It’s festival time! A series of festivals coming up in August and September include great maritime music. Only three months until the rain begins, so get outside while you can!
Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival
The Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival, the only Northwest festival focusing solely on maritime music, will offer five hours of free music on August 10. Tania Opland and Mike Freeman, with their world music, will be the headliners. Spanaway Bay will be the emcees and fill in with music between sets. The rest of the lineup is strong, with the humorous and harmonious Whateverly Brothers, and a Bainbridge group called Time and Tide. Mary Garvey, the prolific and popular songwriter, will complete the lineup.
The festival will include three new maritime songs that are the winners of the Bob Kotta Memorial Songwriting Contest. The first, second, and third place winners will either perform their songs live, or song recordings will be played between sets. The winners have not been announced, but as one of the judges, I can tell you there are some good songs in the contest. The theme for the contest is ‘Maritime Work’.
The setting for the festival will be an outdoor amphitheatre at Port Gamble, a historic mill town that is a National Historic Landmark District. The music will begin at noon and go until 5 pm.
Maritime Folknet will have a booth at the festival, selling CDs for Maritime Folknet and also for the performers. Sound will be by Chris Glanister’s Pilgrim Media Services.
More From Time and TideTime and Tide, a group from Bainbridge Island, got approval from the crowd at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. Besides appearing at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival, they will play at the Poulsbo Farmers Market on August 24 and September 21.
Maritime Music at the Princeton Traditional Music Festival
The Princeton Traditional Music Festival, in British Columbia, is set for August 16 – 18. Maritime performers will include Brian Robertson, Chris Roe, Shanghaied on the Willamette, and North by West.
Maritime Music at the Tumbleweed Music Festival
This laid-back festival in Richland always features some great maritime music. The schedule for the Tumbleweed Music Festival on August 31 – September 1 has not been announced yet, but maritime performers will include Hank Cramer and Watch the Sky.
On the afternoon or evening of Friday, August 30, there will be a chantey sing to start off the festival, probably at the park. Check the Tumbleweed Music Festival Facebook page for more details.
Sanger & Didele are trying to raise funds so that Didele (Kurt Mesford-Lesmeister) can come from Iowa for the festival, which would make it possible for the duo to perform. Kurt has posted a link on his Facebook page to the ‘Didele Delivery Service’ fundraiser on Fund Anything. As of this writing, they have raised $50 of the $800 they need. Why not give them a hand? Or some money?
More From Hank Cramer
Besides appearing at the Tumbleweed Music Festival, Hank Cramer will play at the Galway Bay Irish Pub in Ocean Shores on August 2 & 3.
Maritime Music at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival
Maritime music fans go to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, September 6-8, for the chantey sings on Friday and Saturday nights. Check the web site for Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along for more information.
There will also be some great maritime music on the festival’s two stages. Tugboat Bromberg will perform on September 8, at 2 pm on the Main Stage. Other performers with a maritime flavor will be Mike and Val James, concertina player Bertram Levy, the Shifty Sailors, and The Whateverly Brothers.
More From The Shifty Sailors and Knut Bell
Besides playing at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, the Shifty Sailors will appear at Peace Arch State Park near Blaine on August 4.
On September 7, they’ll play at the Fishermen’s Fall Festival at Fishermen’s Terminal in Seattle. Also appearing at this festival will be Knut Bell.
More From The Whateverly Brothers
Besides playing at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival and the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, The Whateverly Brothers will play in Everett at Under the Red Umbrella on September 27.
Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing with Two Tugboats
On August 9, Tugboat Bromberg will lead the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing aboard the historic tugboat Arthur Foss at Lake Union Park. Tugboat Bromberg is a retired merchant mariner and historic re-enactor. There will be an early start time, at 7:30 pm, so that the sing will end at 9:30 pm, before dark.
On September 13, Helen Gilbert will lead the sing, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at 8 pm.
More From Tugboat Bromberg
Besides leading the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing, Tugboat Bromberg will perform at the Anacortes Work Boat Races on August 24.
He was also scheduled to appear at the Portland Pirate Festival in St. Helens, Oregon on August 31, but it appears that event may have been canceled.
He will be playing at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival on September 8, at 2 pm on the Main Stage, although through an oversight he seems to have been omitted from the online music schedule.
Olympia Chantey SingThe Budd Bay Shanty Sing in Olympia will be August 4 from 7 to 9 pm at Boston Harbor Marina if the weather is good. If not, the sing will retreat to “storm quarters” at Apollo Pizza & Pasta (2302 Harrison Ave NW). The following sing will be either September 1 or September 8. Call 360-866-4296 for more information.
Port Townsend Shanty SingOn August 1, Matthew Orr will lead the Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Uptown Community Center.
There will not be a Sing Shanties Song Circle in September. All shanty enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the two shanty sings held during the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, in the Marina Room at Port Hudson on both Friday and Saturday nights, September 6 & 7.
Richland Shanty SingThe Second Saturday Sea Song Singing Session in Richland will be August 10 at 7 pm at Round Table Pizza on 1435 George Washington Way. The next month, it will be September 14.
Pint & Dale at the Couth Buzzard
Pint & Dale will play at the The Couth Buzzard in Seattle on August 24 and September 21.
Brownsmead Flats
Brownsmead Flats will play at the Astoria Sunday Market on August 4.
On August 25, they will play in McGandy Park in Lacey, Washington for the Panorama Retirement Community.
Cannery Underground
On August 3, Cannery Underground will perform at Deception Pass for the Washington State Parks Centennial Celebration. . Cannery Underground will play from 11 am to noon.
Debra Cowan to Visit Seattle
On September 28, acclaimed singer Debra Cowan will play a concert jointly produced by Seattle Folklore Society and Northwest Seaport, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. She has performed at many maritime festivals on the East Coast, but is rarely seen in Seattle.
Northwest Maritime Songs: Ode to Puget Sound
Ode to Puget Sound was written by Carlton Fitchett, a writer for the Seattle PI, around 1944. Legend has it that Fitchett sold the song to to Ivar Haglund for a box of Cuban cigars. The song includes a number of place names unique to Puget Sound. Unless you were raised here, you will need a good map to track them down.
Obviously, this song predates the boom in waterfront property. These days, a shack on Puget Sound might exchange for the ransom of a royal palace, just for the value of the land.
This was the theme song for ‘Exploration Northwest’, a series of half-hour outdoor adventures which ran from 1960 to 1981. Many of these classic tales of Northwest history are available on DVD from the Don McCune Library, run by his widow, on http://donmccunelibrary.com/. Ode to Puget Sound is available on a CD of songs sung by Don McCune, “Looking Back with Captain Puget”, a collection from the ‘Captain Puget Show’, which aired on TV from 1957 to 1966.
It’s also available in a recording by Allan Hirsch, found on “Songs of the Pacific Northwest”.
ODE TO PUGET SOUND
by Carlton Fitchett
As happy as a butter clam when tides are high I sing
A grateful ode to Puget Sound, the land of everything
I love it from Tulalip to Puyallup, Sequim and Pysht
And to the Dosewallips where so many times I’ve fished
From Brinnon to the Bogachiel, from Lummi to LaPush
And from the lordly Sol Duc to the lovely Duckabush
From Samish to Sammamish, Suquamish to Quilcene,
The climate that’s so friendly, and the land that’s evergreen
There’s peace on the Skykomish, on the Queets and on the Hoh
There’s calm on the Nisqually, born of ageless ice and snow
A land that nature loves so much it stays the whole year round
I’d trade a royal palace for a shack on Puget Sound
From Chimacum to Steilacoom where spouts the geoduck
The singing Stillaguamish and the swirling Skookumchuck
From Mooclips to Copalis where the razor clams abound
A little bit of heaven is a shack on Puget Sound
Alice Winship has been promoting maritime music events as an unpaid volunteer for various non-profit organizations, and generally advocating the cause of Northwest nautical music and maritime preservation, since 1996. She is the president of Maritime Folknet, a new non-profit organization devoted to encouraging maritime culture, especially music.
Photos:
Opland-Freeman
Sanger & Didele
Tugboat Bromberg
Debra Cowan
Ivar Haglund and Don McCune
Victory Review Magazine
Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival
The Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival, the only Northwest festival focusing solely on maritime music, will offer five hours of free music on August 10. Tania Opland and Mike Freeman, with their world music, will be the headliners. Spanaway Bay will be the emcees and fill in with music between sets. The rest of the lineup is strong, with the humorous and harmonious Whateverly Brothers, and a Bainbridge group called Time and Tide. Mary Garvey, the prolific and popular songwriter, will complete the lineup.
The festival will include three new maritime songs that are the winners of the Bob Kotta Memorial Songwriting Contest. The first, second, and third place winners will either perform their songs live, or song recordings will be played between sets. The winners have not been announced, but as one of the judges, I can tell you there are some good songs in the contest. The theme for the contest is ‘Maritime Work’.
The setting for the festival will be an outdoor amphitheatre at Port Gamble, a historic mill town that is a National Historic Landmark District. The music will begin at noon and go until 5 pm.
Maritime Folknet will have a booth at the festival, selling CDs for Maritime Folknet and also for the performers. Sound will be by Chris Glanister’s Pilgrim Media Services.
More From Time and TideTime and Tide, a group from Bainbridge Island, got approval from the crowd at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. Besides appearing at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival, they will play at the Poulsbo Farmers Market on August 24 and September 21.
Maritime Music at the Princeton Traditional Music Festival
The Princeton Traditional Music Festival, in British Columbia, is set for August 16 – 18. Maritime performers will include Brian Robertson, Chris Roe, Shanghaied on the Willamette, and North by West.
Maritime Music at the Tumbleweed Music Festival
This laid-back festival in Richland always features some great maritime music. The schedule for the Tumbleweed Music Festival on August 31 – September 1 has not been announced yet, but maritime performers will include Hank Cramer and Watch the Sky.
On the afternoon or evening of Friday, August 30, there will be a chantey sing to start off the festival, probably at the park. Check the Tumbleweed Music Festival Facebook page for more details.
Sanger & Didele are trying to raise funds so that Didele (Kurt Mesford-Lesmeister) can come from Iowa for the festival, which would make it possible for the duo to perform. Kurt has posted a link on his Facebook page to the ‘Didele Delivery Service’ fundraiser on Fund Anything. As of this writing, they have raised $50 of the $800 they need. Why not give them a hand? Or some money?
More From Hank Cramer
Besides appearing at the Tumbleweed Music Festival, Hank Cramer will play at the Galway Bay Irish Pub in Ocean Shores on August 2 & 3.
Maritime Music at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival
Maritime music fans go to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, September 6-8, for the chantey sings on Friday and Saturday nights. Check the web site for Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along for more information.
There will also be some great maritime music on the festival’s two stages. Tugboat Bromberg will perform on September 8, at 2 pm on the Main Stage. Other performers with a maritime flavor will be Mike and Val James, concertina player Bertram Levy, the Shifty Sailors, and The Whateverly Brothers.
More From The Shifty Sailors and Knut Bell
Besides playing at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, the Shifty Sailors will appear at Peace Arch State Park near Blaine on August 4.
On September 7, they’ll play at the Fishermen’s Fall Festival at Fishermen’s Terminal in Seattle. Also appearing at this festival will be Knut Bell.
More From The Whateverly Brothers
Besides playing at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival and the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, The Whateverly Brothers will play in Everett at Under the Red Umbrella on September 27.
Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing with Two Tugboats
On August 9, Tugboat Bromberg will lead the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing aboard the historic tugboat Arthur Foss at Lake Union Park. Tugboat Bromberg is a retired merchant mariner and historic re-enactor. There will be an early start time, at 7:30 pm, so that the sing will end at 9:30 pm, before dark.
On September 13, Helen Gilbert will lead the sing, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at 8 pm.
More From Tugboat Bromberg
Besides leading the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing, Tugboat Bromberg will perform at the Anacortes Work Boat Races on August 24.
He was also scheduled to appear at the Portland Pirate Festival in St. Helens, Oregon on August 31, but it appears that event may have been canceled.
He will be playing at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival on September 8, at 2 pm on the Main Stage, although through an oversight he seems to have been omitted from the online music schedule.
Olympia Chantey SingThe Budd Bay Shanty Sing in Olympia will be August 4 from 7 to 9 pm at Boston Harbor Marina if the weather is good. If not, the sing will retreat to “storm quarters” at Apollo Pizza & Pasta (2302 Harrison Ave NW). The following sing will be either September 1 or September 8. Call 360-866-4296 for more information.
Port Townsend Shanty SingOn August 1, Matthew Orr will lead the Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Uptown Community Center.
There will not be a Sing Shanties Song Circle in September. All shanty enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the two shanty sings held during the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, in the Marina Room at Port Hudson on both Friday and Saturday nights, September 6 & 7.
Richland Shanty SingThe Second Saturday Sea Song Singing Session in Richland will be August 10 at 7 pm at Round Table Pizza on 1435 George Washington Way. The next month, it will be September 14.
Pint & Dale at the Couth Buzzard
Pint & Dale will play at the The Couth Buzzard in Seattle on August 24 and September 21.
Brownsmead Flats
Brownsmead Flats will play at the Astoria Sunday Market on August 4.
On August 25, they will play in McGandy Park in Lacey, Washington for the Panorama Retirement Community.
Cannery Underground
On August 3, Cannery Underground will perform at Deception Pass for the Washington State Parks Centennial Celebration. . Cannery Underground will play from 11 am to noon.
Debra Cowan to Visit Seattle
On September 28, acclaimed singer Debra Cowan will play a concert jointly produced by Seattle Folklore Society and Northwest Seaport, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. She has performed at many maritime festivals on the East Coast, but is rarely seen in Seattle.
Northwest Maritime Songs: Ode to Puget Sound
Ode to Puget Sound was written by Carlton Fitchett, a writer for the Seattle PI, around 1944. Legend has it that Fitchett sold the song to to Ivar Haglund for a box of Cuban cigars. The song includes a number of place names unique to Puget Sound. Unless you were raised here, you will need a good map to track them down.
Obviously, this song predates the boom in waterfront property. These days, a shack on Puget Sound might exchange for the ransom of a royal palace, just for the value of the land.
This was the theme song for ‘Exploration Northwest’, a series of half-hour outdoor adventures which ran from 1960 to 1981. Many of these classic tales of Northwest history are available on DVD from the Don McCune Library, run by his widow, on http://donmccunelibrary.com/. Ode to Puget Sound is available on a CD of songs sung by Don McCune, “Looking Back with Captain Puget”, a collection from the ‘Captain Puget Show’, which aired on TV from 1957 to 1966.
It’s also available in a recording by Allan Hirsch, found on “Songs of the Pacific Northwest”.
ODE TO PUGET SOUND
by Carlton Fitchett
As happy as a butter clam when tides are high I sing
A grateful ode to Puget Sound, the land of everything
I love it from Tulalip to Puyallup, Sequim and Pysht
And to the Dosewallips where so many times I’ve fished
From Brinnon to the Bogachiel, from Lummi to LaPush
And from the lordly Sol Duc to the lovely Duckabush
From Samish to Sammamish, Suquamish to Quilcene,
The climate that’s so friendly, and the land that’s evergreen
There’s peace on the Skykomish, on the Queets and on the Hoh
There’s calm on the Nisqually, born of ageless ice and snow
A land that nature loves so much it stays the whole year round
I’d trade a royal palace for a shack on Puget Sound
From Chimacum to Steilacoom where spouts the geoduck
The singing Stillaguamish and the swirling Skookumchuck
From Mooclips to Copalis where the razor clams abound
A little bit of heaven is a shack on Puget Sound
Alice Winship has been promoting maritime music events as an unpaid volunteer for various non-profit organizations, and generally advocating the cause of Northwest nautical music and maritime preservation, since 1996. She is the president of Maritime Folknet, a new non-profit organization devoted to encouraging maritime culture, especially music.
Photos:
Opland-Freeman
Sanger & Didele
Tugboat Bromberg
Debra Cowan
Ivar Haglund and Don McCune
Victory Review Magazine
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