Long, sweaty days dancing in the heat of the Southern California desert to beats of both big and small headliners goes hand in hand with the music festival, Coachella. Yet, the festival has recently announced they will be bringing the desert to sea this December with the S.S Coachella. Capitalizing on the current trend of music-cruises, the festival has teamed up with Celebrity Cruises for this unprecedented event.
The ship which will be introduced in December is routing two trips through the Carribean with the likes of Hot Chip, Yeasayer, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, Girltalk and more.
Goldenvoice, the concert promoter behind Coachella got on board when they found the ideal ship, the Celebrity Silhouette which is a 1,000 foot ship with space for 2,800 concert goers. The two trips leave from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and has a three day tour that lands in the Bahamas starting December 16 or a 4 day journey to Jamaica leaving on the December 19. Prices for the trip vary and start at $500 but go all the way up to $9,000.
The festival which started in 1999 came at a time when large-scale festivals were rare in the U.S. Yet, it has easily become one of the most popular festivals and some thirteen years later is still going strong. The Coachella cruise could be a lucrative business for both the music and travel industry. Festivals like Coachella, which take place in the summer can now see revenue during the winter lull.
Music festivals at sea have already been a successful business, with other organizers like Sixthman charting The Rock Boat with Norwegian Cruise Line that has chartered 13 trips since it started in 2001.
Bands also see the sea as a new experience and venue for both themselves and their fans. Jason Foster, who manages the band Yeasayer told The Los Angeles Times, "The fan is looking for new experiences and new things they can do and ways to incorporate travel and music in the same boat, no pun intended," said Foster. "After attending numerous festivals, the fan is looking for something different. We've never been on a cruise, and we're looking to play as many places as we can."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
