Isle of Wight-based Sea Gels Shanty Band have taken their distinctive style of sea shanty singing to Cornwall, performing at one of the UK’s largest sea shanty festivals.
The group travelled to the Mevagissey Shanty Festival, a major community charity event organised entirely by volunteers who share a love of the sea and traditional shanty singing.
Over the course of the weekend, more than 90 groups and 500 singers from across the UK, Europe and North America came together to perform more than 380 free concerts.
A total of 20 venues across Mevagissey and neighbouring Pentewan hosted performances, with music filling the streets and venues surrounding the harbour.
Sea Gels Shanty Band were delighted to be invited to the festival, taking their songs, drums and quirky Isle of Wight style to 4 different venues. Their performances ranged from a large holiday nightclub to a smaller maritime-themed venue complete with an overhead sail.
As well as entertaining audiences, the group reunited with fellow performers they had met at previous festivals and made plenty of new friends along the way.
Their trademark rope necklaces also attracted attention, with festival-goers keen to learn about the different knots and their uses at sea.
Having returned to the Isle of Wight, the band are already looking ahead to further adventures, including a planned trip to Newport in South Wales next year.
