Jason D. Williams, The Dollyrots Rock the Last Day of Little Steven's Underground Garage Cruise 2

by Kevin Wierzbicki

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This year's sailing of the Little Steven's Underground Garage Cruise, the second iteration of the seagoing festival, wrapped up with an amazing evening of music highlighted by shows from Memphis rocker Jason D. Williams and perennial garage rock favorites The Dollyrots. These standout shows were among dozens performed by 30 acts as the cruise, presented by music cruise specialists Sixthman, took place April 3-7, 2026 aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pearl as she sailed from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico. It was a phenomenally good time as fans rocked out with Social Distortion, Low Cut Connie, The Pandoras, Buzzcocks, The Courettes, Supersuckers, Goons!, Rival Sons, The Sonics and many others. And the music played for more than 12 hours on the last day of the cruise so there was no break in the raucous rocking as the cruise came to a close.

One of the most exciting shows on the last day was a show at the ship's intimate Atrium Stage where country garage rocker Jason D. Williams wowed a crowd that packed the viewing area. A piano pounder in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis, Williams began his set with a hopped-up version of the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" which was performed a bit faster than normally heard. Other songs in the set included "Crazy Arms," a cut that Ray Price took to #1 in 1956, a take on the Violent Femmes favorite "Blister in the Sun" and even, believe it or not, one of the all-time great rock songs, "Free Bird." Williams peppered his set with Lewis-style antics, like playing with his foot and at one point laying atop his grand piano and reaching down to play the keys.

A dancer performed go-go style during a few songs and there was a special guest appearance too by Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks fame, Monroe played saxophone on "Good Rockin' Tonight" which included a snippet of the Little Richard chestnut "Tutti Frutti." About Monroe, Williams thanked him for the cameo and quipped, "I've been following you since, well, two days ago!" The 1950s-leaning set totally thrilled the audience, many of whom were dancing non-stop. The set also demonstrated that the roots of garage rock go back farther than many might think.

The final day of the Little Steven's Underground Garage Cruise 2 featured tons of hot shows including performances by The Raveonettes, Supersuckers, Low Cut Connie, Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey, Rival Sons, The Jellybricks playing a tribute to The Beatles, Gyasi, Mooney Suzuki, Bobby Mahoney, Goons!, Soraia, Palmyra Delran & The Doppel Gang and the legendary garage rock band The Sonics (the movie "Boom: A Film About the Sonics" was also screened and members of the band also participated in a Q&A session.)

You can see how the cruise was one big rocking party, all of which was emceed by actor, musician and SiriusXM personality Michael Des Barres. And the beloved trio The Dollyrots performed an enthusiastic set in the ship's Stardust Theater to put the icing on the cake. Quite appropriately the set from The Dollyrots included "I Know How to Party" and they demonstrated that notion further by rocking through "Jackie Chan," "Attention Span," "Satellite," "Everything" and a cover of the Melanie tune "Brand New Key," of course turning Melanie's folk pop hit into a ferocious punk rocker. Also included in The Dollyrot's lengthy set was "Get on This Ride," another song appropriate for the moment as many cruisers were already thinking about booking their ride on the third iteration of the raucous festival.

Little Steven's Underground Garage Cruise 3 will take place April 24-28, 2027 aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Jewel as she sails from Miami to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Headliners announced so far are X and The Damned. Fans can sign up for cabin presales here.

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