The Sound Cafe

Internationally Acclaimed Shanty Singer Chris Ricketts To Drop New Album + East Coast Canadian Dates

By Stevie Connor.

Internationally acclaimed 21st-century shanty singer, Chris Ricketts returns to the East coast of Canada with an album of shanties and self-penned songs called Songs In The Key Of Sea. Widely loved this album re-booted Chris' love of performing and writing. As well as performing within the UK, Chris has appeared at top folk and shanty festivals in Germany, Poland, Canada and France.

Chris mastered his craft working cruise ships after being a semi-finalist in the BBC Radio 2 young folk awards. Now a touring musician and part-time teacher in secondary schools, Chris' passion for performing allows him to travel the world with his self-penned songs and versions of traditional shanties.

2023's upcoming release Gone To Sea No More will be Chris' 5th album and includes recordings from live shows across East coast Canada. It promises to be the best yet! Chris will be releasing a solo acoustic album that truly represents his live shows, something that many fans have asked to be captured on a release. The album will be available to pre-order from July 31st, and will be out on September 8th.

Quick-witted comedy, a unique delivery of sea songs and clever songwriting, the live show never fails to satisfy an audience. With festival and concert bookings from across the UK, Canada and Poland, this year looks extremely promising for Chris.

We asked Chris what Canadian audiences can expect on the tour, along with some of his new songs from the upcoming album, he'll be playing tracks from his previous release, Songs In The Key Of Sea.

Chris says, "The title track, for Songs In The Key Of Sea was written whilst working in Thailand; I had just finished my final contract on a cruise ship and accepted a job where I was a total stranger in a place I had no idea about. On a personal level, the song talks about the intention of returning to singing and playing the songs of the sea, a passion of mine; it also is about fresh starts and new beginnings in unknown territories.

I started the Worldwide Shanty Project during the lockdown. I had an extensive tour crossing four different countries and was due to see many old friends over the two months. Unfortunately, the lockdown stopped the tour, so I had to get creative on singing with friends. The project grew bigger than expected and was endorsed by UK folk legend John Tams (Sharpe TV series, 6 times BBC Folk Award winner). The song was called All Stand Together' and features people from over 10 countries and had over 70k views on Facebook.

Haul Away Joe will be the second new release. It will be raising money for a food bank in Fundy Bay.

And Keep Hauling is a song for anyone who has ever struggled with mental health, something I fear we all struggle with at some point."

East coast Canadian audiences are certainly in for a treat this August, dates and ticket information can be found below, along with Chris' social media links.