Bristol has announced the news that its very first sea shanty festival will take place this weekend, with ten shanty crews due to perform on outdoor stages on the city's harbourside.
Crews will perform in Brunel Square beside the iconic SS Great Britain; on The Matthew, a modern reconstruction of the original Matthew that sailed to Newfoundland in 1497; in Underfall Yard, a historic boatyard on Spike Island; and within the grounds of the SS Great Britain itself.
The festival has been organised in conjunction with the Docks Heritage Weekend as the brainchild of shanty group High & Dry. They'll be appearing this weekend alongside local bands including The Severn Whalers, The Barnacle Buoys, The Harry Browns and Back Beach Boyz.
It comes after Bristol based shanty group The Longest Johns were signed to Decca Records after the viral TikTok sea shanty trend and the success of their performances of shanties aboard the SS Great Britain.
We've picked out the best sea shanties of all time here.
Want to learn more about sea shanties? We explain here what a sea shanty is and what the different types of sea shanty are.
The full schedule for the Bristol Sea Shanty Festival:
Brunel Square
12pm: High & Dry 12.45pm: The Navy Larks 1.30pm: The Barnacle Buoys 2.15pm: The Harry Browns 3pm: Storm Force 10 3.45pm: The Severn Whalers 4.30pm: The Roaring Trowmen 5.15pm: Barretts Privateers
Underfall Yard
12pm: The Harry Browns 12.45pm: Back Beach Boyz 1.30pm: The Roaring Trowmen 2.15pm: The Severn Whalers 3pm: High & Dry 3.45pm: The Navy Larks 4.30pm: Storm Force 10 5.15pm: The Rusty Tubs
SS Great Britain
12pm: Batten Down the Hatches 12.45pm: The Severn Whalers 1.30pm: Barretts Privateers 2.15pm: Batten Down the Hatches 3pm: Barnacle Buoys 3.30pm: The Rusty Tubs 4pm: The Steepholmers 4.45pm: The Navy Larks 5.15pm: Bach Beach Boyz
The Matthew
12pm: The Steepholmers 12.45pm: Bristol Shanty Chorus 1.30pm: The Navy Larks 2.15pm: Back Beach Boyz 3pm: The Roaring Trowmen 3.30pm: Batten Down the Hatches
The Bristol Sea Shanty Festival will take place from midday to 6pm on Sunday 10 October.
Find sea shanty lyrics here.
