Maritime Music News

From our friend and MMDI early supporter, Tom Lewis: “This Sunday evening I will be presenting a concert, at Harry’s bar, in Rosses Point near Sligo. The concert is at the behest of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (it was easier to say when it was just the San Francisco Maritime Museum!) Director: Peter Kasin’s original idea was for a Zoom event, but I just can’t do my best work for an inanimate camera. (Cameras don’t join in on the choruses!) So I had the bright idea of video-recording a ‘live show’ and luckily, the kind folks in California embraced the concept … hooraayyy! “The more the merrier, at Harry’s Bar on Sunday evening and, will later be broadcast (Saturday, Oct. 28th.) between noon and 1:00 PM PST. After the concert I’ll be around for a whole ‘live’ Q&A and chat session.” The recorded concert link is: https://givebutter.com/TomLewisConcert.

This family-friendly weekend includes a Symposium on the Music of the Sea, free daytime workshops with local, regional, and international maritime musicians, a family stage, demonstrations of sailor skills, sails on the CT River, a Sunday morning revival style hymn sing, and late night Chantey Sings in the historic Griswold Inn. Main stage evening concerts on the Town Green require tickets, which can be purchased at the Marquee Tent or through Eventbrite. For more information about the Festival, visit our website, or contact Deirdre Murtha at contact@ctseamusicfest.org, 203-219-9155. For public transportation from NYC or points South, take Metro North from Grand Central to New Haven, CT, transfer to the Shoreline East Train, then take a shuttle bus via the 9 Town Transit service to Essex, CT. More info: shorelineeast.com, www.9Town-Transit.com. The CT Sea Music Festival is a project of the Maritime Music & Tradition Society Corp, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It receives major sponsorship from Privé-Swiss, sponsorship from CT Humanities, The Folk Music Society of NY, Inc., and The Paul Foundation, and receives support from The Griswold Inn.

Hello Friends, This is Dean Calin. I have worked very hard for a couple of years to get this website up and running. After our successful Kickstarter program we had a the expectation that a set amount would go toward the technical development of the site. Well, we had several major setbacks in that regard – a few unscrupulous individuals abandoned the project, forcing me to spend a great deal more to complete the site. Unlike other genres of music, the maritime music/sea shanty community lacked a central place for fans and the press to easily discover our important music, bands and festivals. I believe that what this site is offering our community is also the means to record and share the lore and history of the legends that led the way for us. Stormalong John, Ewan MacColl, A.L. Lloyd and Johnny Collins are all names that should not be forgotten. Now that the community content sections of the MMDI are complete, the two remaining pieces are organizing the banner advertising campaign and the outreach to raise funds through donations through Organic Arts, Ltd. I am afraid while we are in sight of the finish line we may not make it and all of this work may be for naught. We are down to, perhaps, $250.00. I am not in a position to support the site myself, either. Therefore, I am forced to ask for support, again, from the maritime music community. If you could please go to our donation page and contribute a couple of dollars we can continue our work to record and keep alive the legends and modern heroes of maritime music. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=35WASDV4HCVP6

2022 Cleveland TALL SHIPS® Festival (July 7-10, 2022) Downtown Cleveland’s Lakefront (just north of FirstEnergy Stadium) 515 Erieside Avenue Cleveland is proud to host the return of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® to Cleveland’s waterfront in July of 2022. This four-day waterfront festival is a wonderful experience for families to enjoy live entertainment, historical exhibits, food, beverages and yes…board the Tall Ships Maritime musical entertainment will be provided by Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers and Tom Kastle. Link to venue website.

Southborough — 1:30pm to 2:20pm Sunday April 21 GB (group participation, beginner friendly)Mike (1946-2023), a longtime NEFFA workshop leader, was known for traditional sea songs, Cicely Fox Smith poems, and original compositions. We’ll lead songs from Mike’s 2023 CD, A Dog’s Life, and invite audience participation. Born in western New York, Mike grew up loving folk music, especially songs of the sea.  He spent four years in the US Navy and was fortunate enough to share song swaps with Canadian sailors when in port.  Mike wrote his first song inspired by the Ocean Ranger tragedy and more songs followed over the years.  Being a Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival volunteer for over three decades was his great love and honor.  It was Stan Hugill who first introduced Mike to C. Fox Smith and once he tracked down her poetry, turning her works into fine songs became a driving force in Mike’s songwriting. You can view Kennedy’s MMDI listing here.

Bristol Renaissance Faire Opens for the Season (July 9-10, 2022) The Bristol Renaissance Faire opens its 2022 season on July 9, 2022. The festival runs summer weekends through September 5, 2022. This Elizabethan-era theme park has been a host to a great number of maritime music performers over the years, including: Pint & Dale Dread Pirates of Oddwood Bounding Main Ship Shape The Jolly Rogers Tourdion The Corsairs Rambling Sailors Musical Blades The Jolly Rogers Link to BRF website.

2022 Sandusky Tall Ships Festival (July 1-3, 2022) Join us on the shores of Lake Erie for Festival of Sail Sandusky 2022. It’s a rare chance to catch a glimpse and even step aboard some of the grandest ships of yore. Draw Events is bringing tall ships to Sandusky, Ohio. Festival of Sail Sandusky 2022 features ship tours, educational programming, food and beverage, entertainment and fun for the entire family! Maritime musical entertainment will be provided by Tom Kastle. Link to venue website.

February 29, 1952 – January 19, 2023 Linda D. Anderson was a skilled and popular nature and maritime photographer. She frequently photographed and vended at the many tall ship events on the Great Lakes. A Port Washington, Wisconsin resident, she was well known among the crews of the tall ships and the musicians that entertained at these events. A long-term chronic illness prevented her from promoting her work, particularly during the pandemic. She passed away in her home on January 19. Linda’s family discovered a considerable supply of prints that she normally sold at the tall ship festivals. Her daughter-in-law, Carolyn Paul, will be making Linda’s unframed prints available for sale, with the hopes that this income will offset the funerary costs. Carolyn can be reached through her Facebook profile. You can read Linda’s obituary here.

Celebrate the life of Don Sineti, renowned and beloved chantey singer, with a special virtual chantey sing from San Francisco Maritime National Park Association, in collaboration with San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and the Maritime Music & Tradition Society. It will be held on Saturday, March 18, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM PST. Follow this link for more information.

By Tony Goodenough London 31 Oct 2024 | France is a country that is fiercely proud of its culture and traditions. As recognition of this, the French Ministry of Culture has produced a list of over 530 practices and activities, ranging from the social to festive, to physical etc. As was announced on 10 September 2024, it has now recognised its rich history and culture of Sea Songs / Shanties as part of its “Patrimoine culturel immatériel,” which may be directly translated as, “Intangible Cultural Heritage” but to an English ear is more easily recognisable as “National Treasures.” This addition to the official listing is due in particular to the tireless Michel Colleu, co-founder of the magazine “Chasse-marée” and the “Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez,” who set about the task in 2018, starting by contacting as many singers, groups, festival directors as possible, etc. An inventory was made, receiving more than 70 responses, half in historic Brittany, with many more in Normandy and the Vendée, making up two-thirds of the total. It highlighted the diversities of Shanties and Sea Songs, both Geographic and also linguistic, taking in not only French, but also songs in Corsican, Catalan, Flemish and Breton. Thematic diversity applies as well, since the songs can tell a wide variety of professions, and their evolution over time, from working sailing ships to yachting, since today the sea has become above all an area of leisure activities. The purpose of the listing is to help share the culture and to keep it alive for the future, though new compositions, the promotion of performances and festivals and the encouragement of young people to join in and take the place of the older generation as they pass on. Philippe Cornec, of the group “Mouez Port-Rhu” states the problem – “over time, as there are fewer boats and sailors, some may think that if they are not from the middle class, this is not for them. It’s a shame. The world of Sea Songs and Shanties is very open and inclusive. You just have to enter it to understand that it is both dynamic and festive.” Hopefully, the official recognition of this will help to keep its spirit alive and well. The inventory sheet on Sailor’s Song will soon be available on the website of the French Ministry of Culture.

In July, Polish maritime music group, Sasiedzi, premiered their latest song, “Upiorny dług”* on their YouTube channel, and other music streaming channels like Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and Spotify. The song was first presented by Sąsiedzi at the 2023 edition of the International Festival of Sea Songs “Shanties” in Krakow, Poland, and it immediately made a big impression on the Jurors, as they awarded it the Monika Szwai Award for the best premiere at the festival. Band members, elevated by this successful premiere, felt that there was nothing left to do but to record it in the studio. This took place in late May and early June of 2023. Jakub Owczarek produced the recording, Marek Wiklinski and Rafal Krzysztoń wrote the lyrics and Mirek Walczak, Marek Wiklinski and Jakub Owczarek wrote the melody. The whole band was responsible for the arrangement, and the cover for Sasiedzi’s second single was designed by Ela Janerka – the guitarist and vocalist of the band Wbrew Pozorom. Find the new single here: YouTube, Spotify. View the concert premier video here: YouTube. * English: “Ghostly Debt”.

Facebook 2/4/2023: We are excited to announce the musicians and demonstrators who will appear at the Second Annual Connecticut Sea Music Festival on June 9-12! It’s an international crew who will make the Festival a true celebration of the work and songs of sailors, boatmen, fishers, longshoremen, and all folk who labored on the world’s oceans and waterways. Make your plans now to join us in Essex, CT! 40 Degrees South from AustraliaThe Ancient Mariners ChanteymenBobaloo BaseyBob & Jeanne ZentzDan MilnerDavid IlerDavid JonesJeff DavisThe Johnson GirlsKen SweeneyNick AppolonioRick & Donna NestlerSkylarkStoutThe Dirty Blue Shirts: sailor arts, crafts, and chanteysAnd in a special showcase appearance: Pressgang Mutiny from Canada

13 Jan 2024 – Essex, CT The operators of the Connecticut Sea Music Festival announced the performers lineup for this year’s event that will be held on 7-10 June, 2024 at locations around the city. Bennett KonesniBob WrightCastlebayChris KoldeweyDaisy Nell & Capt. Stan CollinsonDanny O’FlahertyJackson GilmanJohn RobertsKeith Murphy Michael O’LearyNicole SingerThe Ranzo BoysSara Grey + Kieron MeansSeán DagherShip’s Company ChanteymenTom LewisThe Vox Hunters + Flannery Brown One can discover more information about this event on its website at http://www.ctseamusicfest.org.

Our beloved Don Sineti crossed the bar last evening. He leaves an unfillable void in our world of chanteys and maritime music, and much more. His heart was as big as his voice and who can count the numbers of souls he touched. As one who brought him onto the Chantey staff at Mystic Seaport Museum over thirty years ago and had the chance to do numerous performances with him over the years, particularly for the Williams/Mystic program, I will treasure those special times. May we all now celebrate who Don was and what he gave to this maritime music community. Assistance is being accepted for Don’s substantial medical bills here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donald-sineti-fundraiser

Today we officially make available to the world a website that celebrates the music of mariners! The Maritime Music Directory International is designed to help fans of sea shanties find their favorite maritime-themed bands and the fun festivals at which to hear them perform! The website is free to access and is free for the bands and festivals to promote their great work! It is supported by Organic Arts, Ltd., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA-based artistic not-for-profit organization. The MMDI makes banner ads available at a modest fee to promote the music and support the website. As a not-for-profit, it also accepts charitable contributions. There are currently hundreds of acts and scores of performance venues and events listed on the site, with more being added every day. The popularity of sea shanties reached a new high during the pandemic through social media, video games and popular films. Acts like Fishermen’s Friends, The Longest Johns, David Coffin and Kimber’s Men, all veteran maritime music performers, have viral videos reaching mainstream audiences. You can read the official launch press release here.