Check out this first-hand account of Maggie Baugh’s experience on the recently concluded Country Cruise!
What an amazing week last week! I wanted to share it with you first.
I went on the country music cruise as a 13 year old girl with a dream, buying a ticket at the last minute for the cruise: http://www.countrycruising.com.
I hoped to meet some artists, or music industry people. I figured the worst that could happen would be a week of just listening to some really good country music.
The very first day, I went in to the artist picture event, with my fiddle, and the artists loved it and asked me to play. On the first day, I got to play my fiddle in front of:
The legendary Mr. Neal McCoy was so nice to me that he told me to bring my fiddle to his show, and he will bring me on stage to play for the audience. AND HE DID!!! I played to half of the cruise ship on the Wednesday night. I think he liked it, because he invited me back on Thursday night to play in his show for the other half of the ship. I was so happy to be part of his show! If you have not seen Neal McCoy live, you are missing out. He is amazing and it was a blast to be part of it.
Here is the video of the first day with Neal McCoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIi1xSepa5o
The rest of the video’s will be posted on youtube and Facebook.
I also played for the nice people at the Flying Dutchman Travel agency that runs the cruise. They introduced me to the production manager and helped me get stage time. I performed a concert on Thursday night, and Friday night! On Thursday, I met the amazing Dave Oleson, who plays guitar for the band Steel Magnolia. Dave Oleson and I played together during the afternoon on the cruise deck. He is so good that we worked out some great licks for my songs. Dave Oleson was on stage with me for my first two shows and really took my performance to a new level!
Later that night, there was an artist jam, where I got to play background fiddle for other artists, and play a few songs. I sang the song Wagon Wheel with the most amazing professional artists in the band with me. Craig Morgan‘s fiddle player on the cruise was so good at the fiddle part I really realized how much I have to learn.
The final day, I got to play on the main stage during the final spectacular showcase! This cruise was a dream come true. I have so many good pictures and videos I want to share! Please make sure you are following me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LikeMaggie so that you get to see them as I post them!
It will take a few weeks to post them all! When I wasn’t performing, I was meeting other artists and watching their shows. I learned so much.
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful experience.
I hope you get a chance to come see me this weekend! I play Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
- Friday, Jan 24St Andrews Coconut Creek8pm – 9pm
- Saturday, Jan 25South Florida Fair – 15 minute sets at 12:15, 1:45, 3:15 and 5:15
- Sunday, Jan 26Deerfield Beach Festival of the Arts – 10:15 – 10:45
Love Ya!
Maggie Baugh