Notice! Our offices are closed immediately before and during the festival! Please be patient if you need to contact us. Postal programmes are not available from midday on 4th October. […]
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The Programme!
The 2024 Souvenir Programme can now be downloaded for £3 from our online store. Printed copies (£5) will be available shortly from the usual outlets in and around Harwich. A […]
Figurehead
Figurehead began as the first all female shanty group in Cornwall. Over the years the personnel have changed but the love of singing in harmony together and entertaining people with […]
Malcolm Ward 1942 – 2022: singer, musician and morris dancer
Obituary Malcolm was born in 1942 in Northampton, where he lived until the age of 24. Having served an apprenticeship in the electrical supply industry, he made that his career, […]
Cakes & Shanties
Join us on Bank Holiday Monday 30th August for Cakes & Shanties Outpart Eastward, adjacent to the New Bell Inn.
Quiz
Fancy a shanty brainteaser? Give our Quiz a go!
Alan Whitbread: Order of Service
Owing to the current pandemic, only family were able to attend Alan Whitbread’s funeral. We are however able to share the order of service which may be of interest as […]
Update
Unsurprisingly we have to report that Shanty Sundays at the Pier are suspended for the foreseeable future, so no Hoolies to brighten your Easter. We have no plans to cancel […]
Alan Whitbread
As many of you will have already seen from our brief post yesterday evening, Alan Whitbread sadly passed away on Tuesday evening. He has been a supporter and valued performer […]
Shanty Workshop – Photos & Feedback
Please could I say a personal thank you to everyone who was involved in making our workshop and concert yesterday such a success. I’m not going to name individuals as […]
2020 Artists
The first confirmed artists will appear here in the Spring of 2020 but the full list won’t be published until late summer.
Dates for 2020 & 2021
8th-11th October 2020 (Thursday-Sunday) 8th-10th October 2021 (Friday-Sunday) If you need accommodation, please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!
Shanty workshop & concert
The Rogue Shanty Buoys are joining us on 22nd February for a daytime shanty workshop and evening concert, Details https://harwichshantyfestival.co.uk/event/the-rogue-shanty-buoys/
Thursday’s session
We were at the Harwich Town Sailing Club on Thursday evening.
Shanty Bus!
If you are staying some way out of town or have a few mobility issues you will be pleased to hear that our ShantyBus will once again be running throughout […]
Shanty Train
The Shanty Train is running on the Saturday of the festival and two return times are available. From Harwich Town/Dovercourt travel on the 1028 or 1128 services, from Manningtree it’s […]
London Sea Shanty Collective
The London Sea Shanty Collective is a community choir who sing shanties and maritime songs with one eye to tradition and the other to the future. They perform regularly in London […]
Ken Stephens
Singer, concertina player and author of several contemporary shanties often mistaken for traditional, Ken is a relaxed entertaining and knowledgeable performer, veteran of many maritime events. For 2020 he is […]
The Hoolies
Formed only last year, following a request from the Mayor of Wivenhoe, the Hoolies are already making a name for themselves and already have a very busy schedule of appearances. […]
Shötley Crüe
Another crew formed directly as a result of the Harwich Shanty Festival, Shötley Crüe have now been singing together for nearly 6 years and have performed at a number of […]
Armstrong’s Patent
One of the premier maritime groups in The Netherlands, Armstrong’s Patent is a five-man group, who perform an eclectic mix of folk and sea songs. They deliver a professional yet […]
Festival Feedback
We have received the following remarks concerning the 2018 festival – many thanks to all who commented! “The Pirate Train was great fun” “keep up the good work” “easy going […]
Dominic Dowsey-Magog
We are deeply saddened to tell you that the lovely Dominic Dowsey-Magog died on Monday this week. A kind, gentle man and wonderful shanty singer he will be much missed […]
Les Corsaires de la Vesdre
From Limbourg in Belgium, Les Corsaires are keen travellers and have appeared at maritime festivals throughout Europe. They sing in several different languages and believe it is important that both […]
Dick Miles
Dick Miles has been singing and playing music since he was 13 and lived for many years in East Anglia before moving to the Republic of Ireland. He particularly loves […]
The Hoy Shanty Crew
The Hoy Shanty Crew sprung out of The Hoy at Anchor Folk Club, Southend area’s longest running Folk Club. Singing rousing shanties together the group have performed extensively in Essex […]
Jim Radford
One of the diminishing numbers of survivors from WW2, Jim worked on the Naval Wartime Rescue Tug Service, based in Harwich. He also took part in the D Day Landings, […]
Men Overboard
“Za Bortom!” (Men Overboard!) Men Overboard, from St. Petersburg, Russia, made a big impression on their first visit to Harwich last year and so we are pleased to welcome them back […]
El Pony Pisador
We just had to have these guys back again! El Pony Pisador from Barcelona, made such a huge impression on the Festival last year with their vibrant, exciting and varied […]
Short Drag Roger
Hailing from the well-known fishing port of Oxford, Short Drag Roger like nothing better than travelling the country and beyond, singing traditional and not so traditional sea shanties. In the […]
Tres Hombres Shanty Crew
Tres Hombres Shanty Crew from Eindhoven in the Netherlands sing traditional shanties, sea songs and forebitters in surprisingly close harmony. They are also proud ambassadors of www.fairtransport.eu the emission free […]
Treasure Hunt
Our Annual Treasure Hunt has become a popular event in the Harwich calendar and this year takes place on Friday 29th December starting at mid-day at the Alma. Come and […]
Shanty Newsletter!
Are you signed up to our Shanty Newsletter yet? Get Harwich International Shanty Festival news direct into your inbox. Click here for the current & previous newsletters Sign up to […]
Joe Stead
I’m sure many of you will already know this, but we just wanted to share that Joe Stead passed away on March 29th after a long battle with cancer. He […]
Jack Forbes of Slow Loris
More sad news I’m afraid. Jack Forbes, singer, songwriter (notably of the very well known “Rolling Down the River”) and band member of Slow Loris, one of our most popular […]
Kerry Hearn – Quidnunc
We were treated to Quidnunc, from Kent, at our 2014 festival but, sadly, in November 2014 we heard that a member of Quidnunc had died in a car accident. Kerry […]
Bob Walser
Musician, scholar and educator Bob Walser’s musical career spans decades and continents. In the early 1980s he made his living as a shantyman at Mystic Seaport, one of the largest maritime […]
Cathead
Four guys, Bob, Rob, Bob and Allan, who have been singing and drinking together for well over 20 years. The majority of our material is a capella but we do use […]
Dominic Dowsey-Magog
Dom was well known on the Shanty scene throughout the U.K. and abroad, both as a solo artist and as a member of The Shanty Crew. He joined us in 2017 […]
la Morescha Nova
Our first ever Italian Shanty Crew! And la Morescha are rather special as they are the only group in Italy to be concentrating on Italian maritime heritage. Their repertoire covers […]
Excelsior
We are more than pleased to welcoming the Excelsior to Ha’Penny Pier for this year’s Shanty Festival. Excelsior will be open to the public to come aboard and for anyone […]
Shep Woolley
Shep Woolley has been entertaining the crowds since performing at the local working men’s club as a young boy. Through Country & Western, Jazz, Skiffle and Rock’n’Roll he progressed to […]
Trim Rig & A Doxy
Trim Rig and a Doxy have been performing together at Folk and Shanty Festivals for 15 years or more and this will be their 3rd appearance at Harwich Shanty Festival. […]
Burning Glass
Burning Glass are well-known local multi-instrumentalists Mick & Penny Verrier, accompanied by family and friends.
Overheard …
“One of the best things about living in ESSEX is going to the Harwich Shanty Festival” “I have had an awesome weekend, thank you to everyone who came along […]