Kicking Back, Country Style
We sure do love a Country Music Cruise vacation and the artists who come aboard with us each year have a great time, too! But have you ever wondered what they enjoy doing on their days off, other than hanging out with us on the cruise, of course? We did a little research and found out what our fun-loving 2020 artists like to do most.
Josh Turner (who will be making a special appearance on January 27) likes to play basketball a whole lot, inherited from his dad’s love of the sport.
We were tickled to hear that Mark Chesnutt has a lot in common with our country folks – he loves hunting, fishing, reading and collecting albums.
Lee Greenwood was an all-star in high school and could have gone on to college to run track and play baseball. Lucky for us - and everyone else - he chose music instead!
The Oak Ridge Boys have mastered the art of seeking out amazing things to do while on tour. Joe Bonsall loves reading and is quite the author, too, writing books since childhood. William Lee Golden paints and takes photos on the road and his work has been shown in galleries throughout the country. Richard Sterban is a big fan of baseball and likes to catch all kinds of games whenever he can - minor league, pro and college. He even used to be an investor in the Nashville Sounds and is still a major supporter.
Sawyer Brown’s Mark Miller mixes business with pleasure. He’s a producer, working with Sawyer Brown and other acts like Bucky Covington, too. And he’s a record mogul – his own Beach Street Records is home to Casting Crowns.
When Mickey Gilley isn’t running Gilley’s or touring all across the country, he likes to spend his days off golfing and has been known to fly his own plane!
Jimmy Fortune must have one heck of a postcard collection. He’s traveled to all states in the US and all the Canadian Provinces, too.
Another road warrior, Asleep At The Wheel’s Ray Benson love Route 66 so much that he’s got an impressive collection of memorabilia. The band has toured along the legendary route and performs the iconic song at every show and even recorded three times in three different decades.
In addition to his extensive acting career, we all now know that John Schneider is quite the dancer – we loved cheering for him on “Dancing with the Stars” last year!
Lacy J. Dalton helms the Let ‘em Run Foundation, dedicated to protecting America’s wild horses and burros since 1999.
Jeannie Seely once called her house her hobby, something we definitely can relate to!
Wade Hayes loves to restore old pickup trucks.
Johnny Lee hunts, fishes and golfs and he even still acts from time to time. He starred in cruise-mate John Schneider’s “Christmas Cars” just last December.
Mo Pitney is another big fan of hunting, bowhunting to be exact, but Mo takes it one step further - he’s raised bird dogs for pheasant and quail hunting.
Mandy Barnett is quite the artist who enjoys painting and working with stained glass.
Ashley Campbell studied theatre in college and Cruise Host Lorianne Crook recently earned her master’s degree in holistic nutrition!