17-19 June 2011
The largest free festival of maritime music on the planet will burst into bountiful chorus on Friday 17th June as the three-day Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival takes centre stage on the quays and in the bars of the South Cornish port town. th Century merchant sailing ship ‘The Matthew’ (www.matthew.co.uk), a performance at the nearby National Trust-owned Trelissick Gardens and a special service at King Charles The Martyr Church on Sunday 19th June led by the Sheringham Shantymen. A keynote concert involving two of the larger groups will also be held at Falmouth’s arts centre, The Poly, on the Saturday night.
The Festival – which came about as a result of a conversation between three Falmouth-based ‘shantymen’ in a harbour-side pub six years ago – is now one of the most eagerly anticipated annual events in the region. The rousing event enjoys an international reputation for its welcoming, characterful atmosphere, raising essential funding for the RNLI, and supported, both in spirit and in song, by established talents such as the chart-topping Fishermen’s Friends – the winners of the ‘Good Tradition’ title and runners-up for Best Group at the recent Radio 2 Folk Awards 2011.
This year’s event will see 27 acts (including Fishermen’s Friends) singing their maritime hearts out throughout the days and late into the nights on three main stages across the town (Discovery Quay, The Moor and Custom House Quay), in addition to a spread of nearby venues. Several special performances are also planned including singing aboard the replica of 15
While the majority of the acts are South West-based there is also strong representation from across the rest of the UK, in addition to outfits from as far away as Norway, Holland and France, which have a strong tradition of maritime music. The ‘shanties’ themselves are all working songs and ballads dating back to the pre-steamship days in which sailors would lift their spirits and ease the burden of hoisting a sail or raising an anchor by thinking up evocative, rhythmic and humorous songs. For visitors to the festival, the experience is always uplifting, with the song lyrics and impassioned performances raising many a glass and plenty of cheer.
To get you in the mood, listen to snippets of shanty singing here.
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