The 2021 festival was a huge success, filling the towns of Teignmouth and Shaldon with crowds of supporters, raising the profile of Shanties and the River Teign community, as well as raising £3,000 for charity via collections over the festival weekend. Sea shanties were essentially work songs, set to a rhythm for working, to reduce the monotony of undertaking repetitive tasks aboard ship. But they were also Foc’sle songs, which were storytelling verses to be listened to at leisure, to remind sailors of home and these helped to keep alive traditions and record local events and people. In the Teign estuary area we are blessed to have talented songwriters such as Bob Freshwater, who painstakingly research historical records and craft their own recording of such events and so keep them alive for future generations.
2023 will be an even bigger and better festival, with around 50 sets of shanty singing groups attending from all over the UK, and the tall ship “Pelican” moored in Teignmouth Harbour all weekend. In addition there are around 15 Maritime themed family friendly presentations & exhibitions.
As well as all the totally free to attend events over the Saturday and Sunday, Friday evening sees the new feature of a paid concert at the Teignmouth Pavillions, featuring headliners “Kimber’s Men”, ably supported by the wonderful singing due that are “LocTup Together” and the ever popular “Captain’s Beard” who wowed audiences at the last festival.