I love so many things about cruising: alcoholic beverage packages, afternoon trivia, and having the freedom to do as much or as little as you like. I also love discovering talented musicians on board. The latest to catch my attention is Hunter deBlanc, who I’ve had the pleasure of checking out on my last two cruises on the Pacific Jewel. He hails from New Orleans, but he embraced Aussie tunes and delighted the masses in the Orient Bar with his stellar piano renditions of tracks from John Farnham, The Angels, and Daryl Braithwaite, to name a few. My husband and I were also thrilled with his knowledge of our favourite ’90s tunes. In amongst the covers, if you were lucky, he’d play one of his incredible original songs.
Which brings me to the point of this post. His contract on the Jewel is coming to a close, but he’s had such a blast with Australian audiences he’s already planning a return visit to play pub gigs in Melbourne, Sydney, and Newcastle. I’ll be sure to bring you the dates once they’re announced, but I just wanted to put him on your radar with my favourite of his originals, “California Orleans.”
Enjoy!
Hi Lauren,
My wife and I also enjoyed the entertainment experience that is Hunter De Blanc, onboard the Pacific Jewel. We had our first ever cruise in march 2017, and while we lived the entire experience, we especially looked forward each night to going to the Orient Bar to see our favourite “piano man” – and as you know, as broad as his music knowledge is, and as talented as Hunter is, his performances were a lot more than just the music. Hunter DeBlanc is an entertainer. His interactions with his audience, particularly the “regulars”, was just fantastic. We got to know him a little, and even met his beautiful girlfriend Nicole, who joined him for that cruise. His sense of humour, ability to make an audience feel at ease, and of course his immense musical talent, really won us over. We can’t wait for Hunter to tour Oz, and will be lining for tickets to the Melbourne shows for sure!! Would be nice if we could get everyone from the cruise(‘s) together to go to a Hunter show as a group!!!
Loved this artist to the moon and back!
Hunter DeBlanc is really fantastic. He made everyone feel like friends not just fans. Which is why you couldn’t get a seat in the orient from about 20 mins before his show. Our cruise was certainly better because he was our “Piano Man” and we definitely want to go “back 4 more”.
Wow – he was packing out the place on your cruise Sarah! We were always there about 20 minutes before, but we never really needed to be on our cruise. We just had to get our favourite seats!
I know exactly what you mean Michelle!
You got lucky with your first cruise entertainment Mark! I’d been on three cruises before the ones with Hunter, and while we saw some good acts he was next level. Never before have I gotten off a ship and thought “OK, I want to book another one while this guy is still on contract.” Glad you’ll be representing the Orient Bar “regulars” there in Melbourne!