MI7®

When my good friend Tony from Stanwood Washington first mentioned a Caribbean cruise with Shawn Mullins, Brandi Carlile, and so many other great artists, I was so envious. I was struggling with just how I was going to get on that ship.  After many convincing forum responses and huge help from Tony and so many of my other friends I was off to Miami.

They named it Cayamo "A Journey Through Song".  Just how the Sixthman crew got such an amazing cross section of well known Singer/Songwriters together can only be attributed to their teamwork, longevity, and unwavering sense of customer service that must come from a true passion for music. Every moment I had of personal contact with any of the Sixthman people was met with an honest interest in my opinion and satisfaction with the trip. I hate to name names because I am sure for every one person I met there were 10 more working behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly, but I have to mention Andy specifically.  Not only because he personally made sure I was taken care of, but I could see that he truly has an honest concern for everyone he works with.  I saw him running around constantly and finding time to stop and say hi and shake a hand. 

Personal contact was the underlying payoff of this week of unbelievable performances.  I am sure I am not the only one that was met by handshakes and cell phone pictures with the likes of Edwin McCain, John Hyatt, Shawn Mullins, Brandi Carlile, and others.  More than that, these "heroes" as so many people had described, were honestly interested in striking up conversation.  They could have easily been cordial and walked away after a quick hello and we would have been happy with that, but they were engaging in questions of personal interest.

My personal example: I had performed at an open mic the night before I approached the casino bar to buy a bottle of water when I heard someone say "nice song last night" I turned to the right and who was it? Non-other than Shawn Mullins.  We talked for 10 minutes about performing at the Attic and other venues in Georgia before he had to run off to a rehearsal.  Get the picture?  This trip was so much more then great performances by our idols.

I have to admit, at risk of being bashed by Buddy and Brandi fans, that I had never heard their music before this trip, and that is exactly why I believe this trip was so successful both for Sixthman and the artists.  Most of the music cruises cater to one or two bands and their loyal fans, but having so many artists on the ship gives the fan (like me) the chance to broaden their horizons (no pun intended).  Now Buddy and Brandi have a new loyal fan.  As I talked to other cruisers, this was a general theme.  In fact there were many many great talents that I heard for the first time.  So this builds a whole new fan base for the artists.

One thing I didn't anticipate was the amount of acoustic players that I met and jammed with on deck. A few players would start playing and within minutes we would have 5 guitars, a Madelyn, bass, harmonica, you name it, and 25 people singing along in full harmony.  It felt like the root of what the cruise was all about; getting together with likeminded people and connecting on a level that only music lovers can appreciate.

My mantra for this cruise was "sensory overload".  I was so thankful to squeeze a year's worth of concerts into one short week.  As a performer myself, this trip gave me the ability to both perform for people I had never met and also squeeze in more shows then I could ever have in year's time.  I mean where else could you see Lyle Lovett on a Monday, Brandi Carlile on a Tuesday, John Hiatt on a Wednesday, Patty Griffin on Thursday, Shawn Colvin on Friday, Emmylou Harris on Saturday, and still have time to see 20 other shows by the greatest songwriters, during the day, while sitting by the pool!?!  

As every other person I have talked to on the trip, we will all be back next year!

Thank you Sixthman!

Tim Moyer