There’s nothing like rubbing shoulders with the lead singer of your favorite band at the buffet.
The elevator doors open to resign a throng of raucous raver , their head teacher bouncing to the rhythm of a club track skreigh with vigour . At the center of it all stands Alex Ridha , a German DJ known to fan as Boys Noize , who claxon the rails from a moving go-cart outfitted with turntables , speaker , and glow disco lights while he drip with stew . The bass practically crush from the maxed - out speakers .
“ What up , Friendship ? ” Boys Noize yells over the round . “ We got Rico Nasty in the house , find out this out . ” Both performing artist encourage the crowd to get as lit as they maybe can .
Ridha promote his DJ cart out of the elevator and through the hall — attracting extensive - eyed stares from onlookers , some of whom come down in line behind the dance horde , wondering just where this electro - theme conga stock is headed . His final finish : the room of one favorable passenger aboard The Friendship 2024cruise ship .
Photo by Joel Parks, courtesy of Sixthman
Roving ragers like this — the kind where you could end up rub shoulders with the lead story singer of your favorite circle in contrast at the cushy - serve simple machine — can really only materialize on a euphony festival cruise . And what start off as a few gravy holder - found event at the turn of the millennium has now given way to a racy industry .
These day , for anything from less than $ 1,000 to more than $ 6,500 , you could soak up the sun and sand at a private island while Julian Marley fills the air with reggae on theWelcome to JAMROCK Cruiseor get your whisker dye with Paramore ’s Hayley Williams in the ship ’s beauty shop onParahoy!TheSummer of ‘ 99 Cruisepromises performance from Creed , 3 Doors Down , and a trip to the Bahamas this April , while theRock The Bells Cruisepromises to bring hip - hop point together with Jadakiss , E-40 , Talib Kweli , and more in November . And while there ’s no prescribed data on how giving the industry ’s gotten , the most successful product ship’s company in the game , Sixthman , initiate off host 13 euphony cruise in 2022 and is take to duplicate that in 2025 .
It all started with a ' 90s one - hit - wonder . In the former aughts , fans begged the direction of Central Florida band Sister Hazel to organize a weekend hangout with the musicians , which led to an initiatory Labor Day cruise . handily , the price of chartering a boat miss importantly in the viewing of September 11 , 2001 ; the band was able to crowdfund $ 99 each from 1,000 fans each as a deposit and then team up with an Atlanta businessman to cover the remaining $ 750,000 overhead cost to lease an entire ship .
Photo courtesy of Glenjamn
Now 25 sailings later , The Rock Boathosted by Sister Hazel remains a flagship upshot of Sixthman ’s busy annual schedule . What ’s more , Norwegian Cruise Lineofficially acquired the company in 2012 , which meant a static supply of ship outfitted with the exact specs needed to pull off months of melodic sailing . Sixthman is now also helmed by Jeff Cuellar , the former fete conductor of themassive Bonnaroo music festivalin Tennessee . And these twenty-four hours , instead of planning a four - day fest for tens of M , he ’s in charge of fill a four - month block ’s Charles Frederick Worth of scheduling for a variety of niche but passionate hearing .
“ We look at the calendars like a big Tetris mystifier , ” pronounce Tom Dougher , a senior incorporated cut-rate sale manager at Norwegian . “ How can we take 90 or 100 days and fill them back to back ? ”
Tailoring each event to its unique bunch is a huge part of the pattern , ranging from major endeavor — like when Sixthman built pro - skateboarder a incline and halfpipe on the pool pack of cards as part of the later Flogging Molly Salty Dog Cruise — to simple accessory , like brand felt on casino tables or thematic cocktail and menu item . ForSixthman ’s Jay and Silent Bob Cruise Askew , which navigate in February , the cult film ’s director Kevin Smith host a mesa reading with fans . The troupe makes certain performers sympathize that their cruise wo n’t be successful — or repeatable — if they just obliterate in their cabin between performance .
Photo courtesy of Glenjamn
Beyond Sixthman , Norwegian also works with a handful of independent event producers , including Gary Richards , the human beings behind the aforementioned Friendship electronic music cruise festival . The former book label A&R , who also DJs as Destructo , excels at the specialisation and interaction factor . Everything from the medicine in the hallway overhead speakers to artist - hosted mini golf competitions are tailored to make a sense of entire musical dousing . I. A. Richards used to melt down a company called laborious that host multi - day euphony festivals in Los Angeles — the kind of case you could deal more tickets to , although that was n’t always a good affair .
“ You ’re gon na have a unsound chemical element you just ca n’t contain , ” he says of giant land - base festival . “ A euphony festival sail is a workout to get there . You have to get a flight , mayhap get a hotel . Busters are n’t gon na put all that energy into something where they desire to just go and make a problem . ”
These years his destination is to make events that are fun for everyone , from a headliner like Skrillex to the hombre taking out the codswallop . And since the initial Holy Ship ! go under sail in 2012 , those who sail with Richards have ego - appointed themselves the # ShipFam , create a fandom beyond the gravy holder that ’s lead to previous shipper meeting up at local concert and staying at each other ’s house while travel . It was an unintended byproduct of the enterprise , but one Richards promotes whole - heartedly . The frequent shippers have even fall to call Richards “ dad . ”
Photo by Will Byington, courtesy of Sixthman
It ’s fun for the artists , too . Ridha , a.k.a . Boys Noize , has been a headliner on all four Friendship sailings , take part in Richards ’ at - sea lineups as far back as the second Holy Ship In 2012 . “ For me , it ’s the best pay piece of work ever , ” he says , notice that on most of his trips , he makes certain to utilise the physical fitness adroitness , leger a massage , and race in the on - circuit board go - karts . He even sneaks in a little work — collaborating with other creative person who are also staying on the ship .
“ Once creative person realized that it ’s not about the concert and the money , that it ’s about the fans , about the community , I think that ’s where it all change , ” tell Dougher from Norwegian Cruise Line . “ What I ’ve see over the twelvemonth , and what keeps me passionate about this , is watching those communities come back , because in many cases , it ’s the one prison term a year they get to see their champion that they made on the cruise two , three years ago . Once you get that vulgar passion spot , everyone just gels together . It ’s awing to watch . ”
Photo by Will Byington, courtesy of Sixthman
