Harwich Shanty Festival

Songs of the sea enjoyed a surprise resurgence in popularity during the Covid-related lockdowns, but historic Harwich has been ahead of the curve for many years thanks to the annual Shanty Festival staged there.

The pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Festival – a huge blow to all concerned as it would have coincided Harwich’s celebrations of the 400th Anniversary of the Pilgrim Fathers’ voyage to the New World. In ‘normal’ years times the whole of the old seaport town is filled with the sound of lusty shanties and music drifting out from its pubs, boats, clubs and many historic buildings. Additionally, visitors can enjoy street theatre sketches, maritime crafts, barge trips and workshops... plus an occasional encounter with a wandering ‘pirate’.

The 2021 Festival will still concentrate on Harwich’s connection to the Mayflower story and will continue to feature ‘real shanties and real ale for real people’, but it’s not yet certain whether the usual programme of performances will be able to go ahead inside the town’s cosy pubs and similar venues.

The Harwich International Shanty Festival was set up in 2006 to organise and co-ordinate an event over a weekend in October. Through concerts, ‘singarounds’, pub sessions, talks and workshops, the history and heritage of Harwich as part of the British seafaring nation is celebrated, promoted and perpetuated by local people and groups.

It’s a unique event for the county of Essex has become the premier event of its kind within the UK, attracting audiences countrywide and beyond.