If you are as starved for positive cruise news and something other than more shuffling of the deck when it comes to schedules then you're going to love this update. Norwegian Cruise Line, our hands-down favorite large-ship cruise line for guys looking for a great experience is back at what it does best - great entertainment and having fun.

Today we're talking with Australia roots rock artist, Hamish Anderson about one of his favorite cities - Los Angeles. 

When I first shared with friends that I was heading to Arkansas, the first thing most people asked was, "Why? What's there?" Honestly I didn't really know what to expect aside from some music history and hopefully some good BBQ. After spending four days in the Delta region I can't wait to go back.

We're headed off on another amazing tour, this time to visit the Arkansas Delta for a music and BBQ tour that is sure to rank up there with my best trips ever. The awesome folks at Arkansas Tourism who have sponsored this trip have been nice enough to even create a playlist for this road trip. So... instead of keeping it all to myself, I want to share it with you guys as well! 

Last summer we got invited to check out an awesome new music festival in San Diego - KAABOO. Since then it's been at the top of our list for 2017 and the wait is almost over! The 2017 KAABOO lineup looks even better, with bands including Jimmy Buffett, Aerosmith, Jack Johnson, Fall Out Boy, Lenny Kravitz and so many more that I can't event list them all here. Plus, this is not just a "music festival" - they've got celebrity chefs, comedians, artists and even spa treatments.

Thanks to Smirnoff I had an amazing opportunity earlier this month. I got to go to the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas, where I was exposed to a lot of new things and perhaps most importantly discovering a new side to the brand as well as people I had previously dismissed as "those silly club kids".

Seeing great bands that bring back memories of highschool are always great, but when they are free and you can enjoy not-overpriced booze, well... that's even better! I love Fremont Street so much, that I'm going to call it the Fun Side of Vegas from here on out. It's taken some time for Fremont Street to gain traction but it is absolutely on a roll now with some great hotels like The D, Golden Gate, and Golden Nugget as well as great free entertainment virtually every night. To extend things even further, the Fremont Street Experience launched Rock of Vegas Summer Concert series. We were there last week to see the Spin Doctors and Cherry Poppin' Daddies and had a blast!

In the old days (not even 10 years ago!) it was simple, grab a pair of earbuds and you were set for listening to music. Today though, the options are limitless and major brands have dominated the market with audio products that are good, but frankly look and sound as if they were churned out of a corporate machine - rather than expressing the individual style of the wearer. That's where V-Moda comes in - and was designed by Val Kolton, a Chicago DJ who was inspired by the unique vibe found in Ibiza and the haute couture he found in LA.

Today, V-Moda products are designed to match both the discriminating style of the fashionista as well as the audiophile. Instead plastic parts, these headphones use industrial strength metal.

OMG guys - I am a HUGE FAN of the Carnival Live program and it just keeps getting better. As you know, last year we joined Carnival for Styx, followed by Jewel and both were amazing experiences. Now, they are adding The Band Perry, BOSTON, Lionel Richie, and Heart to their already awesome lineup. that has included Journey, Styx, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, and Smokey Robinson earlier this year.

The band that spawned such iconic songs as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Kick Start My Heart", and the arena anthem "Home Sweet Home" and a dozen or more 80's and 90's smashes made a very rare appearance at a small venue last weekend in Dallas.

Most of you probably remember Jewel from the mid/late 90s - yeah, that’s Alaskan folk singer-songwriter and many of you probably even still are aware of her for some of her later music but what I didn't realize until this week was how utterly amazing she is in concert. Jewel is a true artist and that means you are going to see and hear things you weren't expecting such as yodeling, opera, and requests by the audience that were so obscure (even to her) that she had to flip through a book the size of an encyclopedia to get the lyrics.

In a market that is nearly saturated but at the same time working feverishly to expand its reach, the cruise lines are in a fight to find a way to fill their ships and bring in new cruisers. While other lines are building ever bigger boats with features unheard of at sea, Carnival decided to focus on entertainment and creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are surprisingly affordable. Earlier this month we had the opportunity to spend a week on the brand new Carnival Breeze and experience it for ourselves.

Unlike "themed cruises" the band isn't actually on the ship during the voyage, so that means that you can still have a "normal" cruise experience but on concert night things turn up a notch. On this cruise, we started in Miami followed by stops in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and then during our stop at Cozumel, Mexico the band loaded their equipment on the ship and we stayed in port till about 1 a.m.

I am a huge fan of classic rock and have enjoyed a number of REO Speedwagon, Styx, Journey etc. concerts. These are always fun to attend but usually there isn't really anything new. 

Earlier this week though, at the Del Mar / San Diego County Fair, REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin announces he has something special for us... a new song that they have been working on. Having understood that often times these are not really unique to us but more unique to the concert series I didn't pay much attention until he kept adding more detail and then ultimately (as you will see in the video below) he actually had the sheet music brought on stage.