Are music cruises the new festivals? It’s certainly starting to look that way, with everyone from eclectic rave party HARD to the Coachella fest setting sail with party cruises loaded with top acts.

This week, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert announced his own seafaring festival, the StePhest Colbchella ’012: RocktAugustFest, featuring the Flaming Lips, fun., Santigold, Grizzly Bear and Grandmaster Flash, the cruise’s official DJ.  The event will take place on New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and set sail on August 10.

“Folks, if you watch this show on a regular basis, then you know that I am a big player in the music biz,” the political satirist said on The Colbert Report this week. “And folks, I know all the latest hottest bands, like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza … those guys are great. Well now it’s summer and that means it’s time to remount my long-running, one-year tradition of throwing my own summer concert.”

Tickets for the StePhest Colbchella ’012: RocktAugustFest are sold through the Colbert Nation website, although none were available at press time.

–Scott T. Sterling, CBS Local