Songs sung by sailors come to N.B. seaside town this summer
The tiny seaside village of St. Martins, N.B., will serve as the backdrop to the first-ever Fundy Sea Shanty Festival this summer, an event that will pay tribute to the time-honored east coast tradition of sailing songs and the region’s rich maritime history.
“[St. Martins] was a big shipbuilding port, major shipbuilding port, and Yarmouth was a major ship-owning port,” says Eric Ruff, skipper for the group the Yarmouth Shantymen. “[The festival] will give us a chance to talk about the history of where we come from.”
Sea shanties are traditional tunes that were sung by sailors during work aboard ships and, as Ruff explains, each song has a particular rhythm to match the task at hand.
“For example, if you’re hauling in the anchor you’ll use the capstan shanty as the men walk around pushing the capstan,” says Ruff. “They’ll walk around and around the capstan, and that’s a slow and steady beat.”
The sea shanty itself has seen something of a resurgence and revival in recent years thanks to social media, and particularly TikTok.
Artistic director for the festival, Gary Caines, says many songs that are pub favourites actually have their roots on the high seas.
“Our songs like ‘Billy Boy,’ and ‘Michael Row The Boat Ashore,’ ‘My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean,’ a lot of the young people would call them drinking songs,” says Caines.” But what they are, are shanties that groups have added bass to, added drums and brought them up-tempo.”
The Fundy Sea Shanty Festival is taking place from Aug. 12-14 this year with a line-up of performers that include Jimmy Flynn, Melanie Ross, Yarmouth Shantymen, Before the Mast, Fundy Ceilidh, Frantically Atlantic, Craic at the Cask, Chris Ricketts, Sonia Painchaud, Brise-Glace-Chants de Marin and Pressgang Mutiny.
There will also be rum tasting and decorative knot tying workshops, lectures on nautical history and folklore, and more.
“You can’t say enough about that human connection,” says emcee and performer Melanie Ross Breen.
“Especially with the sea shanties with the fact that they were done as a human piece, as basically just human power — that when you have people together, it just moves it to the next level."
Tickets for the event will be going on sale through the Fundy Sea Shanty Festival website on April 30.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
'I killed four people': Trial hears video evidence of Jeremy Skibicki at Winnipeg trial
“I killed four people,” alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki told two homicide detectives during a recorded interview played as evidence in his trial Wednesday.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.