Jam Cruise 20 is upon us and Day 1 delivered in an epic way — anchored deep in the funk roots Day 1 featured heavy funk hitters like Lettuce, Karl Denson, and the long awaited return of The New Mastersounds. Check in this year was a breeze after the disaster of waiting in line for 2 hours plus last year and it set the tone for pure unadulterated fun for next 5 days.
The MSC Davina sailed away as we were blessed to have the funk masters Lettuce get the opening set for Jam Cruise. Lettuce opened up with one of my favorites Krewe from their Elevate album as a salute to their crew along with the ships working crew. A ripping version of Madison Square was also a highlight for me.
From there we moved to Cut Chemist and Chali 2na for a HEALTHY dose of hip hop. Cut Chemist went for about 20-30 mins before Chali came in and delivered a bolt of lighting to the crowd. Everyone around me with huge smiles and throwing their hands and booties all over the Black and White lounge.
We left the hip hop dance party and set up for jam legends Moe. Moe. opened the night with Billy Goat starting the show off with Rob’s funky bass slapping and continuing the funk vibe. An epic Moth was another highlight of the set. The first sit in for the night came when Daniel Donato sat in to play Pearl Jam’s Just Breathe and Moe.’s own Mexico.
We took a quick 5 min break to switch into sweatshirts as the late night on the pool deck started to get a little cooler, and we set up for what ended up being the set of the night — The Magic Beans. This is the Beans first time on the boat and man, they made the best of it. Directly on the other side of the pool deck on the Brews at Sea Stage, The Magic Beans played a Dance Party Rager, complete with the cover of the night La Bouche’s Be My Lover. Deep jams, slick grooves, and a raging crowd gave us My Set Of The Night!
We finished our night with the 2am triumphant return of The New Mastersounds — my first NMS set since COVID (and fresh off their US return at Whippersnap Fest also covered by FunkCity.net)! The English Funkateers have not lost a step at all. They brought along Lamar Williams Jr. for the ride delivering their blend of soul and funk. On top of that, they added artist-at-large Adryon De León of Orgone fame who always brings thhe heat! Seeing The New Mastersounds brought joy to my soul. I would follow Simon Allen into battle. He’s one of my favorite drummers in the whole world and I can’t wait for another set later this week.
Come back for day 2 recap tomorrow!
