Sea shanties are part of a rich vocal musical tradition of work songs that blends influences from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. They're also just a lot of fun to sing together!
Join Toronto's Shantymen, Pressgang Mutiny, and their guests on a journey through the salty and harmonious world of shanties from around the world. This event is participatory, inclusive, and social: Everyone is encouraged to join in and sing along, and lyrics are provided.
Artist bio
Pressgang Mutiny are Toronto's Shantymen, dedicated to traveling the globe to discover shanties, works songs and the people who sing them. A quartet of dynamic musicians and tall ship sailors, they have performed extensively in Canada and the US and recently returned from a festival tour of France, Poland, the UK and the Netherlands. They were most recently selected as an Official Showcase artist at the 2023 Folk Music Ontario Conference.
With their dedication to showcasing and sharing the full breadth of one of the world's first truly multicultural music, Pressgang Mutiny have collaborated with and learned from sea shanty singers from around the globe. They are currently producing a record and Bear Away Yankee, Bear Away Boys, an accompanying documentary film with traditional shanty singers and whalermen from the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Whether performing a rollicking set of shanties from around the world, leading educational workshops for new and experienced shanty audiences, or interviewing other artists as part of their ongoing podcast The Shanty Show, the lads of Pressgang Mutiny are guaranteed to entertain, educate, and delight.
Pressgang Mutiny are Richard Kott, James McKie, Tim Pyron, and Stefan Read.