem, I was even more moved by it in song. Or was it when we were making our way to the Gospel Brunch session again by Ruthie Foster and it felt like her music was creeping up through the bow of the ship and gently lifting the ship up in soulful melody? Her punctuated narratives of a childhood dominated by music and religion brought poignant laughter to a rather spiritual Sunday morning. Or was it the music of Lucky Peterson or Dwayne Dopsie played at levels of high energy and showmanship, or the stunning Wild Magnolias in their spectacular costumes? Would it be the special guest appearances by the legendary late Johnny Winter? Or listening to Indian Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr of The Wild Magnolias’ fascinating account of the Mardi Gras Indian subculture and the highly elaborate beaded costumes the Chiefs work on all year for the Mardi Gras parade? Or was it when we docked at Key West and were led by some of the musicians on board on a crazy parade from our ship to Sloppy Joes where there was what else but music and more music on shore? Or was it the moment when it all began…

Never missing an opportunity to play to the crowds, Lucky Peterson’s played with some all time greats as a little kid

Mindblowing contortions by Dwayne Dopsie of Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers

The mood, the moment and the resplendent headgear of The Wild Magnolias

It was as if the sets of a movie had been laid out for us. A glorious sun was setting over the far cerulean horizon of the deep blue ocean, lighting up the sky in a burst of varied colour. An imposing Popa Chubby in chef’s apron was fanning the barbecue as wonderful smoky flavours wafted through the deck. On stage, the nattily dressed Rick Estrin and the Night Cats launched into (I Met Her On The) Blues Cruise even as Holland America’s ms. Maasdam hooted away, gently raised anchor and set sail. It was the start of yet another Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise (LRBC)…the 21^st and our 1^st.

The legendary late Johnny Winter

For the next seven days and nights, we were LRBC “virgins”, consumed, body, mind and soul by an intoxicating “bluesin” experience. With over 20 bands, five venues and music that started every day sometime in the morning and ended sometime in the morning, we were like little robots programmed to schedules, trying to soak it all in, as much as we could, as often as we could…till a deflowered LRBC veteran (the ‘returnees’ as they were called) gave us good counsel on how to pace the schedule out.

Ruthie Foster and the Family Band

It was sheer luck that we were on a cruise that offers a “life-changing experience”. A chance spotting of an e-promo by my blues/jazz musician husband sometime in June 2012, and the fact that our silver wedding anniversary was approaching led us to our let’s ‘just do it’ moment. By July 2012, we had pre-booked for the October 2013 Fantasy/Mayan/Big Easy cruise (bookings have to be done well in advance to secure a spot) and that’s how we came aboard a weeklong smorgasbord of blues as we sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Key West, New Orleans, Progreso (Mexico) and back.

Marcia Ball whose piano style mixes boogie-woogie with zydeco and Louisiana swamp rock has a unqiue style of playing, legs crossed, top leg swinging

There was music…lots of it with simultaneous shows at the various venues. From Irma Thomas and The Professionals to Los Lobos to Fabulous Thunderbirds, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Marcia Ball, Samantha Fish, Leon Blue, Lee Oskar and many, many more.   As the nights progressed, some of the action would shift to the indoor bars, the ambience setting the tone for softer blues tones. There were often nights that didn’t end but who knew and how did it matter.

Leon Blue at the Piano Bar

The musicians took on various roles during those seven days. As LRBC says on its website “Everyone has a backstage pass”. The musicians played for you and with you, sat next to you at dinner, engaged in conversations with you. They played chef, entertainers, auctioneers, actors, improvisers, jammers. There were pro-jam sessions and artist workshops, blues trivia contests and a blues play, memorabilia auctions and autograph signing events.

The versatile Guy Davis performing The Adventures of Fishy Waters

Anyone who had an instrument to play or a voice to throw could join in

And there was more…nights of crazy themed parties and costumes, days of cooking demos and photography sessions and craft talk. Days morphed into nights and nights into days. It made no difference that we had booked a room with a verandah and sea view…there was little time for sleep and less for gazing out at sea. Our script could very well have been taken from the Book of Genesis, “And there was evening, and there was morning.” And that’s all we knew as we poured over the schedules and trinkets that were left by our door each night.

The legendary themed nights saw the most elaborate costumes

The Key West parade to Sloppy Joes

We received a lot of curious queries about our interest in the blues. The fact that India had a vibrant blues and jazz music scene and that my husband actually played both intrigued many on board. But there was only one common denominator for those seven days – a love for the blues. And that’s what mattered and that’s what made for great conversations and new friends in what could only be a weeklong big blues party. By the end of it we understood why once you’ve done this cruise, you keep going back for more as many do. We met a couple (now friends) who had driven 16 hours to get on board and had attended every single cruise for the past 10 years. The LRBC continues to be the only vacation they take – one week, twice a year, for over a dozen years now. And they’re not the only ones who do so.

Note: The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, the world’s only fully chartered blues cruise, organize cruises twice a year – in January and October – which set sail from either the West Coast or East Coast of the USA. As we were quick to learn, you need to pre-book as soon as bookings open (around 15 months in advance) to guarantee yourself a place in blues heaven!