Ahoy from the MSC Divina, where Jam Cruise 22 is currently floating toward Turks & Caicos from Miami following a standout first day on board.
The five-day 2026 edition of the floating music festival on the MSC Divina set sail from the Port of Miami on Saturday evening with a strong Day 1 performance lineup featuring Cimafunk, The Wood Brothers, Parlor Greens, The Disco Biscuits, The New Mastersounds, Taper’s Choice, BALTHVS, Eggy, and Lachy Doley, plus a D’Vibes piano set, a Joe Ashlar-led Jam Room, and a Galaxy Disco dance party with Flying Mojito Bros.
With several sets running simultaneously throughout most of the night, it was impossible to catch all the music played on the ship. Here are just a few of the memorable moments from the first day of Jam Cruise 22.
Revisit our daily coverage of Jam Cruise 22: Day 1 (below) | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
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Cimafunk Turns This Mother Out
Following a stunning sunset over Miami, Afro-Cuban funk sensation Cimafunk and his lively band, la Tribu, were the first act to hit the stage on the Pool Deck. Cimafunk—real name Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez—gave Jam Cruisers the perfect cocktail to start their voyage: one part James Brown-style showmanship, one part Latin flair, and a splash of collective chaos a la P-Funk (highlighted by a cover of “We Want the Funk” featuring a member of George Clinton’s modern-day lineup on lead vocals). Gotta have that (Cima)funk…
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The Wood Brothers
The Wood Brothers tend to occupy a liminal space between simplicity and virtuosity, traditionalism and innovation, heart and humor. Those dualities were on full display on Saturday night as the Grammy-nominated progressive roots trio made its Jam Cruise debut in the Pantheon Theater.
Chris Wood brought his unmatched swagger and masterful groove on electric and upright bass, plus harmonica and vocals. Oliver Wood stretched his sonic palette on guitar from hollow, muted tones to full-bore rock solos and put his singular, lilting voice to work on a long list of fan-favorites from across the band’s acclaimed discography (“Alabaster”, “The Muse”, “Wastin’ My Mind”, “Postcards From Hell”, “Honey Jar”, “Keep Me Around”, “Luckiest Man”, “Above All Others”, “The Trick”, etc.). Jano Rix effortlessly multitasked on drums and keys, slipped in on melodica for softer numbers, and showed off his signature percussion instrument: the beat-up, stringless acoustic “shuitar” that he plays like a washboard his chest. (“Y’all ever have a shuitar on Jam Cruise before?” Oliver joked when Jano first brought it out.)
Oliver’s charmingly aloof sense of humor also made for memorable moments: Before working through 2025 Puff of Smoke single “Pray God Listens” around a single mic, he coaxed a chatty crowd into near silence by mentioning off-hand that “We’re gonna try something that’s really challenging unless you all sweetly shush each other.”
“Isn’t it so cool that we just left society, which is so weird right now?” Oliver Wood asked the crowd ahead of an extended, distorted take on The Muse favorite “Wastin’ My Mind”. It is, indeed, very cool. We’re all glad that you’re here.
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Taper’s Choice Is Feeling Wavy Underfoot
You could call Taper’s Choice a “supergroup” if you wanted to. All of the band’s members—Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson, Darkside guitarist Dave Harrington, Arc Iris keyboardist Zach Tenorio-Miller, and Real Estate bassist/vocalist Alex Bleeker—have notable resumes and well-established abilities outside this foursome. But after catching their set in the Black & White Lounge on Saturday night, it would feel dishonest not consider them as a capital-B “Band” in their own right.
The group’s debut studio album, Prog Hat, arrived just last fall, but the way they inhabit their songs onstage, dress them with detailed but tasteful textures, and incorporate inside jokes and quirky ad-libs (Bleeker was feeling both “wavy underfoot” and “like Michael Jordan” during one song, whatever that means) betrays their newness in thrilling fashion. I know where I’ll be when Taper’s Choice hits the Pool Deck later tonight.
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Parlor Greens
My favorite new discovery of the night: The organ trio comprised of Tim Carman (formerly GA-20, Canyon Lights) on drums, Jimmy James (True Loves, formerly Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) on guitar, and Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ packed out the Black & White Lounge late Saturday evening with their gritty, high-energy set. Jimmy James, in particular, left an impression on the Jam Cruise crowd. You’d think it may be hard to pull off a transition from a gritty rock guitar solo played with your teeth into a soothing, ethereal “Amazing Grace”, but Jimmy sure as hell pulled it off.
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The Disco Biscuits: Back on the Boat
The Disco Biscuits were a staple of Jam Cruise’s early years, performing on the first two editions, but the group has steered clear of the ship since Jam Cruise 5 back in 2007. Of course, as longtime attendees know, that hasn’t kept bassist Marc Brownstein from becoming an annual staple with various side projects—including Star Kitchen, the funk group featuring Marlon Lewis, who was recently installed as the Biscuits’ new drummer. So, it was fitting that Brownstein added a few words to the traditional welcome toast before The Disco Biscuits made their long-awaited return to the Pool Deck on Saturday night.
After soft-launching the week’s festivities on Friday night with a two-set performance at the Miami Beach Bandshell, the Disco Biscuits hit the stage on the Pool Deck on Saturday night and started their first of two floating performances with a nautically appropriate pairing of “Above the Waves” and “Magellan”. “Shelby Rose” came next, kicking off an uninterrupted run through “No Recollection”, “Hymn”, “To Be Continued”, and “Scars of the Brave” that eventually landed back in “Shelby Rose” to round out the set. View the full setlist here.
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Eggy at the Theater -> Eggs at the Buffet
Eggy, the ever-rising jam band out of Connecticut, performed the final set of the night at the Pantheon Theater to kick off its second voyage on the Divina. While it’s only been two years since Jake Brownstein (guitar, vocals), Dani Battat (keys, vocals), Mike Goodman (bass, vocals), and Alex Bailey (drums, vocals) made their Jam Cruise debut, their sound has evolved several times over since then.
In the Pantheon Theater, that growth was underscored the recent vintage of the setlist: Four of the seven songs performed during the hair-raising set came from The Ballad of Blucifer, the concept album the band wrote last fall about the origins of the “evil” horse that towers over the Denver airport. Two more—the original “Woah There” and Heart’s “Under the Sea” theme night-appropriate “Barracuda”—had not yet entered Eggy’s repertoire in 2024.
An explosive, extended cover of “Searchlight” by veteran Jam Cruise act John Brown’s Body—which Bailey played with such force that he pummeled a cymbal off of his drum kit—was the only song Eggy performed on Saturday that was already in the band’s repertoire during its first Jam Cruise voyage in 2024. View the full setlist here.
By the time Eggy finished its set just before 3:00 a.m., breakfast was already being served in the dining hall upstairs. Name a better nightcap after a late-night Eggy blowout than a plate of eggs before bed. I’ll wait…
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Revisit our daily coverage of Jam Cruise 22: Day 1 (above) | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5