The Keelers are Alan Fitzsimmons, Jim Mageean and George Unthank. They are now in their 40th year together, possibly the oldest shanty group in the country! The Keelers came together for the 1986 Tall Ships Race from Newcastle and have performed at many other Tall Ships events since in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Ireland and the Netherlands, often performing with the late famous shantyman Stan Hugill. They have several CDs available and 3 shanty books, written by Jim.

The mixed Shanty Choir ‘De Kaapstander’ was founded in February 1998 and has around forty enthusiastic singers from Oudewater, Gouda and the surrounding area of the Netherlands. Their musical accompaniment includes accordion, violin, guitars and banjo. They sing shanties and seasongs in Dutch, English and French, in particular focusing on the tough life on board ship, homesickness, women, adventures and drinks. The choir likes its audience to share in the pleasure of singing and portraying these songs.

A Band on Ship are Dave Jolly (song and melodeon) and Richard Heacock (song and fiddle.) They have sung and played at numerous maritime festivals in Europe (Sète, Appingedam, Paimpol, Cancale). Harwich International Shanty Festival will be their first UK appearance as a duo.

Perly I Lotry are a Polish acapella shanty group performing shanties and maritime music since 1998. Featuring soaring harmonies and stunning voices, they offer vibrant and dynamic performances. Their performance of “My Mother Told Me” a traditional Scandinavian song has garnered more than 45M streams on Spotify.

The Silver Darlings are a 6 piece all female crew from Southend on Sea. Weaving 2/3 part harmonies through traditional shanties and songs of the sea, these girls sing with joy and humour encouraging audience participation. Their second album Whaling Women has just been released and the girls have been busy at festivals throughout Europe and the UK.

This maritime folk band from the west coast of the Netherlands brings a unique style of its own, with songs about seas, rivers and lakes, fishermen, unfaithful girlfriends and shanties. Their energetic performances include influences from blues, cajun and Americana, but always with a nautical background. The name Scheepsfolk means Ship’s Folk and all four band members sing and accompany themselves with an assortment of instruments producing a lively set, where the audience cannot sit still. The group celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and has regularly performed at maritime festivals throughout Europe.

Folk singers have always been the guarantors of maritime music being passed on to future generations and Gunnar Wiegand continues this tradition. He sings songs from the maritime world – shanties, sea songs, forebitters, anything to do with living and working on the water. The stories behind the songs can be strange, funny or surprising, with new and old songs from the English and American tradition together with some from his home country of Germany.

Shep and Tim have been gigging mates since 1982 – Folk clubs, Village Halls and noisy sailor’s pubs in Portsmouth and beyond. Shanties and lively songs, Jigs & Reels, Poems and Tall stories. Just give it a shout and they’ll give it try.

Shep has played his original sailors’ songs around the world Aussie to Accrington and is (sort of) close to falling off the stern of the whaler – A product of HMS Ganges (across the river) he is looking forward to his second trip to HISF

The Rusty Tubs are a raucous musical act that sweeps you away on a journey across the high seas with rowdy shanties, wistful songs of the sea and spirited folk tunes. Singing tales of drunken revelry, lost loves and wide expanses of the ocean, audiences are invited to join in a celebration of maritime history and the timeless allure of the water. Get ready to hoist yer tankards.

Foresail is a group of four friends who love nothing more than to sing and perform to an audience. They are an established Cornwall based acapella group singing a wide variety of rambunctious shanties through to more lyrical folk and songs of the sea.

Ian and Dave bring to the stage a wealth of experience performing, touring and researching traditional songs and music. With voice and concertina they offer a delightful repertoire of unusual songs and tunes. Their comfortable and relaxed style of presentation makes the perfect setting for their commitment to the material and their consummate musicianship.

Looking for lively entertainment? Then you must see Swinging the Lead. They have their own unique style of performing traditional shanties and contemporary maritime songs with a lively, upbeat, foot-tapping twist. Resident Shanty Singers on the famous tea clipper ‘Cutty Sark’ at her dry berth in Greenwich since 2011 and regularly performing at festivals in the UK and Europe, they have over fifteen years’ experience and are firmly established and highly respected within the Sea Shanty community.

Take half a pint of sea water, mix with half a pint of beer, and you get…  A SEA-SHANDY! That joke has been around with Salt Water and Beer since 1995 and they are still singing shanties and sea songs around Maldon and Essex as they celebrate 30 years together.

The Singing Sailors are a collection of singers/musicians mostly from the SE of England, drawn together by a common love of singing and sailing (and just the very occasional supping) and based at the Thames Sailing Barge Trust, a registered charity (https://bargetrust.org/) in Maldon, Essex.  They sing at venues across the South East coast, on barge charters and in Maldon itself.

Born in Plymouth into a naval family and raised in Plympton, where Rosemary and Cyril Tawney opened their first folk club, Joe has been singing and playing, mostly folk music, since his teens. For the past 15 years he has also been involved in sea shanty crews in Kent and also holds participative talks on the history and development of sea shanties to community groups in Kent, Essex, Devon and Wales. Naval History of WW2, particularly The Battle of the Atlantic, has been an enduring interest and this year at HISF Joe will be hosting a special Cyril Tawney session.

Formed at the end of March 2023, Sea Gels Shanty Band has been captivating audiences across the Isle of Wight with their spirited performances and quirky ideas.  With a passion for maritime music and an infectious sense of fun, the Sea Gels love to hear an audience singing along.  Their timeless tales of life on the high seas evoke the rolling waves, the hardships and the camaraderie on board a sailing ship. Come and sing along with them at the Harwich International Shanty Festival.

Roughedge Carousers are from Rowhedge on the banks of the Colne in North Essex . They were first formed just before lockdown, initially as an all male crew, evolving into the mixed crew you see now. They sing traditional shanties and songs of the sea. The crew has close links with Colchester Brewery and sing regularly at the Odd One Out in Colchester and on Brewery open days.

The Orwellemen are a rollicking Sea Shanty Crew who throw open their arms—and their songbooks—to one and all. Whether you’re a seasoned sea dog with salt in your veins or a landlubber dipping your toes into maritime melodies, you’re heartily welcome. Twice a month, they gather at the Steamboat Tavern, on the banks of the Orwell, to belt out shanties and songs of the sea. Their practice nights and performances are brimming with energy, and they’ll have you singing along in no time.

The Mutinous Swans are a shanty band from Harwich, performing rousing shanties on an eclectic selection of instruments such as ukulele, banjo, guitar, concertina, drums, recorder and melodica. With their own unique sound coupled with their own unique look, they always draw the crowds in! 

Meet The Landlubbers, a lively collective of seasoned friends from Halifax, united by their boundless passion for music, fun, and a good bit of ‘grog’. With roots firmly planted in their Yorkshire heritage, this charismatic crew brings to life a unique blend of self-penned songs depicting their industrial heritage, inspiring landscapes and life’s struggles, along with traditional sea shanties, reworked with lashings of wit, energy and gusto. Though they’re based in a land-locked town, their tunes bring the spirit of the high seas to life with infectious enthusiasm.

Isle ‘Ave A Shanty are a 6 piece acapella male harmony group based on the Isle of Ely. They specialise in traditional songs from sea and country, as well as putting a folk twist on some modern classics! With their own style on traditional and self penned songs their live show is all about camaraderie, fun and interaction. Be ready to sing along heartily and join in with the actions as they take you on a journey across the oceans, through the countryside and maybe a few songs about grog, noggins and even a drop of Nelson’s blood.

The Harwich Sing Tendring Voices Pirate Crew are very much looking forward to performing again this year for the HISF.  They are a community choir made up of kids, teens, adults, veterans, seadogs and the odd scallywag or two.   Captained by Clare Leach who is no swashbuckler and more likely to be three sheets to the wind and shark bait but hey, come along and enjoy the thrill of hearing masses of voices together in harmony, singing your favourite sea shanty songs, while having a whole heap of fun!  

Hans will be attending HISF once again with his Bones Workshops, but also teaming up with Corine and Martin from the Jig Dolls to sing a few nautical songs

The Golden Rivets are a group of friends, mostly from Harwich who have been playing and having fun together for many years and hope to keep their name going for many more.  a

Aude Shantymen formed in 2013, when a bunch of expats living in the Aude region of France decided that, despite being 70 miles from the coast, a shanty crew was needed to amuse the locals. HISF will be their second visit to the UK this year, with a smaller section of the whole crew, but still offering a fine session of shanties and sea songs, in both French and English.

Pete Stockwell and Dave Ellis, one time Double Trouble and Forebitter (for those with long memories!) have reformed as Two Bitts. They sing and play anything that’s remotely connected with water!

South Suffolk’s very own shanty crew ShantyFolk have been singing together since 2014 after meeting in a community choir, and being asked to ‘do something different’ for a performance. They enjoy singing rousing shanties and also bring their love of harmonies to songs of the sea. Their wide range of voices and stories about these old songs have made them a popular choice for local fundraisers and festivals.

Look hard and you might spot the three members of Rattlin’ Winches singing elsewhere over the festival weekend. But don’t let this stop you discovering this lively group’s own lively and entertaining performances.

Quaynotes are a Woodbridge based trio who play a mix of sea-themed songs and tunes. These range from haunting Celtic harp tunes to ballads of sea-longing, women at sea and sailing life, all delivered with rich harmonies and a sense of fun. Claudia Myatt (Celtic harp, autoharp and voice), Julia Dansie (guitar and voice) and Penny Hemphill (tenor and bass ukulele and voice) are all sailors; Claudia’s voyaging has taken her round Cape Horn under sail but all three share a love of the waters and wildlife of the River Deben.

Long, long ago a group of like minded chaps hit on the idea of singing sea shanties for fun. Despite it being a late night at the Yacht Club, most of them remembered the idea the next day and thus the Motley Crew was born. Now in their 25th year, the crew have sung at barge matches, regattas, weddings, parties, fetes and festivals, often raising money for charities, in particular the RNLI

Mains’l Haul specialise in singing sea shanties, which were work songs designed for the hard and strenuous physical exertion required to sail ships in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Some of Mains’l Haul have experience of seafaring but all now avoid any form of strenuous physical exertion with a passion. Only one of the crew remembers the late nineteenth century!

Just Voices from Hamburg, Germany are regular Harwich visitors, who love the town and its festival. Renate and Jan have performed together for twenty years and have a songbook full of country, folk, pop and rock classics, presented in their own special acoustic style, focussed on two-part vocals and driven by a powerful but melodic rhythm guitar. For the Shanty Festival they come with a bucket full of songs from harbours, rivers and the sea.

Impressed perform sea songs and shanties both traditional and contemporary. They sing acapella and accompanied by a variety of instruments and are noted for their rousing choruses, inviting audience participation

From our local waters of Walton on the Naze, Essex, Hoy Boy (Peter Purnell) is a young(‘ish) enthusiastic acapella Sea Shanty Soloist with a passion for Maritime Folk Music. Specialising in rousing uplifting shanties from the golden age of sail that will have you joining in as part of his crew.

Hailing from Wivenhoe in North Essex, The Hoolies sing an entertaining mix of traditional shanties and songs of the sea with lively musical accompaniment on banjo, melodeon, harmonica, guitar and occasionally spoons! They combine a love of shantying with raising funds for good causes, on the high seas of Essex and beyond.

The HogEye Men have almost 20 years’ history of shanty singing in the traditional unaccompanied style, and feature regularly at events in London and further afield. Proud to be the resident shanty crew on board ‘Cutty Sark’ in Greenwich, the HogEye Men are faithful to the old shanty traditions while still engaging and involving their audiences.  The crew also hosts a free monthly pub singaround in London, where all are welcome.

Based unsurprisingly in the Blackwater estuary village of Goldhanger, the Goldhanger Shanty Crew evolved out of the local choir following a sea themed concert in 2017. They have been rantin’ and roarin’ in the Chequers Pub ever since.

All five members of this crew were students at the London Nautical School, several went to sea after leaving school and some have recently crewed together on tall ships. The LNS was created in 1915 after a report on the sinking of the Titanic and the group take their name from that infamous ship – ice is obvious, but fire comes from the suggestion that there was a bunker fire in one of the Titanic coal holds.

The FelixStowaways formed in 2014, after ‘skipper’ Norman advertised in the local free press to start a shanty crew in Felixstowe. The rest, as they say, is history. The crew sing shanties and songs of the sea, acapella, as they would have been sung on board ship. They perform at local events, charity gigs, festivals, carnivals and private functions. 2025 sees their 10th appearance at HISF.

With over 40 years’ combined experience of singing and playing, the four members of DAZZLE have performed at festivals, folk clubs and museums and aboard a variety of boats. Based in Kent and Essex and named after the DAZZLE camouflage used to disguise warships in World War Two their repertoire is wide ranging, from traditional shanties sung acapella to self penned songs with maritime themes.

Shotley Crue are a seven piece, shanty and sea song group that first tested the waters at the Harwich Festival back in 2014. Since that time they have greatly expanded their repertoire with a raft of entertaining sea songs, all suffused with their unique arrangements and harmonies. They are the resident, monthly group at Dulwich Folk Club.

Dovercourt Ukulele Club are a local group who have been playing together for more twenty years. This year they have been playing their favourite popular songs from the 60s and 70s for sheltered homes, social clubs, the RNLI and the Harwich Festival. They enjoy the challenge of switching genre for a few weeks to venture into the world of sea songs and shanties.

Chris has been interested in traditional sail and shanties for more years than he can shake a stick at and was formerly leader of “The Shanty Crew”. A former editor of the Journal of the Cape Horner Association he has rounded Cape Horn on three occasions on a square rigger, voyaged across the Pacific and crossed the Atlantic seven times since then. A native of Folkestone he guesses salt was added to his blood at birth. His show and illustrated talk this year is about Pitcairn Island, a rarely visited destination.

Black Deep Shanty crew are one of the festival’s resident crews and are named after one of the deep sea channels just off our coast. The crew will be singing at several maritime events and festivals this year but their own Harwich International Shanty Festival remains their favourite. Most crew members have been singing shanties for over 25 years, but the current line up has recently expanded to welcome some new blood.