Anyone familiar with both this blog and Falmouth might have wondered why it has taken me so long to write about the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, held annually, over a weekend in June. I think a little bit of me might have wanted to keep it to ourselves, but the more practical reason is that Saturday is our changeover day, and the festival starts on a Friday and ends on a Sunday. However, from 2026, we are offering a Wednesday to Wednesday booking to cover the event, just get in touch if you are interested. So, the time has come to tell you more.
Although the festival attracts a multitude of visitors, it still has a local feel to me. Several of the groups are from Falmouth and the sea is in the DNA of everyone who lives here. Falmouth has been one the country’s most important ports for centuries: it was the home of the Packet Service that kept in touch with Empire; where news of the Battle of Trafalgar arrived; and the place Darwin landed after his most famous voyage. Falmouth has a proud and long history as the first safe port of call for deep water sailing ships. It was here that sailors filled Falmouth’s waterside alehouses with their songs, and it is here that those shanties and stories are kept alive today.
Held over three days, Friday to Sunday, in twenty-seven venues, with up to eighty groups from across the UK, Europe and further afield, performing both classic and contemporary shanties. It is the largest FREE music festival in Europe. Yes, there are no tickets to buy, just turn up and join the crowds. This year a pint of beer was £6.50, so the event is not without its costs, but they are completely under your control!
Of course, everyone wants to see The Oggymen, a group of locals who have grown in prominence over the past fifteen years so that this year they are performing at Glastonbury. We also joined our neighbour Paula to watch her cousin singing with Catch of The Day. We met The Navy Lark in the Harbour Lights (fish and chips) and several other locations. They were all good, but my personal favourite groups were from Brittany. My favourite pub, The Front – that sits conveniently just below the chip shop – has had Breton Dancing on a Tuesday night for decades, reflecting the close connection between peoples across the water. I particularly like shanties sung in French and my favourite performer this year was Guillaume Yaouank (see pic) who rather romantically positioned himself as ‘a child of the Lorient coast’.
Next year’s dates are Friday 12th to Sunday 14th 2026. If you can’t get to Falmouth, you can live stream the main stage in Events Square and watch from the comfort of your own home.
