Interview: Dirt Road Soul Singer Kristy Lee is Ready to Sail on the Live Loud Fest Cruise

by Kevin Wierzbicki

The music cruise specialists at Sixthman have a brand new cruise that will soon set sail! The Live Loud Fest will take place aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Jewel November 4-8, 2025 as she makes a round trip from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico. The cruise will feature a special Port of Miami show from 311 and then feature an eclectic bunch of performers as the ship gets underway, including Soja, Maggie Rose, Bombargo, Allen Stone, Hirie, the Wheeland Brothers and the New Respects. Also appearing will be "dirt road soul" singer Kristy Lee and Kristy was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about her participation in the Live Loud Fest.

Photo credit: Melissa Sebastian

antiMusic: Will the Live Loud Fest be your first music cruise?

Kristy: No, I've actually been playing on Sixthman cruises since 2011. I've played on a handful of Rock Boats, Cayamo and both Rombellos. Most cities I visit these days at least one person yells out the name of a Sixthman cruise that we met on.

antiMusic: Other than your performances, what are you most looking forward to about the cruise? Are there other artists that you'd like to meet and maybe perform with?

Kristy: I love the community that Sixthman cultivates; it's special. I'm looking forward to spending time with old friends and making new ones! My daughter and her new fiance will be cruising with us, so I'm excited to celebrate them. And I'm excited to see Maggie Rose and Liz Vice and reconnect with Niko Moon and Ethan Tucker.

antiMusic: You have three performances scheduled for the cruise, two of which are more intimate in smaller venues and the third is in the ship's large Stardust Theater. Will you be adjusting your set list based on the venue?

Kristy: I'll have strings with me for the Stardust show. So knowing me I'll most likely get really high on the vibes and go completely rogue!

antiMusic: Who are the players that'll accompany you?

Kristy: I'm excited to have Sahada Buckley on violin and Trace Johnson on Cello; they're the Artistic Directors of the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival. I'll also have Roy Christian Durand from Lafayette, Louisiana on percussion and Nick Chamblee from Mobile, Alabama on bass.

antiMusic: Besides songs from your albums, do you have any favorite covers that you might throw into a set?

Kristy: The only cover that I really love to perform is "Grandma's Hands" by Bill Withers. But we all know you can't "out Bill" Bill.

antiMusic: One of your shows will have a bit of a different vibe as it will be in conjunction with a wine tasting event. Tell us a little about that; are you an oenophile?

Kristy: I do really enjoy good wine but I've spent most of my adult life marinating in good bourbon. So there will be someone with a bit more knowledge and experience guiding the adventure. I have a song on a bootleg album (In This Room) called "Let Me Drink Your Wine" and I'll play that song for a sip-and-sing and then let our string section play us a couple of fancier songs that'll take us all up a class or two. It should be a good time. Kinda like the Titanic without the sinking part, fingers crossed! However I do have a song that references the Titanic. Maybe I'll play it too. It's a love song called "Expired"" that I wrote on my balcony on a ship many years ago.

antiMusic: Do you remember the situation when you got your first taste of the grape and how it made you feel?

Kristy: I can't remember the very first time I tasted wine but I can tell you about the most memorable time I had while sipping on wine. In September of 2012 I was on my first European tour, awaiting some life-changing test results. My wife and I were sitting outside under a tree sharing a bottle of wine from the vineyard we were staying at when the email came through; it was Multiple Sclerosis. We sat in silence for a bit, just taking it all in. I looked up and asked my wife, "What kind of tree is this" and she said "an olive tree." That tour through Italy and beyond was the inspiration for the title track of my latest record, The Olive Tree.

antiMusic: The cruise will be making port in Cozumel, Mexico. Do you plan on going ashore to hit the beach or maybe take in a Lucha Libre wrestling show?

Kristy: That's a sleep day for me! I usually spend the night before a shore day up all night in the casino. In the past though we have rented Jeeps and toured around the ports to experience their food and culture. Lucha Libre sounds wild but being close to any body of water I'd rather wrestle with a fish. I'm a professional at fn' off and fishin'. Call it soul maintenance.

Follow Kristy Lee here.

Find more information about the Live Loud Fest and all the other cruises that Sixthman has coming up here.

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