Lineup

Songwriter, storyteller, and shanty stirrer, Alan S Ferguson is the pen behind 'Albany Immigrants', the song that helped launch the Albany Shantymen. With a heart full of history and a voice for the people, Alan blends folk tradition with sharp lyrical craft.

Huzzah and ahoy lassies and laddies. Albannach Lass (AKA Flossy) will be sailing from Albany to Bunbury for the BSSF in July. Crewless, in the shanty sense, but bringing her alter-ego Albannach Lass, all on her lonesome ownsome. She will serenade you with folksy Celtic ditties and nautical ballads. Slàinte Mhath! me hearties.

This five piece acoustic America, Bluegrass and Old-Timey Band perform boot-tapping live music to venues across Australias' South-West, from halls, to pubs, to backyard jam sessions!

Folk-fuelled, sea-soaked, and gloriously off-kilter — Cushla Macree are a band of mates bound by a love of music, mischief, and maritime mayhem. Blending old English folk, roaring sea shanties, punk energy, and a dash of twisted pop, they make a joyful racket that’s as heartfelt as it is rowdy. Born from the salt-stained echoes of The Anchormen, Cushla Macree is what happens when seasoned shanty singers go rogue — swapping decks for drums, and tradition for something delightfully chaotic. Catch them at the Bunbury Sea Shanty Festival where they’ll bring waves of harmony, humour, and high-seas hedonism. Jump in — the water’s fine.

Joe and John play regularly throughout Perth and have appeared at Albany Folk and Shanty Festival, Gidgestock Music Festival as well as Perth Folk clubs such as Mundaring, Wanneroo, and Jackadders. With influences from artists such as Show of Hands, Dougie Mclean and Richard Thompson as well as traditional songs and tunes from England, Ireland and Scotland. They make a contemporary sound but with roots firmly in the tradition.

Gael Force started off several years ago when a bunch of muso's started congregating at a friends place each Wednesday arvo to play all types of music. All had many years experience playing in bands,and all had a love of Irish music.So when gig came up for an Irish birthday party in Margaret River,they decided to form an Irish band Gael Force. The gig was such a success that a few more parties were played for, then came 3 festivals around Bunbury. Since then, they have a monthly gig at Wedgetail Brewery in Mandurah. Gael Force recently opened for the Healy brother sat an Irish night in Mandurah. The band are very versatile with fiddle, whistle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass, bodran, bazookie & play a mixture of traditional Irish songs & tunes and encourage crowd participation.

Green Herring Oz from the Southwest of WA plays high energy, engaging folk music. Ahoy there... Green Herring have a broad repertoire of songs, from fast paced, popular land loving and seafaring adventures, to slow classics. All of their gigs are interwoven with stories to take you on a musical trip. Be mesmerized by the smooth blend of vocals, guitar, mandolin, double bass and banjo. Green Herring perform a mix of originals and covers of classics . We're Inspired by good old and new Aussie and world folk music and we express our feelings through our original songs on local and global issues. Musical craftsmanship and colourful harmonies full of treasure, surprise and adventure. Get on board and hear about the trials and tribulations in the lives of pirates and whalers with Green Herring at the Bunbury Sea Shanty Festival July 4 to 6 2025

Lee Shore is a passionate folk singer with salt in his veins and a voice built for ballads. Best known for his stirring renditions of traditional sea shanties and narrative folk songs, Lee has a deep love for the music of Stan Rogers — performing entire shows dedicated to the legendary Canadian songwriter. When he’s not performing solo, you’ll find him harmonising with the Sunset Coast Shanty Crew or leading voices high at his monthly Sea Shanty Song Circle in Perth, keeping the communal spirit of maritime music alive and thriving.

After performing around the Australian Folk Scene for over 40 years, Peter Bugden believes he’s still honing his skills as a purveyor of folk songs and tales. Having performed at Major Festivals, Clubs and Events around Australia, both as a solo performer and with his shanty team, The Fo’c’s’le Firkins, Peter never disappoints and continues to endear himself to audiences wherever he performs. Kevin Mckenna (Mundaring Folk ‘n’ Blues Club) described him as “…one of that rapidly disappearing rare breed of performers possessing the ability to make you laugh, laugh louder, and cry, in the space of two songs.” His repertoire covers Blues, Traditional and Modern Folk, Comedy, Sea Shanties and, if pressed, even the occasional Country song.

Phil Beck didn’t choose the folk life—the folk life chose him. Born with a voice like oak-aged ale and fingers that know their own way around a fretboard, Phil has become one of Western Australia's treasured interpreters of traditional English folk music. With a repertoire steeped in centuries-old ballads, tales of roving lads, tragic maidens, and the quiet wisdom of the working class, Phil doesn’t just perform—he time-travels. His songs carry the scent of English hedgerows, the creak of old floorboards, and the laughter of pubs long gone. Though his music hails from the old country, Phil himself is a mainstay of WA's folk circuit. You’ll find him wherever tunes are sung, pints are poured, and stories are shared. Known for his dry wit, warm presence, and the occasional well-earned tipple, Phil brings a rare authenticity that turns a simple performance into a gathering of kindred spirits. At the Bunbury Sea Shanty Festival, he may not sing of the sea—but he brings the soul of the folk tradition ashore.

The name Rum Jungle conjures up visions of a tropical rain forest full of fiesty pirates fighting over the latest treasure haul whilst a nearby rum still bubbles away. However, in Geraldton, Rum Jungle is a sometimes muddy, usually dusty wasteland where local bogans go to drink bundy and coke, do burnouts and set fire to stuff. This group of shanty folk lies somewhere in-between...

The most terrible pirate band afloat. Scourge of folk festivals and punk rock pubs alike with a baffling array of Celtic Punk instrumentation, all too loud, all the time. Raiding the stage for over fifteen years, nobody knows where they will strike next, least of all themselves. Yet infamous they are for whipping their crew into a frenzy, bellowing out the most rollicking sea shanties ever to rattle a pirate’s gold earring. They have left Fairbridge festival, WAHonk fest and the Albany shanty fest burning in their wake as they sail on to yet wilder adventures. Whose event will they shanghai next? What dark shenanigans will ensue? Know only this: if your head be pounding, your dancing shoes be trampled and your singing voice be hoarse, it's likely you have run aground and gone down with the bad ship Rumskull. With a yo ho ho You better never go Sailing away on the RUMSKULL☠️

The 2025 Bunbury Sea Shanty Festival will host the world premiere of what is sure to be the greatest production of its kind in the known world. SEA WARS by S’Katt. Tickets will sell fast! If you want to be one of the people who will be saying: I was there that day!, be sure to book your tickets now. Watch this space for more details. S'Katt is the duo of Steven Foy and Katrina Picozzi. Steven is well known in Sea Shanty circles. A founding member of the Salt Lake Shantymen from Kalgoorlie Boulder, a singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has penned several popular Sea Shanty Festival favourites including 'Aunties Sing Shanties', 'Last Of the Salt Lake Whalers' and 'Bunbury Girls'. Katrina began singing professionally at the age of 15, coming from a training ground of musical theatre, opera and choral singing. She joined the State Opera Company of South Australia at 18 years, having toured through Europe as a choral singer. By her early twenties, she had added jazz, blues, country, folk, songwriting, playing piano, guitar, percussion and sound production branches to her tree of arts. Steven and Katrina have been performing together around the Goldfields in 2024 and collaborating with a wide variety of musicians and artists including the Kalgoorlie Boulder Jazz Orchestra. Steven has been conducting Song Writing Forums locally and Katrina provides services as a private Vocal and Stagecraft coach, working this year with the Salt Lake Shantymen.

She Shants are slightly subversive, sometimes sweet. They draw repertoire from traditional and original songs of waiting, loss, adventure and a fascination of sea creatures.

Their exquisitely rugged yet refined blend of Fiddle, Guitar, Border Pipes, Whistle and Bodhran has been wowing audiences across Perth since 2020. With no shortage of energy when it comes to delivering powerful entrancing instrumentals, Spirit of Alba leave audiences breathless. Featured artists previously at Fairbridge Folk Festival, Nanga Bush Festival and a favourite of the Mundaring Folk Club, the band continues to deliver the type of music folk audiences across Perth crave.

The descendants of Lawrence Stig and Jeremiah Wood, upon witnessing the phenomenon of the inaugural Bunbury Shanty Fest, without condition or exemption, whole heartedly endorse those who gave us, 'ShantyGrass Fusion Express' - known to the fine people of the world as STIGWOOD. Returning from their tour of the dirtiest, pugilistic, bare knuckle, back alley boxing rings in 'Donnybrook', where some say whispers are still heard and the tremors still trouble the locals... STIGWOOD will deliver the discombobulating combination of Shanties and Blue Grass that will leave punters with no doubt that they have gone toe to toe, tasted victory, and had the time of their lives. So when questions are asked, loyalties tested and the dust settles... Were you amongst it at Bunbury's Shanty Fest?

Far to the south, where deep forests meet wild seas, a group of men gather in the winter dark. Around blazing logs, they sing songs of work, women and whiskey. Rollicking and laughing, passing the jug, they lift their voices to the night, until the dawn breaks on the slate grey sea. And so they bid each other farewell with a clap on the arm and a twinkling eye. Until next time, me hearties...

Playing for nine years now, The Albany Shantymen have played a significant role in the boom in Shanty singing in SW Australia. With appearances on The Project, The Today Show and Bill Bailey’s Wild West Australia, and with over a million streams they are known to international audiences. Come and see what the excitement is all about.

Breaching the waters of traditional sea shanty stylings The Anchormen burst onto the stage with their raucous shanties and sea ballads. Hold on to the taffrail as The Anchormen take you on a high energy journey across the high seas. Escape the doldrums today and come and see the Anchormen.

Royal Australian Navy Band Western Australia is based at the Defence Music Centre, Irwin Barracks, Karrakatta, with a compliment of 24 part-time and two full- time musicians, under the direction of Bandmaster Chief Petty Officer Musician Volker Schoeler. The Band is administered by HMAS Stirling, Fleet Base West, providing musical support for the Royal Australian Navy, Defence community, and a variety of public events across Western Australia. Defence commitments regularly include supporting ship departures and returns from deployments, as well as a variety of ceremonial and commemorative events. Besides the Naval ceremonial support in form of parade band, bugler and drum corps, the Band performs in a variety of ensembles including Big Band, Rock Band and Jazz Ensembles. Arrangers within the Navy Band allow the ensembles to adapt it’s repertoire to specific commitments. RAN Band Western Australia consists of musicians from all walks of life and diverse back grounds, including a number of graduates from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). This musical diversity allows the band to support a wide variety of events from commemorative services and community festivals to charity fundraising activities.

A bunch of lads (and often lasses) from Dunsborough WA that get together and sing sea shanties loudly.

Hailing from the port of Fremantle, the Lost Quays is an eight-piece shanty band. Their repertoire includes many of the standards of the shanty world, plus a number of originals focussing on stories of the shipwrecks and daring sailors around the coast of WA and beyond.

The 🦀 Mandurah Mariners Shanty Group 🦀 will be sailing down to the 🧜‍♂️ Bunbury Sea Shanty Festival 🧜‍♂️ for their first appearance this July! 🎉 Catch 🎣 these crusty salts at the BSSF as they take you on a journey round the horn and back stopping of course in Hawaii to pick up some shirts 🍍🏝️🥥🌺 #MandurahMariners #CrustySalts #Hawaii #Bunbury #CityofBunbury #BunburyShantyFest2025 #GoodtimesAhead #GetSaltyBritches

Margaret & Geoff are accomplished folk musicians. Their credentials are impressive due to their constant involvement, and development within the Australian folk movement. Their original involvement came about through the British traditional revival of the 1960s in Perth and Sydney, but has now broadened. Margaret has a clear distinct voice, and is one of those rare singers whose every word can be understood. Accompanied by Geoff on guitar (sometimes bouzouki, sometimes didgeridoo) their repertoire includes songs about Australia. Songs written by themselves, others written by contemporary writers like Eric Bogle, Harry Robertson, and Kev Carmody. Historical songs about WW1, about Pearling at Broome, about Albert Namatjerra. Social comment songs about the devastation of our forests, about the 'stolen' generation, and a whole heap of other songs designed to put a smile on your face. And the occasional traditional song still creeps into set lists without warning!

Fresh off the salt lakes of Kalgoorlie/ Boulder, we like to sing the odd sea shanty.

Many moons ago a mighty storm unleashed upon the great southern turning a usually quiet town upside down. Among the debris unceremoniously discarded across the coast the founding forefathers of the Salty Sead Dogs surfaced, battered and bruised yet not deterred from their mission at hand; to form a mighty singing troupe filled with mischevious mercenaries from all walks of life. From what started as Monday nights in the boat shed with some mates and a few beers the SSD have grown into a powerhouse of togetherness relying on friendship and strength in diversity in order to hone their sound. First appearing at Denmarks 'Festival of the voice' in 2021, the SSD have gone on to appear at the Albany Shanty Fest 21,22,23, have toured the Great Southern and released their first EP titled “Tiger Snake Alley” in 2023. More pirate than shanty troupe, the SSD are pushing the boundaries of shantyism by performing original works in and amongst the better known shanty stalwarts. As reliable as the tide you can expect a heartfelt and honest performance at each SSD outing.

Lovers of swell sea shanties and rollicking singalongs, The Salty Sirens are Kristy Capstanfield (vocals and accordion) and Elyse Fishpatrick (vocals and whale facts). Since 2021, they have been rocking boats the country wide with their flavour of sea shanties, SHE shanties and sea songs with a modern twist, and now these sapphic sailors are sailing back into Bunbury town to lead you on a musical journey through traditional and modern nautical folk song, tales of shipwork, daring adventure, defiance and debauchery on the high seas. Hoist the anchor and limber up those sealegs - these really aren't your grandpa's sea shanties!

Inspired by the growing shanty scene in WA, The Sunset Coast Shanty Crew (SCSC) formed in late June 2023 making them WA’s newest shanty group. SCSC take their name from the spectacular north of river Perth coastline from which they hail and therefore now occupy what was once a large geographical void on the WA shanty group map. After initial formation SCSC spent time below deck in private rehearsal, but have since set sail into the local community and established a home port where they gather each week to sail around the globe through shanties and other nautical numbers in view and earshot of the local land lubbers.

Hailing from the sprawling city of Perth, James the White Wail's journey started only very recently. Upon leaving his school with a parting glass, he began studying medical science at university. But, he always had a hidden talent and passion for music and singing. After hearing the Lost Quays performing in Fremantle, his world opened to the uncharted seas of shanties and folk songs. To date, James has attended numerous performances, from shows at Cockburn Youth Centre and Murdoch University to festivals like the South Lake Spring Fair, Cockburn Rotary Spring Fair, and the inaugural Busselton & South West Heritage Festival, bringing with him a mixture of traditional and contemporary songs of the sea, even some of his own. With every performance he gives, his passion for telling tales through music grows as well.

HERE COMES TR3BLE - all musical styles, fun fresh takes & great harmonies, originals & covers, all occasions - weddings, wineries, clubs & now sea shanty festivals! TR3BLE will premiere their new original sea shanty musical, "EX-PAT", written and composed by Tony Carey. They\'ll be playing fiddle jigs and reels like "Irish Blood" and "The Craic In The Fiddle (An Craic Sa Fhidil)", and singing "All I Lairned O" Ire-Land", "She Been At The Seibín (Bhí Sí Ag An Seibín)", "Gach Duine Agaibh", "Seo Mo Áit Ar Domhan", ... and of course, "Oró ‘Sé Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile", in Gaeilge (and English) And, believe it or not, all of these great tunes are original, except one - (no prizes for guessing which one)!

Hear the Music, Smell the Dust, Listen to the Stories. Phil and Yvonne Gray are Warralakin. Phil has lived and worked in the wilds of Western Australia and has a lifetime of Story, Song and Verse that reflect an Australian way of life. Yvonne is a true Northern Territorian, having lived many years in and around Alice Springs and remote Communities. Together they are looking forward to meeting you, and sharing with you their Album ‘Rhythms of the Outback’ - a finalist in Folk Alliance Australia Traditional Folk Album of the Year Award 2023. Warralakin will take you with them on an authentic Australian Folk journey. Songs, verse and stories of seafarers, pirates, whalers, shearers, drovers, farmers and many other Australians (with the occasional song from foreign parts). Much of Warralakin Music is their original material, and paints a picture of our Western Australia... Please climb on board.