The 30th Tenterden Folk Festival

This year's festival includes a special series of sea song and shanty events.

My Friend Stan Hugill

Chris Roche will present a new audio visual show in The Saddlery on Friday from 15:30 to 17:00.

Chris says; "Who was my friend Stan?

I first met Stan Hugill in November of 1972 when he and his boys Martin and Philip sang at Teachers Folk in the New Kent Road a whole day later I started looking for his then out of print book Shanties from the seven seas along the way I found his other books and started to collect recordings of the sea shanty as he had sung it.

Over the years I gained greater interest in mercantile maritime history and the sea shanty collected books recordings and took aboard such an interest that I went to sea myself in square rigged sailing ships.

Stan Hugill: came from a seafaring family he went to sea at an early age a young man aged 16 he was wrecked on his first overseas voyage and while ashore in New Zealand found he had a knack with languages he had a degree in oriental languages Japanese and Mandarin sponsored by his shipping company Blue Funnel, he could draw and paint, talk for hours and was something of a hypnotic speaker. He hoboed across the Americas North and South and the Caribbean he had to suddenly leave one port when the bombs fell he was there at several key points in history wrecked in the last big square rigger the British had taken as a POW WWII. Writer of 5 books including the seminal works `Shanties from the Seven Seas` and `Sailor Town` while serving as Bosun at the Outward Bound School Aberdovey. He trained boys at Gordonstoun school and sailed in the big four Mast barque `Passat` rescued from a scrap yard, was discovered and revered by British, American, French and Poles alike for his skill with song, history, language, knowledge of the sea, he worked with National Geographic looking to find Francis Drakes lead coffin and sea grave".

My friend Stan is an illustrated talk and personal reminisce and runs for one and a half hours in story, song, sound clips and slides.

Free Music stage

Portside and Chris Roche will perform a set of shanties on the Free Music Stage on Saturday from 10:15 to 11;15 a.m.

Cinque Ports Sea Songs and Shanties

The regular Cinque Ports Sea Songs and Shanties session will be held in the Evans Bar at the Tenterden Club on Saturday from 17:00 to 20:00..This year's event is dedicated to the late Malcolm Ward, who took part in the sessions for many years and compered it last year, and is sponsored by White Horse Financial Services. Guests include Chris Roche, Dick Miles, Drywood, Keith Kendrick & Sylvia Needham, Morrigan, Portside, and Steve Turner.

John Short - Shantyman

A new musical show based on the life of shanty John Short aka Yankee Jack of Watchet will be premiered on Sunday in The Tenterden Club from 15:00 to 17:00.

John Short was a shanty singer in the great days of the sailing ships and his songs are among the earliest sea shanties. Written by Phil Underwood and based on sound research, the cast is Keith Kendrick, Sylvia Needham, Moose Rosser (Sound Tradition), Denise Dryburgh and Phil Underwood (DryWood).

Keith and Sylvia sing mainly English traditional and traditionally influenced contemporary songs and work extensively all over the globe.

Phil and Denise are DryWood – a folk duo from Stony Stratford performing both lively and soulful original and traditional songs.

Moose Rosser is a fine harmony singer and a member of the acappella folk group Sound Tradition.

Shantyman is a thoroughly musical and entertaining show telling John’s life through narrative, stories, sea shanties, puppetry and poetry. There will be a preview at the 30th Tenterden Folk Festival before the show tours theatres and arts centres in 2024.

Buy you tickets now either by post or online at http://tenterdenfolkfestival.c...