We caught up with LIPA graduate Frankie Hutchinson to talk about her music career and life currently working as a cruise musician.
How did you get into the cruise singing?
My sister also performs on cruises and planted the seed in my mind initially that it might be something I’d want to do too.
I happened to see an advert somewhere last year in need of cruise ship musicians and I had a feeling it might the kind of thing that I’d enjoy, as I was gigging regularly in London at the time and loving it.
I had to audition of course and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to see some of the world while working as a musician.
What does a ‘day in the life’ on board look like for you?
Sets vary but normally its three 45 minutes per night 7pm-12pm with breaks in between.
I will also sometimes do a ‘sailaway’ set when the ship is getting ready to leave port at 5pm in the afternoon.
That leaves time in the day to practise, go to the gym or get off the ship for an explore!
The earliest I would ever perform would be on a sea day, and that might be a set in the afternoon around 2 or 3pm.
I will normally get a day off during the week too, but this varies from ship to ship. Audience sizes vary depending on the venue and time of day and season.
If it’s a busy cruise in the school holidays, for example, you can expect a lot of venues to be very full!
Every set is different, though, which is what I love. You never know what kind of crowd you might get – if it’s more of a busy audience, I know it’s time to whack out the 80s hits and singalongs!
Ever get tired of singing the same covers on repeat?
Something that is great about performing so frequently is how much your repertoire expands.
At the end of the day, you don’t want to bore the guests by playing the same songs every night, especially as some passengers might come and see you more than once or a few times over their holiday.
I like to keep my sets new and fresh and I’m always learning new songs to avoid getting fed up of the same ones.
It’s also a great opportunity to test out new songs you’re working on, or even slip in a new original on a day when you might have a quieter audience.
What advantages do you have on cruises over playing on dry land?
Advantages are being able to gig most nights of the week which, if you love performing like I do, is the dream!
And, of course, there is the travelling aspect too, which is also brilliant.
The places I have seen while working is just incredible.
It’s also a great way for new people to hear your music regularly, with a new turnaround of passengers every week or two weeks depending on the length of their cruise.
Are you still hoping to grown your own music?
Yes, absolutely.
I think when you’re a musician or in the arts in general, you have to be incredibly realistic about how difficult the industry is, which is why I’m so pleased cruises have given me the opportunity to perform regularly and earn money while also carrying on writing and recording my own music.
What’s next for Frankie?
I have a couple of shorter cruise contracts over summer alongside a few gigs on land too.
I also have some other really fun collaborative projects that are currently in the works which I am excited for, and I’m currently working on getting my original material recorded to release an album some point in the future.
You can follow Frankie Hutchinson here.
Mersey Music 