In a previous post, I spoke about how I approached building our music program at Virgin Voyages… strategically. In that planning, I found one of our biggest strengths was, in fact, our musical legacy. I mean, come on, Virgin gave the world The Sex Pistols, Spice Girls, Boy George, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Phil Collins (iconic drum fill, you know the one), and the Rolling Stones, among countless others. This is something no other competitor can lay claim to (that legacy on our hull) and, perhaps more importantly, it is something that will likely never happen again, because the music business is drastically different than it was from the 70s through the 90s.
I KNEW we had something, but connecting the dots has taken time, patience, and a whole lot of tenacity. I had to find ways to make this connection apparent, all while the company was moving fast from start-up to full-scale operations globally. And we did that through the COVID pandemic and all the world events that followed. This meant that the thing I saw wasn’t going to be as clear to the teams below and above me, because there were far too many things on their plates. So I leaned into patience, confidently building a program with a focus on culture building over music making and talent buying.
Here’s the funny thing about culture building: it takes belief, time, and perseverance, but if you can get the culture right, all the other things just fall into place. And that is exactly what happened with Virgin Voyages’ music program. Soon, it was our crew experience and the opportunity we offered musicians to create that pulled them to us. No casting tours, no ads on job boards, no social media pleas looking for a guitarist. None of that was needed because the musicians were finding us.
And slowly, our customers started to catch on. I once sat in on a YouTube chat with one of our top agents, where they reminded me how their clients know there is a band on other lines, but on Virgin, they know who the musicians are.
That is a culture shift.
In 2025, we won Best Cruise Line for Music Fans from Rolling Stone. For me, a massive moment. In 2026, Rolling Stone sailed with us on our Celebration Voyage and we got a chance to chat. As I always do, I started by reminding them of our history before cruise and how important it was, and still is, for music. Then I connect the lines – disruption, inclusion, that feel of an indie record label. That conversation, and of course Nile Rodgers and CHIC, landed us in the magazine.
A few weeks later, the 2026 Rolling Stone Travel Awards came out and once again we won — this time, “Coolest Cruise for Music Fans.” Of course, as a musician who like so many always dreamed of seeing himself on the cover of the Rolling Stone, I am elated by the awards and my name in the pages. But the real celebration for me is holding to your vision for six years through arguably the toughest period in cruise and live music, and seeing the world make the connection from the seeds you sowed.