CHARLOTTETOWN — Multi-Juno award winner Colin James will be sailing the Rhône and Saône Rivers with Stewart Travel Group in October 2024, just in time for a 10th anniversary celebration for the Prince Edward Island travel agency.
The sailing follows up from Stewart Travel Group’s two successful full-charter European river cruises in 2022 with Canadian musician Jim Cuddy, and with another sold-out cruise scheduled for November 2023 with Blue Rodeo.
Colin James Blues Trio’s (left to right) Steve Marriner, Colin James, and Chris Caddell
The exclusive Stewart Travel Group river cruise with James will be onboard AmaWaterways’ 72-stateroom AmaCello, sailing through Burgundy and Provence Oct. 24-31, 2024. The itinerary will include two performances by James and his fellow musicians and longtime collaborators, Steve Marriner on bass and harmonica, and Chris Caddell on guitar. Pricing for the sailing starts at $5,275 per person and includes gratuities. Details on the cruise are available at www.stewarttravelgroup.ca/2024-colin-james.
There will also be a songwriters’ circle and a fundraising dinner with the trio, to support Hospice PEI (https://hospicepei.ca/).
James is one of Canada’s best-known musicians, with a career spanning 30+ years. His self-titled debut album in 1988 was the fastest-selling album in Canadian history, and with songs like Five Long Years and Voodoo Thing, it garnered him his first Juno award and an opening spot on tour with Keith Richards. His second album, Sudden Stop, with its hit song Just Came Back, saw him win his second Juno.
James now has 20 studio albums and eight Juno awards, along with multiple other accolades like 20 Maple Blue awards, and multi-platinum record sales. His sound evolved, gaining him new fans along the way. James is credited with launching the swing revival, and in 2016, James found himself on new charts – this time for the blues. Blue Highways spent 10 weeks at number one on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart, and one of his biggest hits, Riding in the Moonlight, has millions of hits on Spotify.
Paula and Travis Stewart
“WHAT HAVE I DONE?”
Stewart Travel Group now has 14 travel advisors across the Maritimes. The travel agency, which recently added a business manager to their team, has become known for unique travel experiences.
As Travis Stewart tells it, he never could have foreseen his company’s evolution 10 years ago. In his Charlottetown home office in 2014 with nothing but a laptop, a phone, and the phone book, and having quit his secure travel management job, “I stared at the phone that first morning, and thought ‘What have I done?’” says Stewart. “Paula [co-owner of Stewart Travel Group] opened [the phone book] up and started to find names of folks we knew, and I just started calling.”
Each year since 2016, Stewart Travel Group has been awarded Top Agency awards in Canada (with The Travel Agent Next Door). Last month, 10 members of the team returned from TTAND’s annual conference with another seven awards from the host agency. They also came home with five national supplier awards, including one from AmaWaterways.
“With fine dining and wines, and included excursions, river cruising with AmaWaterways is one of the best ways to explore France,” Stewart said. “Add in the energy that the Colin James Blues Trio brings to the stage and this is one incredible way to celebrate our company’s 10th anniversary year!”
