Cruise to the Edge Day 2, March 5, 2026

My first full day aboard the ship. We docked in Key West in the early morning. I stayed onboard while some friends went ashore. 

My first event of the day was  being part of the traditional Women of Prog photo. I headed to the Stardust Theater with some fellow lady friends, at first dismayed at the seemingly low number of attendees, but as 9:30 came on, women began rushing in. I was happy with the turnout, and heard some women saying that the number of attendees gets bigger each year. After posing with the group for several photos, I took the opportunity to hand one of my blog cards to the ship’s announcer/host, Mike Dawson. He was standing at the front by the stage, handing out free CDs of a song released by a woman named Melne, called “Prog Rock Girl,” a parody song written to the tune of “Punk Rock Girl” by The Dead Milkman. As expected, the lyrics perfectly explore the experiences of being a female who loves prog, my reality since I was 12 years old. I love its attempts at celebrating the presence of female fans while also gently poking fun at prevailing stereotypes.

It was also go- time for finding ways to get more business cards out.I left a handful of cards in areas where I had found other cards lying, mostly on bartops and side tables next to seats in the atrium. There were cards for podcasts and other prog websites. Still, I didn’t want leaving cards on tables to be my primary way of getting cards out, since there was no telling whether those cards would actually end up in someone’s hands, or in the trash. I’d crafted somewhat of an imaginary Bingo sheet in my head, imagining crossing out the squares with each accomplishment: EX: give a card to a CTTE artist, give a card to a fellow guest, Free space!, give a card to a woman of prog, leave cards on tables or bartops. I had a goal to give a card to someone in one of the smaller acts, as I thought it would be far less intimidating than trying to do so for the bigger names. The Women of Prog photo was immediately followed by the Q&A with Pete Roth and Bill Bruford. The next musical act I saw was Jane Getter’s Premonition at the pool stage. She’d been on past cruises but I never got around to watching her. I’m glad I did today. Her style included some prog elements, but also some longer jam sessions that made me think of bands like Phish. Jane is also part of Estronaut, the proclaimed first all-female prog supergroup, featuring my good friend, Rachel Flowers, which motivated me to check her out.

Despite my nerves, I did manage to get a card to one notable artist: Adrian Belew, along with his bass player and second Estronaut member, Julie Slick. I was able to speak to them briefly following their Q&A session. I knew Adrian was friends with the guys in Primus,so I brought up the idea of perhaps one day getting them, or at least, Les Claypool, on the cruise. I genuinely believe any Claypool project would fit right into a cruise like this. Adrian seemed to like the idea, too. I also proposed the idea of him someday bringing the Beat project he started with Tony Levin, Steve Vai, and Danny Carey to Cruise to the Edge. He outlined a fully booked year Beat had to look forward to for 2026, but remained open to the idea. 

The rest of the evening was spent wandering about and stopping in to hear different bands for a song or two. I met my Dad at the top of the atrium to watch Goblin’s rescheduled show. Now safe from the wrath of Mother Nature, they took the atrium by storm and delivered a stellar set. They are Italian proggers who love mixing their music with inspiration from horror films like Halloween and The Exorcist. They featured numerous clips from old and indie horror films on the screen to accompany their songs.

The evening went on to include quick listens to Haken on the pool stage, Marbin at Bar City on deck 7, and then Eddie Jobson in the Stardust Theater, a show reserved for guests with red-colored lanyards. I came in knowing nothing but walked away very impressed. I appreciate the cruise’s efforts to get artists on the ship whom I otherwise may never get a chance to see, like Jobson and Bill Bruford.