Norwegian Cruise Line stages first Bluegrass music festival at sea

Norwegian Cruise Lines has partnered with Sixthman to produce the first bluegrass festival at sea.  Sixthman? According to the “About” section on the Sixthman website, “Sixthman creates theme cruises with an emphasis on celebrating music and fan communities.” Norwegian Cruise Line and music theme cruises…sounds like a perfect match.

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Then there’s Mountain Song Productions and Steep Canyon Rangers.  These are the folks that produce the incredibly popular annual Mountain Song Festival in North Carolina.  Now they are partnering with Sixthman to create the first ever bluegrass festival at sea.  There will be exciting new-to-the-scene performers as well as some of the most legendary bluegrass musicians and groups.  Guests can expect over a dozen bluegrass and folk music artists to perform.

This largest-ever bluegrass extravaganza will take place aboard the Norwegian Sky, February 1-4, 2013, cruising from Miami to the Bahamas and their private island, Great Stirrup Cay.

Mountain Song at Sea, as the event is called, will provide unique onboard experiences that  are unequaled on land-acoustic performances with popular artists in intimate venues, spontaneous artist collaborations, jams, and interactions with artists.  Performers will host Q&A sessions and other activities, like a poker tournament with Steep Canyon Rangers, beer and wine tastings, workshops, games, and more events to be announced.

The performers as of this writing are Carolina Chocolate Drops, David Grisman Sextet, Steep Canyon Rangers, Shannon Whitworth, Della Mae, The Travelin’ McCourys, Peter Rowan, The Kruger Brothers, Tim O’Brien and Bryan Sutton, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge and Town Mountain.

Sixthman, Mountain Song Productions and Steep Canyon Rangers have chartered the entire ship for the 3-day Mountain Song at Sea Festival.  Bluegrass music lovers can purchase their cruise now at pre-sale prices starting at $495 per person based on double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.  Prices are set to increase on May 1. Kids cruise for free. Contact MountainSongAtSea.com for more information.

Personal musical instruments like a banjo, mandolin, bass or guitar may be brought onboard for this event.  It’s a celebration of bluegrass tradition, to be enjoyed by like-minded fans, music aficionados and those who simply appreciate legendary American folk music.