Just show up, open your ears, and let something unexpected happen. No musical experience needed. No auditions.

Just show up, open your ears, and let something ancient happen. No experience needed. No auditions.

Sea shanties are the oldest form of communal singing there is. Work songs born out of the ocean, designed to synchronise effort, lift spirits and make hard things feel possible together.

On Wednesday 11th November, James brings his years of theatre and vocal direction experience to Gather for an evening of shanty singing - participatory, joyful, and genuinely unlike anything else we’ve done.

We will open with a slow, beautiful shanty perfect for easing a room into harmony. From there James will give a brief (and entertaining) introduction to shanties - what they are, where they come from, and yes, why the Wellerman is not technically a sea shanty ;)

Then we will up the energy, building out the kind of song that grows into something extraordinary when a group gets hold of it.

Come as you are. Leave sounding like you’ve been at sea for years.

What to expect:

A relaxed 2 hour session from 7-9pm. A warm-up. A little history. A lot of singing. Tea and flapjacks. A post-session hang if you’d like to stay.

What not to expect:

Judgement. Auditions. Anyone caring whether you’re in tune.

Our Community Rules

🤝 Show up present. Phones away, mind in the room.

🔓 Come open. Willing to try, willing to sound a bit strange.

💛 Be kind. To the person next to you, to James holding it all together, to yourself.

🏠 No stage, no crowd. Everyone here is part of it - not watching it.

✨ Present, not perfect. The connection matters more than the notes.

🫂 This is community. Many into one.

Description supplied by the event organiser.