Overview
Joseph Morneault is one of the original members of the Jovial Crew, playing alongside of Cliff Haslam since the group’s formation. His family is Brayon Français from the region of La République du Madawaska, or the area of southwestern New Brunswick, Canada; he also lived on Staten Island for a time, interacting daily with aged former sailors and WWI vets, so Joseph brings some traditions from his youth there as well as his years of love and interaction with early American music and research of sea history. While a “tween” in the late 70s he used to busk on the Staten Island Ferry and in Battery Park, then moved back to Connecticut where he became involved in the Irish music “session circuit” and became involved in a number of bands over the years and even ran a historical contradance group – The Wild Colonial Boys – for a time. You will generally find an assortment of instruments in his stockpile, blending different sounds and textures into the songs we sing. He has actually made some of the instruments he plays and he is the owner/operator/performer as MusiqueMorneaux; a workshop that handcrafts woodwinds for traditional Celtic music, early American, fife & drum corps, etc.
Joseph Morneault is a social historian and performs with a few groups as well as performing some solo work, bringing to life early American songs relating to the everyday person: work songs, songs of the sailor, drinking songs, songs of love and consequences, ballads, and introspective songs. His involvement with traditional and historical fife and drum goes back to his earliest grammar school days. While he still plays (as well as makes) fifes and such, he is currently a free agent, focusing more on his craftsmanship and his interpretation of songs. Past and current groups include Littlefield & Morneault; Different Tack; The Wild Colonial Boys; The Reilly Clan; Reel Men; The Bog Barons; Sanfilippo, Sherman, & Morneault; The Ancient Mariners; The Privateers of Pettipaug; and of course, The Jovial Crew.
In 2017, Jos was part of a small team seeking to begin a small-scale maritime music festival in Essex, CT. This did not take off, but when Covid shut down Mystic Seaport, and the subsequent end to the 40-yr run of the Sea Music Festival there, Jos in company with Geoff Paul of Essex, CT restarted the festival there in Essex, restarting the aborted 2017 attempt. Jos convinced former Mystic Seaport Festival people to join in this restart: Geoff Kaufman, Bonnie Milner, David Littlefield, Faye Ringel, A.J. Wright, and Edie Stern: the sponsoring organization of Maritime Music and Tradition Society, inc. As of 2026, the CT Sea Music Festival has enjoyed its 5th year.