The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience
Schedule
Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 10:00 am
UTC+13:00Location
The Boathouse, Nelson | Nelson, NE
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NAUTICAL GAMES /// BEST DRESSED PRIZES /// SINGALONG SHANTIES š We're coming back! š
š Ka hoki anÅ mÄtou! š
Round up your crew, dress salty, and come have a sing and a dance with Aotearoa New Zealand's most Seaworthy shanty group the Wellington Sea Shanty Society!
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Live review from Maryanne Cathro:
"Having been handed a booklet of lyrics... we grab seats around the edge ... Itās all very casual, with the added delight of people dressed as sailors in striped tops and white hats, pirate hats and newspaper hats, and even life jackets! Itās like they know what is about to happen!
As the band takes to the stage... a spotlight falls upon storyteller Louis Tait. Microphone in hand he starts to weave a tale of the sea, to riffs of music from the band.
Back to those booklets of lyrics ā this whole show is a singalong and it is with great enthusiasm that the first shanty begins...the audience sings and stomps and laughs.
Itās hard to describe the impact of stadium concert level audience euphoria in a small community hall, yet that is what it is. Bopping bodies, bathed in coloured light, so into the music, which is just fantastic in every way. The dance area is more like an ecstatic mosh pit.
What is it about shanties? They came out of shared singing and so they lend themselves to this, I guess. But what Vorn Dont le PĆØre Etait Marin and Lake Davineer bring to these songs is a thoroughly modern, old-fashioned sense of fun and magic.
I am reserving specific comment for the currently most famous shanty in their repertoire, āThe Wellermanā... The crowd goes wild! The stomping probably puts the hall onto Geonet. I would not have been surprised if a giant cracken had appeared and body-surfed the crowd."
āāā
WELLINGTON SEA SHANTY SOCIETY
Aotearoa New Zealand's Most 'Sea Worthy' Shanty Groupā¢ have been belting out traditional and original sea songs from Aotearoa, France, Spain, the UK and more, since time immemorial (2012).
The W.S.S.S have toured Aotearoa and France multiple times and are known for their rowdy and participatory live shows. They've performed at Paimpol (one of the world's largest shanty festivals), Splore, Albany Folk Festival (Aus), Quebec Sea Shanty Festival (Canada) and a shipload of other festivals in NZ, France & Canada.
They will be playing new classics from their forthcoming EP 'Never Mind the Rowlocks' as well as your foamy favourites from the 'Sea Shanties of the 70s, 80s, & Today!' EP and their 'Now That's What I Call Sea Shanties' series.
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Where is it happening?
The Boathouse, Nelson, New ZealandEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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