Cayamo

So Cayamo 2012 was amazing as expected. The line-up wasn’t quite as good as last year, but the people I met before and on the cruise made this year so much better.

First we had a couple of days in Miami with Rebecca, my sister Sandra and her boyfriend Jimmie. Kacie and Briana flew in from California and Texas the day before and it was so great to see them. Well, Kacie is officially my sister, so it was like seeing family for the first time in a year. Being with all these wonderful people made Miami worth a visit. Without them Miami is just a sandy island with tall buildings, night clubs and a beach.

So Cayamo … Cayamo is like home for me. It’s such a cool event and such a great group of people is on the ship. Like Mike form Sixthman, the company that arranges Cayamo, said: “These are the people you’d hang out with if you lived in the same town”. Artists and fans get to meet each other and hang out for a week in the sun and discover music in every corner of the ship . I just think it’s a very inspiring place to be as an artist and as a listener. Everyday I’d find myself writing new material in my head that I couldn’t wait to put on paper.

It was so great to finally get to see The Belle Brigade. We danced like crazy in the  Stardust Theater, which is the biggest one of the venues on the ship, and as far as I know that hasn’t happened in the Stardust before. I’m sure everyone was impressed by Frida’s and my “living-room dance”. Keb’ Mo’ was great in the Stardust as well and gave me the impression that he must be one of the nicest people on the planet. All the girls of Winterbloom were amazing, as solo artists and as a band, but I really enjoyed hearing Meg Hutchinson for the first time. Me and Becca cried like babies. I had some kind of emotional collapse after hearing all the songs from her record Come Up Full and had to take a minute to cry after the show. It’s safe to say that that record is a milestone in my life.

The best moment of the cruise was however seeing Kacie and Briana play. They’re Aurora Belle and played three times during the cruise and got the spot after a “grassroots campaign” on Facebook and YouTube. And of course ‘cause they’re amazing musicians and songwriters. I couldn’t believe they were so incredibly good although they live in different states and hardly see each other. And, Kacie, if you’re reading this, thanks for being so photogenic. You and Briana make my pictures look great.

All the bearded men … Oh, you all look the same, but you are all such incredible musicians. Levi Lowrey, Joe Purdy, Kalen Nash and all the hundreds of bearded artists I probably forgot - thank you! You were amazing. Especially thanks to Kalen Nash for playing with such short notice, for blowing our minds and for being such a nice person.

The Civil Wars’ set made me love them, although I’ve had a bit of a problem liking their record. They were great in every kind of way and then got off the boat to go home and win two Grammys. I guess I’m going to have to listen to Barton Hollow again … And they brought one of my favorite photographers on board - Allister Ann. I did get some pretty nice shots of The Civil Wars, but I’m cure they’re nothing compared to hers.

We spent a couple of days wandering Caribbean islands. First stop was Cayo Levantado, Dominican Republic. Unfortunately that was just another tourist trap. Litterally. You’re stuck on a tiny island with other cruisers. Luckily it’s a pretty little island and luckily Sandra and Jimmie ran into Randy and started talking to him. It was meant to be. Randy, Sandra, Jimmie, Kacie, Frida and I later went to St Maarten together and found our way to a secluded beach called Happy Bay on the Dutch side of the island. We had such a great time and had the best taxi driver in the world - Rosa - who showed us a restaurant where we could eat. Everyone had seafood of some kind, creole style. We also stopped at St Barts, which was weird, ‘cause every street has a Swedish and a French name, since it used to be Swedish colony. St Maarten was without a doubt the best stop though.

Thank you for this year, Sixthman. Less crusty old men with guitars (as Becca would say) next year would make next years Cayamo even better. And starting the trip in New Orleans, not Miami.

Cat