The beating heart of Jam Cruise is the top notch live improvisation skills of the musicians that pack each year’s lineup. The bands on the boat all live for the chance to stretch out their music in a live setting, and get to do so on a nightly basis. The cruise is steeped in the traditions of the New Orleans music scene, bringing together the best players, giving them a stage, and seeing what happens.

From that mentality comes the nightly “Jam Room,” an almost-open mic musical experience hosted by a different musician. Some act as almost pick up baseball team captains, making rosters and schedules to try and accommodate everyone who wants to join in the fun, while some get up there and wing it. We caught up with Nick Daniels of Dumpstaphunk on his night and watched as he split the difference.

“I’m just gonna see what happens,” said Daniels. “I got my Dr. Klaw brothers, Nigel (Hall), (Adam) Deitch, Kraz (Eric Krasno) and Ian Neville coming out, and we are gonna start it off for a bit. Then we will just see who comes out and does what.” His plan worked well, with a super fun funk-space jam to start things off, then a Dr. Klaw tune called “Lost Rager” from the forthcoming record to get the stealth super band set started.

Check out the first two tunes below:

If you enjoy this kind of stunning musicianship, don’t forget about the upcoming Fool’s Paradise, a two day music festival taking place the first weekend of April in St. Augustine, Florida. Funksters Lettuce will play both nights, joined by the Jam Cruise friendly bands GRiZ, Vulfpeck, The Nth Power and a superjam worthy of the Jam Room itself, led by Chris Robinson and featuring George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville. 

You can find out everything about Fools Paradise HERE!

And for fans of the funk, don’t miss the inaugural NOLA Crawfish Festival, taking place between the two weekends of Jam Cruise and featuring a slew of legendary New Orleans musicians, including George Porter Jr., Anders Osborne and more. You can get all the information here.

Watch other highlights from Jam Cruise via these links below:

Watch Keller Williams and More Than A Little Funk The Ship up On Jam Cruise
Watch Paul Hoffman and Anders Beck take Jam Cruise by Storm
Watch Lettuce deliver a massive dose of FUNK on the Pool Deck
UM’s Joel Cummins Delivers Spellbinding Radiohead Cover In Jam Cruise’s Piano Lounge [Watch]
Watch Anders Osborne, JJ Grey & More Form ‘Southern Soul Assembly’
Watch Latin Funk Band Brownout Perform Black Sabbath’s ‘The Wizard’
Watch Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Funk Out With Nicki Bluhm
Watch Nigel Hall Sing An Eric Krasno Original
Watch The Infamous Stringdusters & Nicki Bluhm Cover ‘Not Fade Away’
Watch Ron Holloway Join Cabinet For A Powerful ‘Susquehanna Breakdown’
Watch An Impromptu Chuck Berry Jam Session At ‘The Spot’ Ft. Marco Benevento, Nathan Scott Moore & More
Watch Dumpstaphunk, Trombone Shorty, Roosevelt Collier & Nigel Hall deliver a super funky “Meanwhile”
Watch Lettuce’s Benny Bloom host a fun and funny jam in the Jazz Room