WITH its rich legacy as a port for fishing and sailing to the Western Isles and beyond, Oban will, this summer, celebrate all aspects of sea life, its music and traditions, with performances, workshops and sheer entertainment.
There will be shanty bands performing throughout the weekend 24-26 June, especially at an open-air concert in Station Square where all the artists will perform on both afternoons before dispersing to various venues throughout the town.
On both Friday and Saturday evening, concerts in Cuan Mór and The Rockfield centre will showcase the talents of:
- John Conolly (https://www.johnconolly.co.uk/index.html)
- Silver Darlings (www. silverdarlingsshanty.co.uk)
- Les Brouilleurs d’Écoutes (http://brouilleursdecoutes.free.fr)
- Monkey’s Fist (https://www.facebook.com/www.monkeysfistshanty.co.uk/)
- Muldoon’s Picnic (muldoonspicnic.weebly.com.html)
- All@Sea https://www.facebook.com/iseenoships/
Workshops on all aspects of the sea will also be offered in the Festival Hub, The Rockfield Centre, led by Talitha MacKenzie, who has sailed the tall ships in her native America, Hans Weehuizen from The Netherlands who is a master of the ‘bones’!, Jan Bee Brown a story-teller with a particular interest in dementia-friendly communication. Muldoon’s Picnic will also teach and lead a mass performance of shanties after their workshop.
Local community choirs, school children and local musicians are being approached to perform on stage at The Rockfield Centre, during an open-mic session or part of a singaround.
Online exhibitions and competitions for entry by photographers and artists will broaden the scope of the festival into the visual arts.
Full details can be found at: http://www.obanshanty.org.uk/
Background
Sea shanties have been re-popularised during 2020 by the success of Scottish singer, Nathan Evans‘ videos of ‘Leave Her Johnny’ and ‘Wellerman‘ and the movie, ‘Fisherman’s Friend‘.
Sea Shanty festivals have been a staple part of the summer for the lovers of sea shanties and tourists alike in sea ports the length of Britain and the continent but are largely unknown in Scotland.
Oban is breaking new ground in this its first International Shanty Festival with potential financial and social benefits for the town and surrounding area.
While this live festival in Oban was due to happen in 2020, due to Covid restrictions, two successful online events proved the popularity of the genre. The events were broadcast on Zoom and thereafter made available on YouTube and Facebook – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMdu5vBgLqp4bKyls5r7VO4qhzWkL23lH
The Oban International Shanty Festival is organised by the Glasgow Shanty Crew in association with the Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA Glasgow Branch) with the help of Bids4Oban.
For further information please contact: Tom Malone – obanshanty@gmail com Tel: 07792 861 144 or Karen McCorquedale – karen@kmccomms. co.uk 01631 569915
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Contact: Fiona Campbell
Phone: 07792861144
Email: office@tmsa.scot
Website: http://www.obanshanty.org.uk/
