All aboard
A SINCERE THANK YOU TO YOU ALL
England
Rum & Shrub are singers from Cornwall who sing a mixture of sea songs, shanties and folk songs, and the group, together now for many years just enjoy the fun of it all. www.rumandshrub.co.uk
Falmouth Shout sing shanties and Cornish songs around their home port of Falmouth in Cornwall and they love entertaining audiences at festivals and celebrations. They host the acclaimed Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, now in its 7th Year. www.falmouthshout.com
Short Drag Roger, by their own admission are committed land-lubbers who like to remember the bygone days of sail and sing heartily in rememberance of it. www.shortdragroger.co.uk
Dick Miles loves traditional music and the English concertina in particular and writes and sings his own songs of the sea. Dick lived for many years in England but now happily resides in southwest Ireland. www.dickmiles.com
Wales
Baggyrinkle from Swansea in Wales were formed in 1994 and they sing traditional songs of the sea at festivals and events all over Europe. The men in the group all sing and the lone female member keeps them in order! www.baggyrinkle.co.uk
Netherlands
Paddy's Passion are a group from the Netherlands. They offer international shanties as well as a broad variety of (traditional) Irish music. Most of their songs are supported by the squeeze box, accordion, bodhran and Irish tin and low whistle. Each year they spend at least a year in Ireland expanding their repertoire. www.paddy-s.com
Shanty choir "De Kaapstander" (The Capstan) was founded in 1998 in the famous historical town Oudewater. The choir counts about 40 enthusiastic male and female singers and sing shanties and sea songs in Dutch, English and French. Many songs are emphasized with own choreography. The musical support consists of accordions, banjo, violin and drum. www.kaapstander.nl
Scheepsfolk is a maritime folk music group originally Noord-Holland. The group is made up of four permanent crew members. The songs are sung in traditional style, ballads and sea shanties tell stories about the difficult and sometimes dangerous and exciting times aboard ship. The muster roll is full with a rich repertoire of songs from Holland, France and England. www.scheepsfolk.nl
Armstrong's Patent: Based is North Holland, Armstrong's Patent are a a group of male acapella shanty singers, who perform across Europe and beyond. They organise and run the very successful BIE DAIP shanty festival in Appingedam, where they are based. www.biedaip.nl
Denmark
The Stork Ejlaender Shanty Choir is a 25 strong shanty group from the Island of Fanoe off the coast of Denmark. Originally formed in 1998 they made their first visit to Waterford in the summer of 2008 having come to Dublin, to sing farewell to the "Sea Stallion of Glendalough", as it departed from Dublin on its voyage back to Denmark. www.storkejlaender.dk
Germany
Drunken Sailor are a group of four singers from Germany who are particularly at home working the capstan or pulling the ropes on board ship as they sing their shanties. They regularly provide workshops on board the "Schulschiff Deutschland" at the "Festival Maritim" in Vegesack in Germany. www.drunken-sailor.de
France
Les Souillés are a band of five musicians and singers native of Côtes d'Armor in Brittany who started their adventure in 1991 as guests of the sea shanty festival at Paimpol, the mecca of maritime heritage. After singing traditional shanties in their early career, they have written their own songs as the years went by. Their repertoire is based on sea rum melodies in the sheer maritime tradition. Les Souillés use humour intensively and work energetically on stage, sweeping aside any sullenness that lies in their path. www.les-souilles.com
Norway
Riggerloftets are a group of singers who, unusually for shanty groups, have their own boat which they use to travel to local festivals in Norway.
Ireland
Hooks and Crookes: who are they? Never heard of them. Aye
Warp Four can trace its origins back to two acappella groups formed in the 1960s and 1970s (Garland and The Press Gang). Warp Four itself was originally formedin 1991 and was the first dedicated Irish Shanty group. In 1998, they recorded two albums with veteran Irish folk singer Liam Clancy: The Wild and Wasteful Ocean (Warp Four are thebacking singers throughout the album) and One Hundred Years Ago (Liam provides a guest track on this CD). Theydisbanded briefly in 1999 and reformed in 2002. Since then they have sung their mix of sea songs and shanties all over Ireland, Europe and beyond.
Waterford Male Voice Choir began singing in 2001 and are a large group of up to 50 male singers who produce a fantastic sound in concerts, and less formally in the pub afterwards. They organise the very successful Annual Male Voice Choirs Charity Concert at Christmas in Waterford www.waterfordmalevoicechoir.com
The Albaquirky Turkeys play a great mixture of folk, rock, roots and traditional and the six band members play the usual instruments such as guitars, mandolins, harmonic but they also play yokes called congas. A comment on Facebooks states that "they have more bummers than a haemeroid clinic but they are great nonetheless" (a compliment no doubt!!!).
South by South East are a group of musicians who meet at sessions in Tramore. They are: Eamon Duffin, Jimmy Duffin, Mark Nugent and David Walsh. They play traditional Irish music with banjo, guitar, button accordion, whistles and mandola and they sing traditional and modern Irish ballads, folk, country, pop and comedy songs and songs of the sea.
City of Waterford Brass: Originally founded in 1932, City of Waterford Brass has contributed hugely to the musical life of Waterford, down through the years. It has provided players for the Waterford Orchestral Players, the Light Opera Festival, the Waterford Grand Opera Society, and many professional national orchestras. In addition the band provided players to the many dance bands which originated in Waterford during the sixties such as the famous Royal Showband. In 2009 the band launched a CD of live recordings of the band.
The Barrack Street Concert Band is a local community band and has entertained generations of Waterfordians since its first performance at the May procession in Mt. Sion in 1870 - an incredible 140 years ago!!! The band is one of the only bands in Ireland that have unbroken service in its 140 years, through a Civil War and two World Wars to say the least. Another claim to fame is that the band has played at a number of big football matches including Waterford vs. Manchester United and Waterford vs. Glasgow Celtic in Lansdowne Road in the European Cup. (But that was a while ago!)
The Thomas Francis Meagher Fife and Drum Band The Thomas Francis Meagher Fife and Drum Band was founded in Waterford in 1885. The band has always been affectionately known locally by it's followers as The Yellow Road Band as the band's headquarters are situated on the Lower Yellow Road but when the band travels and for official engagements it's proper name is re-established. In 1996, 1999 and in 2007 the band, travelled to the USA and marched in St. Patricks Day parades in New York and Boston.
Eugene McCabe: Eugene called "Geno" is a great lover of traditional music and song and accompanies himself on guitar. Geno sings in a strong melodious voice that fills any sized tavern or venue. He plays usually around North Dublin and Meath and his favorite number at present is his version of "The Irish Rover".
....and....
Celtic Mist
Byrne Family,
Dylan Bible, Owen Dunphy, Niall Byrne.
