Mystic Seaport to Host 37th Sea Music Festival June 9-12

Performers from around the world gather to celebrate music of the sea

Mystic, CT – Musicians from around the world will come to Mystic Seaport to celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail at the 37th annual Sea Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 9-12, 2016. The Festival is the premier sea music event in North America.
 
This year’s roster includes music from Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Canada, along with singers from across the United States. The weekend’s festivities include daytime and evening concerts, special performances for children, instructional workshops, a scholars’ symposium, and a unique opportunity to witness sea music at work aboard the Museum’s historic vessels.
 
More than 20 individuals and groups will be featured at the Festival representing the gamut of traditional and contemporary sea music. Newfoundland’s Matthew Byrne will perform songs from solo offering, “Hearts & Heroes,” which won Traditional Album of the Year at the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards. The Isle of Man’s Barrule trio will bring their fresh approach to traditional Manx music, while Kim & Reggie Harris have a repertoire that combines traditional African-American spirituals and freedom songs with original folk. Returning this year is the popular Canadian acapella group Pressgang Mutiny, whose 2015 performance was a big hit with the audience.
 
Visitors may also take in performances from Bob Walser, Margaret McCandless, Heather Wood, Cliff Haslam, Boston’s Irish dance company Kieran Jordan Dance, and the Mystic Seaport Chantey Staff, including Geoff Kaufman, Craig Edwards, Denise Kegler, and Don Sineti.
 
All workshops and daytime concerts in the Festival are included in regular Mystic Seaport admission. Special tickets are required for evening concerts and can be purchased by calling 860.572.0711, or at the Museum’s main entrance. Weekend passes are also available. College students will be admitted into the Festival for the youth rate upon presentation of a current student ID.
 
For more information, including ticket packages, musicians’ bios, and a schedule of performances, visit www.mysticseaport.org/seamusicfestival
 
The annual Music of the Sea Symposium, hosted in partnership with the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, will be held Friday and Saturday, June 10-11. The Symposium, which features presentations of themed papers by some of the country’s leading maritime music scholars, explores the interaction between sea, music, and song. The first day of the Symposium will be held at the auditorium at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.  Admission is free. The Symposium continues Saturday at Mystic Seaport in the Greenmanville Church. Museum admission is required. For further details and a list of Symposium presenters and topics, visit www.mysticseaport.org/smfsymposium
 
This event is made possible by the Friends of the Sea Music Festival, who raise funds each year to generously support sea music at Mystic Seaport.

About Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The state-of-the-art Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $26 for adults and $17 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit www.mysticseaport.org  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.