Floating with instruments, Part 2

By kellybeez

Cayamo: A Journey Through Song is the culmination of that first floating jam session described in my earlier post. This is a true floating festival, marrying the concept of the music cruise (i.e., The Legendary Blues Cruise) with the focus on the art and craft of songwriting. Anyone can book a band. Can you book the person who wrote the song? Why yes, yes you can.

The line-up, although sketchy at the time I signed up, was headed by Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Patti Griffin, Brandi Carlile, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Miller, Ari Heist...what more could I ask for?

How about guests being encouraged to bring their instruments. Open jams? Oh yes. Sixthman, who produces Cayamo, even provides a forum for cruisegoers. Very good sport artists Meghan Coffee, Patrick Davis and the Scarlet Kings have generously taken emails from me and joined us online to get to know each other and jabber about what the cruise will be like. We've got an international music posse ready to meet greet on the high seas. We are already compadres via the forum and myspace and the love of the love of the song.

Intriguing? Genius? Sixthman has the right idea; Carnival's non-musical offerings have not tempted me, unless you count Bingo with the Duhks, oh wait, that is bound to be musical in some fashion. There are loads of things to sign up for, mardi gras floats to decorate, coffee to drink. I don't need to get off of the boat, unless the I choose to visit the home of musician Bob Marley.

I've only been thinking of the music and the musicians. I want the floating festival. I want to be totally enraptured, encompassed, embraced by the music. I want to walk around the deck with my mandolin and just ride the waves of music that ride the waves of the ocean that ripple around this big blue ball. This big blue ball full of the best noise in the universe. As I'm sure it felt on that first pontoon ride around the lake.