Overview
“Pirates in the Port,” Newport Shanty & Folk Festival
Pirates in the Port Shanty & Folk Festival is returning to Newport City Centre This Year Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2026! And it’s ALL FREE!!
50+ Shanty & Folk Bands from across UK in 17 Newport City Centre Music Venues. The Welsh Sea Shanty and Folk Music Festival Extravaganza!
Pirates in the Port 2026 – organised by Bois y Bryn, a shanty band based in Cwmbran, nr Newport.
There are about 20 of us, and we perform regularly around South East Wales, as well as at many Shanty Festivals across the West Country and beyond.
In 2024 we organised the Festival of the Sea Shanty Festival in Barry, to coincide with the RNLI’s 200th anniversary.
In 2025 we decided to bring Wales’s Shanty Festival closer to home, to Newport’s vibrant live music scene. The event was a great success with packed houses and great feedback from audiences, bands and venues.
In 2026, we go again – bigger and better!
31 May 2025 – 1 Jun 2025
Coming to Newport for the first time is a shanty and folk festival!
Are you ready to hear toe-tapping songs of the sea?
- 11 City Centre Venues
- 40 Shanty and Folk Bands
- Free Entry to all venues
This event is organized by Bois y Bryn.
Curated History
This event replaced the Barry Island Sea Shanty Festival that was held in 2024.
For the 3rd year running, Bois y Bryn is organising Wales’s shanty festival (in Newport for the 2nd year), which we call Pirates in the Port. It’s on the weekend of 30/31 May and features over 50 bands from all over the UK playing in 18 Newport venues. It’s all free of course and for the 2nd year, our designated charities are SARA (Severn Area Rescue Association), RNLI and Wales Air Ambulance.