ShipRocked concluded its sold-out seventh voyage on January 22, 2016 after four days and nights of rock ‘n’ roll revelry onboard Norwegian Pearl, led by headliners Five Finger Death Punch along with Seether,Halestorm, Hellyeah and more. ShipRocked celebrated “Lucky #7” with close to 3,000 guests (nearly all of whom managed to snap a selfie with Halestorm drummer Arejay Hale), more than 20 bands, an all-day beach party in Costa Maya, Mexico, and a packed schedule of theme nights, artist-hosted activities and meet and greets. Staterooms for ShipRocked–The Ultimate Rock ‘N’ Roll Cruise–sold out more than seven months in advance.
Halestorm got ShipRocked 2016 off to an appropriately raucous start with their ShipRocked debut on theMonster Energy Deck Stage as Norwegian Pearl sailed from Port Of Miami on Monday, January 18. Festivities came to an unofficial close on Thursday night with back-to-back theater shows by headliners–andShipRocked veterans–Five Finger Death Punch, while ShipRocked’s own all-star band The Stowaways held court at midship with a rotating cast of special guests and a set of familiar rock and metal classics that stretched into the early hours of Friday morning.
In between, guests were treated to over 40 performances on four stages from a lineup that included Five Finger Death Punch, Seether, Halestorm, Hellyeah, 10 Years, Nonpoint, Helmet, We Are Harlot, Red Sun Rising,Like A Storm, Avatar, Islander, ’68, The Glorious Sons, Stitched Up Heart, Children 18:3, The Dead Deads, Biters, The Standstills, Doll Skin, plus ‘80s cover band Rubix Cube, Java Monster Mornings withTim “Ripper” Owens, all-star band The Stowaways, afterhours parties with DJ Lippy Rage, and live tapings ofThe SDR Show with Ralph Sutton.
The annual onboard Cancer Sucks! (www.cancersucks.com) charity auction raised nearly $100,000, to be donated to Gateway For Cancer Research in memory of the late Lemmy Kilmister. The annual auction features one-of-a-kind rock memorabilia from current and past ShipRocked bands and more.
ShipRocked all-star band The Stowaways featured David Ellefson (Megadeth); Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernardo (P.O.D.); John Tempesta (The Cult, Motor Sister); Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Bumblefoot, Guns N’ Roses); Jonny Hetherington and Tavis Stanley (Art of Dying); Lukas Rossi, Josh Newell, and Miles McPherson (The Halo Method); Carly Smithson (We Are The Fallen); Dave Buckner (ex-Papa Roach); Oli Herbert (All That Remains); Joey Duenas (Anew Revolution, ex-Unloco); and various special guests.
Highlights from The Stowaways’ two performances included:
“Hunger Strike” (Temple Of The Dog): David Ellefson (bass), Oli Herbert (guitar), Miles McPherson(drums), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar), plus guest vocalists Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Meta Deadof The Dead Deads
“Hello” (Adele): Miles McPherson (drums), Josh Newell (bass), Lukas Rossi (vocals), Tavis Stanley(guitar), plus guest Hella Dead (keyboards) of The Dead Deads
“Vasoline” (Stone Temple Pilots): Tribute to the late Scott Weiland with Wuv Bernardo (drums),Marcos Curiel (guitar), Jonny Hetherington (vocals) and Shaun Smith (bass)
“Peace Sells” (Megadeth): David Ellefson (bass), Oli Herbert (guitar), Tyler Hughes (guitar), John Tempesta (drums), plus guest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens
“For Whom The Bell Tolls” (Metallica): Oli Herbert (guitar), Josh Newell (bass), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar), plus guests Robb Rivera of Nonpoint (drums – Wednesday night), Arejay Hale ofHalestorm (drums – Thursday night) and Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals)
“Ace Of Spades” (Motörhead): The entire Stowaways band paid tribute to the late Lemmy Kilmister forthis Wednesday night finale, led by David Ellefson (bass), Oli Herbert (guitar), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal(guitar), John Tempesta (drums), with guests Chad Gray of Hellyeah and Robb Rivera of Nonpoint on additional percussion
Other highlights from ShipRocked 2016 included:
- Artist Q&A hosted by Kayla Riley and featuring Zoltan Bathory, Shaun Morgan, Lzzy Hale, Vinnie Paul, David Ellefson and Danny Worsnop
- Beach Wars hosted by Like A Storm and Deck Wars hosted by Nonpoint
- Budweiser Beer Pong hosted by Red Sun Rising and Stitched Up Heart
- Bingo hosted by 10 Years and The Dead Deads
- The second annual Shippy Awards
- Drunk Spelling Bee
- Rock My Yoga
- Tattoo Parlor provided by Spaded And Jaded Tattoo Co. (Tulsa, OK)
Even before boarding Norwegian Pearl, ShipRockers stayed true to their “Rock Hard. Vacation Harder,” mantra, packing The Clevelander in Miami’s iconic South Beach for the Official ShipRocked 2016 Pre-Partyon Sunday, January 17. The party included performances by The Dead Deads and Lukas Rossi, plus an unannounced acoustic set from Halestorm.
ShipRocked is a once-in-a-lifetime experience with unique performances and musical collaborations that provides guests with the opportunity to vacation with their favorite bands, meet new friends, and reunite with old ones year after year. ShipRocked onboard and beach activities include photo meet and greets with band members, poolside games, artist Q&A sessions, trivia challenges, game shows, parties, contests and more. The ShipRocked Cancer Sucks! onboard charity auction raises funds for innovative medical research and finding a cure for cancer.
Look for details about ShipRocked 2017 to be announced soon and visit www.ShipRocked.com for more information.