Lots of fresh memories to look back on with my five blog entries and the abundance of photos I took while onboard this year’s Cruise to the Edge. Having had a few weeks to consider it, I’ve decided that this was the best CTTE I’ve attended, followed closely by CTTE 2022. Different aspects of the trip helped shape my opinion. For me, it was the lineup, connections I made, and the individual experiences around the ship. This year, I really pushed myself to do a few things outside of my comfort zone. I printed 50 business cards for this blog to hand out. I just now counted how many I have left, and it’s 24, so I’m really happy that I managed to get a little over half of them out there. Approaching people and introducing myself is a struggle, but I did my best to go up to people whom I felt would be most receptive to me. This was a combination of friends, artists, and cruise crew members. It’s completely out of my hands whether these people will actually read my blog, but I feel good knowing that I tried and made the effort to get word out.
The other thing I pushed myself to do was to check out more of the bands I didn’t know. I’ll admit, I wasn’t the greatest about doing this on past cruises. I’d step in to some shows but not really invest myself in the music, or just go to a show out of boredom while anticipating shows from the bigger names like Marillion. I wasn’t taking advantage of the fact that the cruise is an amazing opportunity for me to see bands that I otherwise would not get to see. I came away from this cruise with some great discoveries, namely Crown Lands, District 97, Marbin, and Goblin.
That leads me to the next thing I noticed and was surprised by. This year’s lineup felt more experimental and heavier in jazz and jam elements with the inclusion of Pete Roth featuring Bill Bruford, Stick Men, and Reb Beach Fusion Band. That’s not a bad thing, at all, but rather, it goes to show how wide the prog rock spectrum is and helps me understand why is continues to be a struggle for us prog fans to come to a consensus as to what exactly prog is in the first place.
The last thing I wanted to say was that I was thrilled with the love and attention given to female artists on this cruise. It felt different from other times. There have been women on stage in the past, of course, but this cruise felt like women in prog were being, not just casually acknowledged, but welcomed and celebrated, especially with the inclusion of Estronaut, and independent acts like Lari Basilio. I think it would be cool if they did a panel or Q&A at some point that consisted of a few female proggers discussing their journeys and experiences. I saw a similar panel posted on YouTube some years back for a movement called #SheRocks.
Well, that about covers it for me. Now I’m sitting in my living room in Omaha wondering when, oh when, will I find myself on the musical high seas again?
The Girl in the Scarf 
Leave a comment