About Chris Ricketts and Mark Willshire:

Chris Ricketts and Mark Willshire focus on bringing folk and traditional music into the modern world. Both being born and bred in Portsmouth, their music has strong links with the city’s naval history and they sing versions of many sea shanties (some well known, some less so) in their own unique style, presenting the traditional songs in a fresh new way.

Chris, a former semi finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards, teamed up with Mark Willshire to form a new genre of folk music to bring it “kicking and screaming into the 21st century”.


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Latest News: Shanties 2011, Krakow

Wow! is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the weekend I had in Poland during the Shanties 2011 festival. What an incredible festival totally dedicated to the songs of the maritime culture and what an honour to be involved and given the opportunity to perform.

I was first joined on the stage by an incredible fiddle player called Jola Gacka who played fantastically! Unexpectedly during 'Sally Brown' we were also joined by Jerzy Porebski on the trumpet, this was amazin...read more

Press Quotes:

"There Is No Denying The Warmth and General Musical Spirit That Shines Through Or The Ease and Assurance Of The Propulsive Percussive Acoustic Guitar Work So Confidently To The Fore Throughout" - Acoustic Magazine

"Good Songs And Performances..... I Can't Fault Chris' Guitar Style" - Maverick Magazine

"Ricketts and Willshire are a talented young duo who are preserving traditional shanties and folk songs that are slowly slipping away with time, by breathing new life into them with their own distinctive style. Their album Simple Folk contains everything that you would expect from a traditional folk album, plus a little more. From the opening chords of Briery Bush, through to the close of Wild Goose Simple Folk flows beautifully and seems to have a way of transporting you through time with it’s blend of classic shanties and self penned tracks. This album appeals to a wide range of music lovers." - Properganda (Nick Collins)

"Enthusiastic young folk duo doing something refreshingly different ...... Clear-sighted and with a real sense of commitment to dragging this repertoire into the modern world, this is a grower" - fRoots

".....at times I am reminded of Martin Simpson and Steve Tilston in the style of guitar delivery, which is never a bad thing........The guitar playing and vocal stylings of Chris and Mark are thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s very easy to put this CD on repeat. As am album ’Simple Folk’ showcases some promising new talent in guitar-based folk, and looks a good launching pad for these two young performers." - Liz Osman BrightYoungFolk.com

"These guys are two of the most charismatic, infectious performers on the scene today – if they don’t go all the way, it’s a travesty" - Phil Daniels, Folking.com

"Youth is not wasted on the young when it comes to Chris Ricketts. He has a heart the size of a concert hall, a generous spirit to match and a drive and determination that wills him to win. Which he will." - John Tams

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