On day 4 of ShipRocked, we arrived at our first destination, Saint Thomas for a beach day at Magens Bay in the Virgin Islands. Once on land, we had to stop and immediately get a pina colada which ended up being so delicious and hit the spot under the hot sun. The clear water and white sand were beautiful.
Back onboard the Carnival Magic, The Stowaways took the stage at 4:15 as we sailed out of Saint Thomas for their 80’s Retro set. The group is composed of musicians from all different bands who perform cover songs for the entirety of the ShipRocked music festival on the sea. Here is a list of all of The Stowaways:
Al McManus (No Fun Intended), Brandon Yeagley (Crobot), Chad Nicefield (Wilson), Christina Criss (Kaleido), Dameon & Gabe Aranda (Aranda), Danny Case (From Ashes To New), Eric Vanlerberghe (I Prevail), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil), Heidi Shepherd & Henry Flury (Butcher Babies), Jerry Gaskill (King’s X), Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), Joey Belladonna (Anthrax), John Deservio (Black Label Society), Leo Moracchioli (Frog Leap), Sammy Boller (Pharaohs / Scott Stapp), Scott Stevens (The Exies), Shaun Smith (No Fun Intended), Skylar Acord (Issues), Sophie Lloyd, Stevic MacKay (Twelve Foot Ninja), Taylor Carroll (Kemikalfire / Lit), Tom Hane (In This Moment), and core band the Andy Wood Trio.
During the 80’s Retro set, Keith Wallen sang an epic version of the Phil Collins song “In the Air Tonight” with drums by Jonny from Nothing More was a huge highlight of the trip. Christina Chriss of Kaleido sang her rendition of Madonna’s “Material Girl” which sounded excellent. Rachel from the backing band stole the show on saxophone during the classic song “Careless Whisper.” Joey Belladonna closed the set with “JUMP” by Van Halen creating a moment all the ShipRocker’s will remember.
We saw Jinjer on the deck stage for the first time ever. The Ukrainian metal band features Tatiana “Tati” Shmayluk on vocals, Roman Ibramkhalilov on guitar, Eugene Abdukhanov on bass, and Vladislav “Vladi” Ulasevich on drums. Tati’s screaming vocals were a nice heavy change of pace for the night. Her smooth transitions from screaming to singing are insane.
Next up was California based hard rock band Buckcherry. Lead singer Josh Todd came out in a suit and had an emotional talk about his cocaine experiences in the middle of the opening song “Lit Up.” Soon after, the rock vibes came back to the surface as the group sang “Hellbound” from their 2023 album Vol. 10. Todd told the audience about his first live show in L.A. when he was just 15 years old. Other highlights of their performance were passionate songs “Porno Star,” “Carousel,” and “Sorry.”
Right before Hollywood Undead was set to take over the deck stage, it started to rain which delayed the show by about 15 minutes to close out the deck stage for the evening. They sang “Chaos” first and then “California Dreaming”. They covered Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and effortlessly transitioned into a cover of “Du Hast” from Rammstein. They also brought children from the crowd on stage to sing “Comin in Hot,” and ended with one of their most popular songs, “Everywhere I Go.”
There are only two days left of ShipRocked so stay tuned for more news on the ShipRocked 2025 happenings!