This event has ended! Thank you to everyone who helped support this wonderful festival. Stay tuned for details for the San Francisco Sea Music Festival in 2025.

We are thrilled to announce the return of our Sea Music Festival on August 17, 2024!

Time: 11 AM – 7 PM

The San Francisco Sea Music Festival will be a lively day of free sea music and festivities, bringing the whole waterfront to life. Set against the picturesque backdrop of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Fisherman’s Wharf, this exciting event will feature multiple stages at Aquatic Park, the Crab Wheel Plaza, Ghirardelli Square, and the Argonaut Hotel Courtyard. We will be celebrating sea music traditions from around the world and offering a diverse lineup of music and dance performances. Join us for a music-filled day, honoring the spirit of the sea!

Help support the San Francisco Sea Music Festival HERE!

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VIEW PROGRAM

Featuring:

  • Special Guest: Maria Muldaur and Her Red Hot Bluesiana Band
  • Liz Carroll
  • The Johnson Girls
  • Ron and Natalie Daise
  • Manilatown Ancestral Ensemble
  • Shay Black
  • Peter Kasin & Richard Adrianowicz
  • Patrick Landeza & Sons
  • Brass Farthing
  • The Flying Angels Chinese Dance Company
  • Riggy Rackin
  • Susan Walsh
  • Tom Lewis
  • DíaPaSón with Claudio Vega
  • Holdstock, Clegg and Pratt
  • The King Tide Band
  • Sons of the Buccaneers
  • Dave Nettell
  • Kathryn Daskal
  • Amelia Hogan and friends
  • Maureen Brennan
  • Chris Koldewey
  • Talitha Aho
  • Christa Burch
  • Richard Mandel
  • More details and performers to be announced soon…

 

Sponsors:

     

If your business or organization is interested in being a sponsor for this event, please go here.

Performer bios:

Maria Muldaur and Her Red Hot Bluesiana Band

We are excited to announce that special guest Maria Muldaur and Her Red Hot Bluesiana Band will be joining us for the San Francisco Sea Music Festival!
Maria Muldaur, referred to as the “Mermaid of The Blues,” is best known world-wide for her 1973 mega-hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” which received several Grammy nominations. Her deep love and respect for the ocean, swimming, and all things maritime led her to reach out to us to be a part of of the festivities.
In the 51 years since “Midnight at the Oasis,” Maria has toured extensively worldwide and has recorded 43 solo albums covering all kinds of American Roots Music, including Gospel, R&B, Jazz and Big Band (not to mention several award-winning children’s albums). She has now settled comfortably into her favorite idioms, Blues and what she calls “Bluesiana”- a gumbo of New Orleans flavored Blues, R&B, and “Swamp Funk.” Often joining forces with some of the top names in the business, Maria has recorded and produced on-average an album per year, several of which have been nominated for Grammys and other awards.

Liz Carroll

Liz Carroll is an Irish fiddler, composer, and recording artist. She is a National Heritage Fellow, the first Irish-American musician to be nominated for a Grammy, and the first American-born composer honored with the Cumadóir TG4, Ireland’s most significant traditional music prize. She has toured as a solo artist and with The Green Fields of America, the group Trian, as the duo Liz Carroll & John Doyle, String Sisters, and as a duo with guitarist and pianist Jake Charron. Featured on fourteen albums and appearing on many more, her duet album with Jake Charron, Half Day Road, was released in February of 2019. 

In 2020 Liz published a new book of recent compositions following the sold-out success of Collected – Original Irish Tunes in 2010.

Liz was born in Chicago, Illinois, of Irish parents, and is proud that she was presented with a 2019 Artist Fellowship Award by the State of Illinois in Ethnic and Folk Arts and was recently inducted into the Irish American Hall of Fame.

Ron and Natalie Daise

Ron and Natalie Daise, from South Carolina, are writers, actors, educators, and internationally renowned TV performers. They have presented storytelling, music, history, and lectures about Gullah heritage, faith, and creativity at museums, theaters, conferences, and educational institutions across the country. From 1994-1998 Ron and Natalie Daise starred in Nick Jr.’s award-winning “Gullah Gullah Island.” They were nominees for two NAACP Image Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award. Ron and Natalie are recipients of the South Carolina Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest honor, and a State of Carolina Folk Heritage Award, given for lifetime achievement and excellence in folk art that has enriched the lives of people in their community and state. Ron and Natalie have performed with local San Francisco chantey singers and musicians at venues including Festival of the Sea and Mystic Seaport Music Festival.

Tom Lewis

As winner of the inaugural “Trophée Stan Hugill”, French fans dub Tom “The Springsteen of Sea Chanteys.” Old Songs Festival (Altamont NY) declares “This man knows the sea … from the bottom up!“, whilst Living Tradition (UK) says “Although I always knew he was good, I was not quite prepared for HOW good.” 24 years in the British Royal Navy, “provides him with that vitally authentic stance with which to tackle nautical song” Living Tradition.

Tom’s repertoire—from traditional shanties to songs fashioned out of his own seafaring background—recruits his audience for a voyage by turns reflective, dramatic and humorous. Born in Northern Ireland, Tom’s Celtic heritage is obvious in his clear, strong voice, evoking quiet sorrow for a fisherman lost to the sea just as honestly as it powers out a shanty “to be heard above the gales.”

With songs that have become folk standards; known and sung wherever great choruses ring out; Tom accompanies himself on button accordion and ukulele—but it’s that powerful vocal style and infectious humour—that quality of entertaining—which keeps audiences coming back again … and again.

Manilatown Ancestral Ensemble

This dynamic ensemble presents the pre-colonial music, dance, and attire traditions of Mindanao, Southern Philippines and Kalinga, Northern Philippines. All trained in the traditional manner by indigenous Philippine culture bearers, the Manilatown Ancestral musicians and dancers take pride in introducing audiences to the joyful and unifying power of tribal Philippine polyrhythmic percussion music, song and dance.

The Johnson Girls

Internationally acclaimed The Johnson Girls have been a force on the folk and maritime music scene since 1997 as the leading all-woman, a cappella maritime group in the world. Believing that sea chanteys and sea songs were the first real “World Music,” Joy Bennett, Alison Kelley, Bonnie Milner, and Deirdre Murtha know how to serve up a chantey in salty and authentic style that will leave you longing for the age of sail. Whether performing chanteys with hair-raising harmonies or sharing tender ballads at national or international festivals, coffeehouses or libraries, The Johnson Girls remain true to their mission of keeping chantey singing alive, bringing women’s voices to the fore, and sweeping their audiences along in a tidal fervor.

DíaPaSón with Claudio Vega

DíaPaSón is a music ensemble specializing in Mexican music traditions, especially son jarocho. DíaPaSón artists are active in the rich sonero community of the Bay Area and have studied the son art form with internationally renowned master artists from Mexico who often perform in its programs and collaborate in their projects. The ensemble has appeared on national and international stages and is under the directorship of María de la Rosa.

Each experience of DíaPaSón is a polyrhythmic delight of lyric and melodic improvisation. Voices accompanied by primarily stringed and percussive handcrafted instruments of natural materials create a dynamic, rustic sound that tells ancient and modern tales of love, courtship, happiness and the beauties of life as well as injustice, loss, and death. Hundreds of years old, the son jarocho is a living, contemporary art form that continues to evolve with time and under the influences of trans-cultural exchange and inter- generational dialogue.

Brass Farthing

Brass Farthing is a company of vocal-centric musicians whose catalog spans five centuries. From folk music of the British Isles and America, to rousing music hall and drinking songs, their catalog carries familiar tunes from yesteryear, as well as original compositions reminiscent of days gone by.

Flying Angels Chinese Dance Company

The Flying Angels Chinese Dance Company celebrates over 30 years, entertaining audiences and communities throughout the Bay Area. They are a company of dancers who love to entertain, educate and excite their audiences with their performances. Experience their passion for Chinese dance and Asian Heritage, reflected in their colorful presentation of traditional, contemporary and original dance choreography. Their dancers will ignite your creativity and inspire you!

Riggy Rackin

In the mid-’70s Riggy Rackin was asked to be part of an ambitious bicentennial production by the Cambridge, Massachusetts Proposition Theatre. The goal was to weave entries from actual ships’ logs and traditional whaling songs into a true-to-life dramatic presentation. Riggy found the music, taught the actors how to sing in an authentic style, served as Music Director, and provided concertina accompaniment. The Whale Show succeeded to considerable acclaim, and they toured the show in New York and throughout New England.

Shay Black

Shay Black, a renowned songcatcher and musician originally from Dublin, Ireland, has established himself as a prominent figure in Irish, English, Scottish, and sea music traditions. After relocating to Berkeley from Liverpool in 1994, where he had spent two decades, Shay immersed himself in the folk music scene. He collaborated with notable figures like author and song collector Stan Hugill and the renowned sea shanty group Stormalong John. Shay is a key member of Ireland’s Black Family, performing alongside his siblings Michael, Martin, Frances, and Mary Black. When Shay performs, his music creates a sheer celebration of singing, always welcoming audience participation. His infectious humor, wit, and unalloyed joy in singing make it difficult for anyone to remain a spectator for long!

Patrick Landeza & Sons

Two-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner (Hawaiian GRAMMY), Patrick Landeza returns to the San Francisco Sea Music Festival 2024. Patrick Landeza & Sons features Justin Firmeza on Hawaiian steel guitar and keyboard along with the newest addition to the band, son Danny Landeza.

A native Hawaiian who was born and raised on the continent, Patrick Landeza found his roots in the music shared with him by his mother, Frances Kawaipūloʻu Kuakini OʻSullivan Landeza. The songs that she taught him, were songs that she learned growing up in Hoʻolehua, Molokaʻi. The music filled cultural gaps left by his childhood in California, providing him with a firm foundation upon which he built his musical career. The music he grew up listening to sparked an interest in the traditional art of slack-key, connecting Patrick with some of kī hōʻalu’s most legendary names: Cyril Pahinui, Raymond Kāne, George Kuo, and Dennis Kamakahi. Under their tutelage, the network of roots that his mother had carefully established grew and Patrick’s style of music became firmly rooted in slack-key.

Holdstock, Clegg and Pratt

Dick Holdstock will join with Aaron Clegg and Travis Pratt for this year’s sea music festival. Together these talented singers will present sea songs and shanties in a way that invites every audience to sing along. All those within hearing distance will feel compelled to join the chorus, feeling the energy rush that sailors need to complete the difficult tasks on board square-rigged ships.

Travis Pratt, part of the Bay Area’s folk-music-loving Pratt family, has sung sea songs and shanties all his life. Aaron Clegg has singlehandedly built a great following of his songs-of-the-sea sessions over recent years in Santa Cruz.

Dick Holdstock has performed music of the sea for years at music festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad. A sea-song session with Holdstock, Clegg and Pratt is just the ticket for a great shanty experience!

Chris Koldewey

Chris Koldewey has been singing folk music and sea music in particular since his early teens.  He comes from a family rich in maritime traditions, and from an early age was exposed to a wide variety of folk music. Chris primarily performs US and British traditional music, and the approach to many of those songs includes their historical and social perspectives and background.  The songs may range from the “sublime to the ridiculous.”

Chris has had a long association with the Chantey Department at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.  Two of his most memorable experiences were to Chantey up the anchor on board the Barque Picton Castle during his three week stint on board her during the summer of 2009, and to crew and Chantey on board of the Charles W. Morgan – the only wooden whaler left in the world – in the summer of 2014.

Whether he is giving concerts or leading workshops, Chris enjoys the participation of those with him in keeping musical traditions alive.

 

Peter Kasin

Susan Walsh

Susan Walsh has been a singer her entire life, mostly performing for family and friends. About 17 years ago, she began to perform publicly at music camps (Lark in the Morning), and at pub sessions all over the world from Berkeley, to Paris, to London.

She follows her roots singing Irish songs…ballads and emigration songs, along with Folk and American Roots music. She tells stories of people’s lives, loves, and losses through the songs she chooses to sing. They touch her heart, and she hopes they touch yours too.

King Tide Band

The King Tide Band is composed of Doug Closson, Ozzy (Joe) Osborne, Ruup, Linda Andersen and Nick Winkworth. Doug Closson, a bay area-based singer-songwriter had the good fortune to know and perform with Skip Hendersen in the early 80’s and again with the Starboard Watch at Quinn’s Lighthouse on the Oakland Waterfront for fourteen plus good years.

More recently Doug and Ozzy Osborne, a music educator and performer based out of Alameda, teamed up to form The King Tide Band to continue the tradition of performing quality Maritime music (along with other ditties) in the Bay Area. They have performed at the San Francisco Maritime Museum’s Chantey Sings with violist Linda Andersen livening up the vibe. Linda is an accomplished, classically trained violist. She has performed as principal and section violist in a number of nationally recognized orchestras and has also contributed to San Francisco based Argonne Jazz Jam in addition to her current stint with the King Tide Band. Ruup (one word name, like Sting) brings his haunting pennywhistle melodies direct from County Dublin, Ireland by way of 3 decades performing with Skip Henderson’s Starboard Watch and the Sons of the Buccaneers. His inspired playing evokes images of leafy green, damp woodlands and frolicsome Fair Folk. He himself has a subtle music air about him, as though he only exists in the corner of one’s eye. Nick Winkworth provides the band’s warm and driving bass guitar sound.

Maureen Brennan

San Francisco Folk Choir

San Francisco Folk Choir is a small group of folks who meet outdoors in San Francisco weekly to sing old songs in glorious harmony. Some of the harmony arrangements are borne of improvisations during their weekly practice sessions and others are written by choir director Meredith Axelrod. The repertoire consists mostly of old ballads and pop songs from the 1890s through the 1930s San Francisco Folk Choir is recruiting. If you would like to join the choir, drop them a line.

Kathryn Daskal

As a career Park Ranger Kathryn has always prided herself on finding a way to sing and play her guitar on government time! From campfire singalongs at Grand Canyon National Park, to the glorious chantey sings at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, to songs as a learning tool in early childhood development at Ardenwood Historic Farm, she has explored the use of music and song in the interpretation of natural and cultural history. She is thrilled to see the return of the Sea Music Festival and honored to be part of it.

Richard Mandel

Richard Mandel fell into the well of Irish music in the mid-‘90s and was soon driving every session he could get into.  As a first-call accompanist, Richard has toured with legendary Irish musicians including Gerry (fiddle) O’Connor, Paddy Keenan and Tony DeMarco, and performed with many others including Jimmy Keane, Mick Maloney and Paddy O’Brien.Richard plays in the trio Three Mile Stone with mandolinist Marla Fibish and fiddler Erin Shrader. Three Mile Stone’s debut CD was produced by John Doyle and received rave reviews. In addition to Three Mile Stone, Richard can be heard on Christa Burch’s CD “Love of the Land”,  Radim Zenkl’s, “Restless Joy”, Erin Ruth’s self-titled CD, and “Taking Flight” by Amelia Hogan.

Richard Adrianowicz

Richard’s interest in traditional music began in the late ’60s in Chicago when he met, through his first wife Jean, the Armstrong Family who were involved in the noted Golden Ring Sessions recordings. After moving to California in the early 70s he was part of several folk groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, notably the local group Out of the Rain, active from 1983 to 1995. In 2000, Richard started regularly attending the Hyde Street Pier Chantey Sings. Richard became one of the resident chantey singers there, releasing in 2002 the album Time Ashore is Over, a recording of sea chanteys and sea songs featuring a chorus of singers from Hyde Street Pier. After that recording, Peter Kasin and Richard formed a duet, recording four subsequent sea music albums and performing in sea music festivals such as the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle and the Sea Music Festivals at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco in addition to many other local venues. Richard has also appeared in the Chicago Maritime Festival. Coming from the midwest Richard also has a keen interest in songs and chanteys of the Great Lakes sailors. Richard also plays the guitar, tin whistle and fiddle.

Amelia Hogan & Friends

Amelia Hogan is an impeccably authentic singer of Celtic music, and her deep understanding of the tradition comes through in honeyed tones on Irish, Scottish, British, and American-styled vocals. She sings strongly influenced by her deep roots in the Irish Sean-Nós, or “old style” and ballad traditions, as well as with accompaniment, plays shruti box and a small 22-string Welsh lap harp, and has toured internationally to global acclaim. Hogan recently recorded and released Taking Flight, charting in the top 10 global folk albums at its release with Steve O’Neill of Foxtail Sound, co-produced by Ray Frank, Richard Mandel, David Brewer, Marla Fibish, Maureen Brennan, Rebecca Richman, and Christa Burch under her solo label. Other Projects Include: Falling You, Molly’s Revenge, NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock, Putumayo’s compilations, Amhranaíthe Irish Band, and numerous others.

Jimmy Murphy, guitarist and mandolinist extraordinaire, has been a cornerstone of the traditional Irish music scene in California for over two decades. He has appeared in performance venues from the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles to temples in Japan. He has performed on KPFK’s “Global Village” with Eric Rigler, on KPFK’s “Folkscene” with Mick Moloney, as part of the band Ciúnas, and live on KCSN’s “Tied to the Tracks”. Jimmy spent two years as a contracted musician in Japan; first as a soloist for Tokyo Disney Sea, then as a member of a band for Universal Studios, Japan, and finally as a key member for a four piece band again at Tokyo Disney Sea. He is the go-to guitarist for most Irish musicians in LA and has performed in many musical configurations.

Other Projects Include: Rattle the Knee, and New Wild Hog

Christa’s expressive, supple voice is rich and compelling—a Celtic singer to satisfy the purist, and those who prefer a modern take on the tradition. Her bodhrán drives the groove in concert halls and on dance floors across America.

Christa tours extensively with “chamber folk” band, the Syncopaths, and teaches at music and dance festivals, lifting voices, feet, and hearts in harmony and rhythm.

Talitha Aho

Talitha Amadea Aho grew up in a folk dancing and singing family and is excited to pass that down to the next generation. Recent musical endeavors include “Months Advance,” a sea chantey band that has now disbanded, as well as songleading for BACDS Family Week, and playing bass for Berkeley Morris.

Sons of the Buccaneers

The “Sons of the of the Buccaneers,” Banjo Jim, Alan Lochhead, and Mordecai benHerschel have been enjoying each other’s musical company for 30 years since 1993.

The SOBs appeared weekly at Quinn’s Lighthouse for many years until Mordecai absconded to Hawai’i with Susana Varda, returning only for several Festivals of the Sea. Mordecai kept the group together via regular Zoom meetings, and lately they have returned to Quinn’s Lighthouse in the wake of its COVID “vacation”.

Personal bios-

Mordecai benHerschel is an experienced sailor having circumnavigated the Hawai’ian Islands, crewed a 33′ racing trimaran under sail only from Hanalei Bay in Kauai,upwind to the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Victoria, B.C., delivered a Cascade 42 from Port Townsend across the Columbia Bar (the Graveyard of the Pacific) up the river to Portland, Oregon where he worked laying up Fiberglas sailing hulls at Yacht Constructors. In ’81 he sailed from Waikiki to Sausalito where he worked at Sutter Sails and Dave Garrett’s Ocean Sailing Adventures where he taught wannabe sailors aboard vessels to 64′ and skippered charters in and out of San Francisco Bay. Mordecai has worked on both wood and Fiberglas vessels from keel to truck and from stem to stern. He’s not too good with engine maintenance.

Banjo Jim Nelson Is a multi-talented entertainer skilled on banjo, guitars and harmonica. He plays with the Black Irish and other groups of performers. His strong clear voice stands out in an acoustic venue. He has entertained from California thru Canada and travelled widely. He is seen at many a traditional Irish gathering and is noted for his nimble fingering. Jim has entertasined aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain andhas sailed the Bay aboard Master Mariners’ vessels. Jim has an interest in maritime history, tradition, and costume. He is a born again Californian

Alan Lochhead is an accomplished musician holding two positions concurrently as Principal String Bass with the Golden Gate Symphony and Chorus, and also the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra. He earned a Masters degree in music in String Bass performance at the San Francisco Conservatory and performed for 25 years with the Oakland Symphony. He was on the music faculty at UC Berkeley as a Lecturer on String Bass. His fine antique 5 string instrument is older than the Declaration of Independence. Alan’s interest in the Anglo concertina began while still a teenager. His performances are spotlighted in the SOBs’ performances. He is known internationally for his adaptations of Scott Joplin’s Ragtime compositions and John Philips Sousa’s marches for concertina. Mel Bay, publisher of popular “How to” music books has in its catalog Alan’s arranged transcriptions of his works. His exceptional artistry on the Anglo concertina is spotlighted in the SOBs’ performances. Alan is an Associate Member of the Family Club of San Francisco, and enjoys Whitewater Canoeing.