In just about six weeks, I’ll hop on a boat in Miami and set sail for a five-day cruise of the Caribbean with some of the finest artists at work in this genre these days. Sailing with me (and no doubt a few thousand other people) will be Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Robert Earl Keen, Brandi Carlile, Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, Works Progress Administration, and a number of notable others. It’s the Cayamo music cruise, subtitled “A journey through song.”
The concept of a traveling Americana festival is nothing new, of course. Cayamo has been going for a few years now. Just last year, there was the Big Surprise Tour. No Depression had its own traveling multi-band show years ago. Of course there were the package tours of yesteryear, etc. But something about lying on a pool deck in the Caribbean sunshine in late February, while Buddy Miller and Emmylou Harris launch into a duet (and the rain pours down back home in Seattle), just seemed too good to pass up.
Plus, beyond the already established headliners, there are a slew of up-and-comers. As I was scanning the lineup just now, I noticed a band I’d never even heard of, by the name of Scythian. Listening to their MySpace page gave me the idea that they pull together elements of folk, jazz, polka, punk rock, ska, and gypsy music, depending on the song. I’ve heard other bands like this before (Enter the Haggis, DeVotchKa, etc.) but I’m now thoroughly curious to see what Scythian brings to the cruise.
Here’s a particularly remarkable fiddle solo:
Just wanted to share. Of course, I’ll be sharing more in six weeks (and maybe before then, we’ll see). I’ll be blogging the whole way, and you can follow along right here. I plan on posting photos and reviews as the week goes on. Anyone else planning on going? Here’s a group I created on this site to discuss all things Cayamo. Join me…
