Shiprocked 2020: Forget about resting!
February 1-6, 2020
by Marie-Christine Quirion
After a pre-Mardi-Gras parade down Bourbon street on January 30th, our ship, the ‘’Carnival Valor’’ left the port of New Orleans with 3300 passengers, 22 bands all as one big family ready to rock the seas for the next 5 days.
Saturday
The 11th edition of Shiprocked was officially launched at 5 pm on the deck stage by headliner Halestorm. Lzzy wearing her typical extreme high heels and Arejay, in the most colorful Hawaiian suit, the band gave us a performance one comes to expect from them, ranging from their well-known successes to acoustic covers like ‘’I Will Always Love You’’ by Whitney Houston. Usually, a headliner doesn’t start the cruise, but Halestorm really wanted to set the tone for the rest of the cruise, with their crazy energy and gifts to the crowd. Throwing drumsticks and guitar picks a plenty to the fans during the first performance, the band had many other surprises up their sleeves for the rest of the trip.
Following them, Clint Lowery from Sevendust gave his first performance as a solo artist. Clint, a little reserved, stayed true to himself and stood out with his musical experience. On the other hand, his secondary guitar player was entertaining the crowd by himself. Jumping around, interacting with the crowd, working the whole stage, he definitely made the performance more interesting. Back on the main stage, DED played into the freezing night but still had a really excited crowd. Unfortunately, they stole the fans from Living In Color who was playing almost at the same time in the theater. Although one of the oldest groups on the ship, they had no problems showing the youngsters up. Great lighting, great energy, amazing voices and personalities on stage, the band was definitely worth missing the end of DED’s performance to catch.
Not long after, my discovery of the night, Goodbye June was playing in the Lounge. Even if the family band (they are all cousins) had their first hits in 2016, I had never heard about them before the Shiprocked lineup announcement. With a look and vintage accessories from the 70s all over the stage, the group gave us a phenomenal performance that felt like a throwback in the time. Ending the evening we had the dynamic Black Stone Cherry in the theater and Of Mice & Men and Asking Alexandria on the deck. Making a joke about playing 28 shows in 29 days, we would not have been able to tell the guys were tired. Playing with energy, they ran through their most recent hits, and ended the night with one of their most successful ones ‘’Alone In A Room’’.
Sunday
Sunday was a day at sea, so most Shiprockers took to the endless merch line or one of the many different Meets & Greets. Some bands were a little bit reserved but it was not the case for all of them. Some lines were taking forever because some artists were huggers (the case of Arejay Hale) or wanted to give funny advice or comments to every person they were meeting, like Vernon Reid from Living Color. By the end of the afternoon, a reunion 7 years in the making, the band RA was performing. The band was good but there was so much fog it was hard to tell what was going on, or if they were even moving.
The 3 different stages had 3 amazing performances, that made you wish you could have stayed for the entirety. In the Lounge, the metalcore band SHVPES from England lit the room on fire with their rhymes, jumps and crazy attitude on stage. Their first time on Shiprocked, but probably not their last. Another band, Beartooth, who were “Survivors” (how we call a Shiprocker who’s made it past their first sailing) played in a very packed theater, one of the most crowded of the week. Jumping around, interacting with the crowd who was singing along, this was a perfect first performance on stage for the band who has sold out every date on their upcoming tour so far. On the main stage was the return of Hellyeah. With a quick appearance of Chad Gray in the Stowaways last year, nobody was expecting the whole band on Shiprocked this year. On this first day, with a warm ocean breeze, the deck was crowded, but that didn’t stop lead singer Chad from interacting with the fans. He jumped into the crowd, grabbed somebody’s hat to wear it and even posed for numerous photos while he was singing.
Monday
A quick early morning stop in Key West Florida, the Shiprockers enjoyed a couple of free hours and a nice sunny day off the boat. Most of them took up stools at the closest bar but a couple played tourists and enjoyed key lime pie and visited famous spots.
Back on the boat the first Stowaways performance took place. Under a burning sun, many ending the afternoon with a sunburn, the crowd watched the amazing collective of musicians play together for more than 2 hours of pure happiness. Mixing styles and bands, going from Santana to Korn to Linkin Park, their talent showed no limits. Following them, the only “local band” Cane Hill (they are from New Orleans) jumped on the stage for their first Shiprocked experience.
Some of the bands, like Of Mice & Men, Black Stone Cherry and Asking Alexandria gave their second performance today, but two bands the fans were waiting for; Ice Nine Kills and Alter Bridge. I have to say, after Shiprocked, Ice Nine Kills became my new favorite for 2020. Not only is the latest album based on horror movies but the whole show is. Costumes, make up, accessories and even lighting, you could remember the most famous horror movies without even trying. The second headliner, Alter Bridge, were also pumped when they jumped on the main stage tonight. As usual, Myles Kennedy and the whole band gave a perfect performance and also brought new Shiprockers to the cruise by being on. After having few conversations with Newbs (how you call a Shiprocker on their first cruise) I realized how many of them were the boat this year specifically for Alter Bridge. Welcome to the family you guys!
Tuesday
Tuesday was our second stop in Cozumel, Mexico. With not a cloud in sight, and the sun beating down Shiprockers headed to a huge beach party planned with games, food, an open bar and performances by Joyous Wolf and Hyro The Hero. It was hard to not enjoy yourself. The well-known you-tube musician and producer Leo Moracchiolli also jumped in Hyro’s set for a cover of Bring The Noise by Anthrax & Public Enemy. You can watch the music video filmed at the same time on his YouTube channel.
Back on boat to get ready for the second Stowaways performance with more musicians and more hits. From “Voodoo Child” and “Purple Rain” to Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” the second Stowaways was for all ages and all musical tastes. After this giant performance, Badflower took to the theater at near full capacity, and gave the fans what they were expecting; an intense performance interrupted only by funny comments and stories to entertain their fans from all over the place.
While waiting for Badflower to jump on stage, I had conversations with people from Sweden, Germany and even a 6-year old American boy, totally a fan of Josh the lead singer. On the same night, Beartooth and Ice Nine Kills gave their second performance on main stage, both to big crowds, enjoying the warm and nice weather. The only thing that made it a bit harder than their first time on stage in the theater, was the wind. It was so intense at moments, that the boat was rocking a lot. But, even with these conditions, the bands gave us incredible performances, leaving the fans wanting more.
Wednesday
Last day on the boat and also a day at sea, which meant: more Meets & Greets! The first part of the day was reserved for the different meets & greets in various rooms on the boat and funny games with the bands. Starting with Beers & Bingo with Goodbye June or Flip Cup Tournament with Badflower or a game of Messy Twister with Black Stone Cherry, if you did not have the chance yet to meet your favorites bands or missed a meet & greet, there was many opportunities on the boat to fraternize with them.
Music wise, Joyous Wolf launched the day around 2 pm on the main deck with their last performance. Many curious fans showed up just to see what Nick Reese, the lead singer would do this time. We have to mention that everywhere they play, Nick is well known for his crazy flips and dance moves, climbing the rigging and jumping in the crowd. After them, many bands alternated shows and meet & greets or enjoyed the rest of their last day on the boat.
The highlight of the day is definitely the Charity Auction for Cancer Sucks. Hosted by none other than Arejay Hale, many people attended just to see how crazy and funny an auction could be with him. Wearing a red suit covered with glitter, making funny comments, and playing with people Arejay pushed the limits of their budgets and raised over $130,000 for Cancer Sucks… in an hour! A record for the Charity Auction on Shiprocked.
Following that, Arejay had to go get ready for their last performance of the cruise. Even if their second performance was very similar to the first one, one moment caught everybody’s attention and it’s when the whole band left the stage except for Arejay. He started a drum solo, then joined onstage by John Fred Young (the drummer of Black Stone Cherry) and started playing at the same time as Arejay, on the same drum set. Challenging each other and even changing places without missing a beat, the drummer duet was amazing to watch.
The fans wanted more and the band, very generous of their time the whole cruise, threw all their guitar picks and drumsticks in the crowd at the end of the last show, leaving nothing to themselves.
Even though it was the last night, and everybody had to wake up early the following morning, the casino and Chad Nicefield from Wilson were throwing a last Karaoke night AND a Mardi Gras Parade Party in the club. Many bands and Shiprockers did not sleep on this last crazy night and partied well into the morning.
As my second experience on Shiprocked, I can now say that this cruise is now a permanent vacation every year. Like many others, I have to plan a ‘’Shiprocked budget’’ every year. The excitement of the first year and not knowing what to expect is behind me, which brought another level of happiness to this year for me. Reconnecting with Shiprocked family, better management of time and sleep, discovering new ports and countries, made my first year as a Survivor as memorable as the very first one as a Newb. Both year I knew most of the bands but I also discovered a few new ones because of this cruise.
In my opinion, discovering a band live, is the best way to do it. I also rediscovered some of them like Halestorm. I always liked them but I have to admit the 2020 edition would have not been the same without them. I liked their music but I discovered a side of them that I was not expecting. They walked the crowd, took selfies, enjoyed drinks with people and signed or gave little presents at every opportunity they had. Sometimes eating at the buffet like everybody else and staying up all night, they obviously did not sleep much. The funny personality of Arejay and the party animal in Lzzy set up the bar very high for the next headliners in the next few years. For more information about the past editions or for the upcoming one, please visit
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