Shanties 2011, Krakow
02/03/11

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 amazing!!

Highlights of the festival involved being joined on stage by various incredible Polish singers. A huge influence of mine Andrzej Korycki and Dominika Zukowska joined myself and Jola Gacka for a version of 'Shenandoah'. Please have a look at Andrzej and Dominika's website here (http://www.korycki.com/)

Another highlight of the festival was singing 'Northwest Passage' with the incredible Grzegorz Tyszkiewicz otherwise known as the Guru! Grzegorz has an incredible voice, check him out here (http://www.gooroo.art.pl/). Also another great surprise was that Pawel Jedrzejko joine myself and 'Guru' on stage.

The audiences throughout the week were absolutely astounding and the experience is something that I shall never forget. The vast majority of different styled groups and performers was something that the festival will be very proud of! I loved seeing many fantastic groups that I can easily take inspiration from. I particularly enjoyed the concert on the Saturday afternoon that concentrated on 'Classic Shanties'. Cztery Refy, Sasiedzi, Banana Boat and the Mechanicy Shanties were particularly exciting to watch.

I cannot explain in words just how fantastic this festival really was, you most definitely have to go there to understand.

Port Piesni Pracy
26/01/11

This weekend saw the return to myself in Poland and performing at the Port Piesni Pracy Festival in Tychy! What an incredible festival full of extraordinary people, all sharing a similar interest in songs of the sea and the shanty tradition.

I opened the first set with Stan Rogers' Northwest passage, a song that the polish are not used to hearing in Eng andlish I was asked to sing it again on the second night of the festival. This was certainly a memory that will stick with me for a long time.

A certain Highlight of the weekend included singing with the incredible Banana Boat, the well known song 'Stavangar' by incredible wordsmith Pawel Jedrzejko. This was a wonderful experience and hopefully one that can be repeated soon at shanties 2011 in the centre of Krakow.

The late night session in the Tyskie brewery (a lovely lager!) saw the return of a selected number of the festival audience. I had a great time singing with members from Mechanicy Shanty and Maciej Jedrzejko of banana boat. The audience were fantastic, singing along and generally absorbing the shanty festival atmosphere. This was a concert that I will certainly never forget and one that will stay with me forever. Leaving the stage to the audience singing Drunken Sailor was truly an experience that will linger and never be forgotton.

Thank you to all the organisers of Port Piesni Pracy for making my experience and visit to Poland so enjoyable. I felt really honored to be a part of it and thank you to audiences for such a warm reception and general acceptance of my form of shanty.

I hope that we can return to Poland soon for some more performances and I really look forward to the tour in the middle of April :-D

BUZKA!

Chris

First Trip To Poland
18/11/10

Last weekend I went on my first trip to Poland for two solo gigs. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances Mark was unable to make the journey. I arrived in Krakow one of the most beautiful cities I that I have visited so far and met with a dear friend Pawel Jedrzejko from the incredible singing group Banana Boat and his wonderful wife Zuza. We took a slow walk around the castle talking about different various different things before heading off to the check in at the bed and breakfast.

The next day I prepared for a show at one of the nicest festivals I have ever been to called Tratwa (raft). The venue was in a place called Chorzow and the people were really incredible and warming. We all sang and dedicated a song to Mark as he could not be with us, "Leave Her Johnny".

Shortly after this we left the venue to head to a party where the Roaring Twenties were playing a set in the Staryport Tavern. This was fantastic and it was great to hear shanties interpreted in their way, in particular 'Spanish Ladies". I had a great time talking and drinking with many of the audience at the festival and really hope to see them all again soon.

After a great party and night we headed back to the place of rest ready for a long journey the next day to Warsaw in the Bananamobile. This was a great experience and a seriously good laugh. I am happy that I got to know the Banana's and all in all the journey was a good'un.

When arriving in Warsaw we met up with Jolanta Ewa Gacka and her new band, who were seriously good! I then played my set in a great bar called Tawerna Korsarz and the show was in aid of the szantymaniak website. I was so happy that Jolanta joined me on stage for a version of 'Shenandoah'. The audience were hugely appreciative and just incredible, thank you.

Then Banana Boat hit the stage and whole place lifted. It was a true honor to sing various different songs with them including Pawel's self penned 'Stavanger', an incredible song.

I had an incredible time in Poland and seriously cannot wait to get back there. Thank you to everybody who made the trip so much fun and a genuinely amazing experience! I hope to see you all again soon, BUZKA!!

Album Launch At Cecil Sharp House
22/10/10

A quick message to say thank you to everyone who attended the album launch in September. It was truly a fantastic night and I think it is fair to say everybody had a great time.

A massive thank you also to Anto Morra for opening the night up for us. Anto will be opening the Cellars Christmas show for us in December.

Thank you especially to Steve Lunn who drove the mini bus from Portsmouth to London full of friends and family. The launch was on the whole a success and in the process we also managed to raise some money for the Chernobyl Children's Lifeline charity. Check out their site here http://ccll.org.uk/portsmouth/

Thanks again to all those who attended and I am sure we will see you soon :-).