Jam Cruise 20 Journal – Day 4: Cosmic Country Welcomes Guests Galore, Duane Betts & Cris Jacobs Co-Host Jam Room, Purple Party & More

I went to bed on Wednesday night/Thursday morning around 5:30 a.m. Only on Jam Cruise does 5:30 feel “early” for a downtime. The unofficial acoustic performance area, “The Spot,” was still going strong when I went to bed and guitarists Cris Jacobs and Duane Betts had just closed down the “Jam Room.”

Jam Cruise 20 made its second and final port stop of Grand Cayman on Wednesday, the penultimate day of the musical adventure at sea. After writing my Day Three recap, I decided to take an hour to walk around the island and soak up some culture. Grand Cayman is a tender port, which means cruisers needed to utilize ferries to get from the MSC Divina to land. While the ride was a mere five minutes, I wound up hitting the worst timing as I arrived just after one tender left and had to wait for the next to tender to fill. The same situation played out in reverse getting back to the ship. Considering sleep is at a premium aboard Jam Cruise, I wish I would’ve devoted the 90 minutes I spent walking around Grand Cayman resting instead.

The first set I caught yesterday was Eggy‘s “Choose Your Own Eggventure” performance. The Connecticut-based rising jam quartet looked to the audience to help determine the setlist and collaborations with “The Captain,” aka Cosmic Country bassist Will McGee laying out the options. Special guests included guitarist Daniel Donato and vocalist Shira Elias. McGee also led the quartet through CSN’s “Southern Cross.”

The action for me moved to the Pantheon Theater next for Everyone Orchestra. Founder Matt Butler conducted an all-star band that included Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein, keyboardist Ivan Neville, Eggy guitarist Jake Brownstein, drummer Nikki Glaspie, Duane Betts, The Horn Section, Kanika Moore, Mike Carubba on drums and a few others. EO delivered one strong groove after another with the vocalists chiming in with made-up-on-the-spot lyrics. A particular hot one was based off the line “How lucky are we?” and that sentiment was shared by many in the room.

Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country played their second set of the trip on Wednesday evening in the intimate Black & White Lounge. Guitarist Daniel Donato and his band — bassist Will McGee, drummer Will Clark and keyboardist Nathan Arnowitz — opened with the infectious “Lose Your Mind.” Cory Wong joined the quartet early on for a run connecting the Elvis Presley-popularized “Mystery Train” with Merle Haggard’s “Workin’ Man Blues.” Wong set his fretboard a flame is he ripped it up with unbridled energy and passion. Cory engaged Daniel in a riveting call-and-response segment during “Workin’ Man’s.”

Cris Jacobs swung by the Cosmic Country set to sing and play electric guitar on the traditional “Jack-A-Roe” done Grateful Dead style. Then, Duane Betts and Donato’s Trouble No More bandmate vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. came out late in the set. The pair augmented the quartet on the Johnny Jenkins/Duane Allman version of Bob Dylan’s “Down Along The Cove.”

Highlights over the next few hours were Galactic and vocalist Anjelika “Jelly Joseph romping through AC/DC’s “Highway To Hell,” Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe honoring The Rolling Stones by covering “Miss You” and London’s Franc Moody providing a dance party with a touch of class.

One of the sets I was most excited to see coming into the trip was The Purple Party tribute to Prince. Musical director/keyboardist Casey Russell of The Magic Beans assembled members of his band, Cool Cool Cool and various other musicians aboard the boat to throw down on one Prince classic after another. The Purple Party didn’t disappoint and drew a huge crowd. Russell employed a variety of frontmen and women to lead the ensemble including Ivan Neville on “I Would Die 4 U,” Kanika Moore co-helming “1999” and Lyle Divinsky belting out “D.M.S.R.” and Isaac Teel (TAUK) singing “Musicology.”

My night ended by going back and forth between the Jam Room and The Spot. The Sweet Lillies are the “house band” of sorts for The Spot, located on the outside deck adjacent to the Jam Room. Daniel Donato swung by The Spot and showed off a completely different side of his musicality on acoustic instead of his signature Fender Telecaster. It was a treat to see him in that setting.

Duane Betts and Cris Jacobs did a fine job co-hosting the Jam Room. Vaylor Trucks, Ivan Neville, Kanika Moore and Isaac Teel were among the other musicians who took the stage with the pair. Key moments were stellar renditions of The Allman Brothers Band classics “Midnight Rider” and “Whipping Post” as well as fun takes on Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and “Night People” and an emotional telling of The Band’s “The Weight.”

Jam Cruise 20 continues on Thursday with a “day at sea” before disembarking begins in Miami on Friday morning. Check out JamBase’s Instagram page for live reports.