Wayne Toups on the Sandy Beaches Cruise
By Ken Paulson
Delbert McClinton
The 21st edition of Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruise got off to a rousing start Saturday, despite blustery winds that moved the main events off the deck. This cruise, like the Cayamo cruise next week, features a wide range of Americana, blues and folk performers in often intimate seetings. Headliners on Sandy Beaches include Lyle Lovett, Paul Thorn, the McCrary Sisters, Jill Sobule, Band of Heathens, Etta Britt, Elizabeth Cook, Mingo Fishtrap, Gary Nicholson, Red Young, Teresa James, Fred Eaglesmith, Lari White and the Mavericks.
The weather hitch Saturday meant Sandy Beaches openers Marcia Ball, Wayne Toups and Delbert himself took the stage at the Stardust Theatre, the best venue on the cruise ship. The audience lost a deck party under the stars, but enjoyed superior lines of sight and much better sound. Not a bad trade under the circumstances.
Marcia Ball
Ball began the evening with a spirited set that immediately brought dancers to the front of the audience. She’s been part of McClinton’s cruises since the beginning and set the tone for the party to come. She drew heavily from her latest album The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man, including the title cut, “The Squeeze is On” and “Human Kindness.”
Yet for all the dance music she played, the highlight may have been her poignant performance of Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927.”
Wayne Toups, also a veteran of the earliest cruises, followed with a blistering set that began up-tempo and accelerated from there, just easing up for a phenomenal rendition of Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” and the Neville classic ‘Tell It Like It Is.”
Delbert McClinton closed out the evening at the Stardust with old favorites like “Old Weakness Coming on Strong” and “New York City,” reminding the faithful why this cruise has worked so well for 21 years.
(Photos by Ken Paulson)