All aboard the world’s largest floating dance music competition, Groove Cruise.
Whet Travel’s flagship fest is about to return to the seas for its 35th sail out of Miami to a personal Haitian island. It’ll kick off on January nineteenth on the newly renovated Celebrity Summit cruise ship earlier than docking on the twenty third.
This as soon as-in-a-lifetime competition expertise boasts 9 phases and will function 96 hours of nonstop techno and home music from over 50 artists. Groove Cruise can also be beloved for fostering an ecosystem of inventive self-expression and inclusion for its friends, who will dance beneath the Caribbean solar to performances from Nora En Pure, Claptone, BIJOU, Giolì & Assia, Matroda, William Black.
EDM.com caught up with Groove Cruise’s founder, Jason Beukema, to speak about its unforgettable competition expertise, Whet Foundation’s scheduled charitable initiatives and extra. For extra info and tickets, navigate right here.
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EDM.com: How did the Groove Cruise workforce determine on Labadee, Haiti because the vacation spot? What will the port cease entail for the attendees or “captains” of the ship?
Jason Beukema: Labadee is an absolute dream vacation spot. I’ve been on 148 cruises and to 74 nations and at all times discover myself wanting to return to Labadee. It is a shocking location that has all the pieces you could possibly ask for in a vacation spot: pristine seashores, crystal-clear blue waters, and even forested mountains.
Amenities clever, it has the world’s longest zipline over water, an epic rollercoaster that goes down the island’s stunning mountainside, a 300-foot water slide, non-public cabanas, boat and island excursions, jet skis—I might go on and on! It is paradise on Earth. Add that to our wonderful vacation spot occasion with reside performances from some of the world’s finest DJs and it’s simply one thing it’s a must to expertise your self.
Groove Cruise group of mates partying on the ship.
Lauren Morell
EDM.com: There are a number of prime-tier ladies booked for the 2023 competition, together with Nora En Pure. What goes into the lineup curation for every cruise? What is your opinion on guaranteeing the illustration of inclusive bookings, particularly throughout the digital music scene?
Jason Beukema: We work with loads of totally different labels and manufacturers and have a reserving workforce who’re continually looking out for brand new and thrilling expertise to carry on Groove Cruise. Each lineup is sort of a puzzle, becoming the totally different sonic items collectively to create probably the most attention-grabbing and partaking expertise doable.
Inclusive reserving is so necessary to us. One of the principle pillars of Groove Cruise is being a enjoyable, protected and inclusive house for everybody to be themselves and that begins with the names on the lineup. Not solely is it necessary to characterize totally different voices and give them a platform to be heard, however it truly helps create a greater musical expertise for our captains as effectively. No one needs to take heed to the identical music from the identical folks for 4 or 5 days. We are really proud to be an inclusive house each behind and in entrance of the DJ decks.
EDM.com: The Celebrity Summit underwent a $500 million renovation. What can attendees count on in phrases of facilities and choices on the ship?
Jason Beukema: Out of all of the cruise ships we’ve chartered through the years, the Celebrity Summit could be my favourite. And this would be the first Groove Cruise on it for the reason that renovations, so I’m pumped!
They overhauled the entire ship, renovating each half of it from the staterooms and suites to the eating places and bars, on line casino, spa, and sundecks. The spa is completely tripped out now, it’s an incredible place to start out your day and get well from the evening earlier than. And the meals on the Summit is on one other stage out of your common cruise ship. I imply, Michelin-starred cooks put the menus collectively. You actually can’t beat that! I can’t wait to get the GCFam again on board to expertise the revolutionized ship.
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John Summit and Dombresky performing a DJ set on Groove Cruise.
Marcus Laurore
EDM.com: Groove Cruise additionally supplies a plethora of artist-hosted programming and actions, one thing loads of massive-scale occasions don’t do. Why did GC determine to incorporate these?
Jason Beukema: We’re at all times searching for one thing distinctive to supply our captains as a result of the objective of Groove Cruise has at all times been to create one thing really particular and out of the atypical. The beauty of placing a competition on a cruise is that the artists are on the ship with everybody else, in order an attendee you’ll stumble upon them in all places and have the ability to work together with them.
After just a few years we realized that loads of the artists enjoying Groove Cruise additionally actually loved interacting with followers as a lot because the followers did, making it a match made in heaven to place these artist-hosted actions collectively. And ever since we began doing them formally they’ve persistently been one of the favourite elements of Groove Cruise for each artists and followers.
EDM.com: The competition will rejoice its twentieth anniversary in 2024. How have you ever seen Groove Cruise’s 20 years’ value of occasions develop and change through the years? Did you ever think about it might develop into the world’s largest floating dance music competition? What do you hope so as to add and develop within the coming years?
Jason Beukema: I began Groove Cruise in 2004 with 125 mates happening a daily cruise trip collectively. I drove a makeshift DJ sales space and all of the gear all the way down to Miami from Michigan as a result of I couldn’t afford to lease them. I put a marketing strategy collectively to develop the occasion and constitution my very own ship in 5 years. Seven years later I lastly did it. Fast ahead to at the moment and over 60,000 folks have attended our floating occasions and we’ve simply introduced our first 4,000 particular person capability crusing on one of the latest, most amenity packed ships on the planet, the Norwegian Encore.
Of course, I at all times hoped Groove Cruise would take off prefer it has, however seeing it truly occur has been probably the most wonderful expertise and has saved me working exhausting to innovate and supply our captains probably the most immersive and distinctive musical adventures doable.
Whet Foundation making a distinction in Cabo San Lucas.
Jack Harrigan
EDM.com: Groove Cruise additionally has been partnering with charities and the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Whet Foundation, since its inception in 2004. What are the competition’s scheduled outreach initiatives whereas in Haiti?
Jason Beukema: We’re teaming up with an incredible nonprofit known as Second Mile Haiti for this upcoming Groove Cruise. They’ve constructed a reside-in malnourishment restoration heart and created a household planning program to cut back maternal and toddler mortality.
Malnutrition impacts a staggering 10% of Haitian youngsters. Haiti’s unemployment charge is round 80%, and 76% of its inhabitants resides on lower than $2 a day, which causes households to have to surrender their youngsters to ensure that them to obtain correct care. So we’re working with Second Mile Haiti to carry 50 youngsters and 10 moms from their neighborhood to Labadee, the place Groove Cruise volunteers will host actions and present donated items (meals, faculty provides, toiletries, books, toys, and so forth.) for the children and moms.
Whet Foundation is an integral half of Whet Travel and has been since I began the corporate. Giving again to the communities we go to is so necessary. Visiting a overseas vacation spot isn’t nearly seeing a brand new location and ticking it off your bucket checklist, it’s about studying from new locations and increasing your understanding of the world, and you possibly can actually solely do this by interacting with locals and leaving your mark by way of serving to folks in want nevertheless you possibly can. I’m comfortable to say the GCFam have actually taken to this facet of Groove Cruise and the volunteer excursions are getting greater and greater on each cruise we placed on as a result of extra and extra folks need to become involved.
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