Join us for a Sunday of fun with the Colliers Wood Shanty Singers in London

The 2024 Jamboree gig. Courtesy of the Colliers Wood Shanty Singers.

The Colliers Wood Shanty Singers are a diverse group of sea shanty lovers, led by George Tudor-Hart. They regularly delight the London public with energetic and fun family-friendly sea shanty singing, accompanied by dancing, a fiddle and an accordion. Spreading joy and camaraderie is at the heart of what they do, so they always encourage their audience to join in during the choruses, no matter how experienced they may be with shanty singing. The group also encourages people to dress up for their events, with the occasional prize going to the finest-looking sailors.

Colliers Wood Shanty Singers meet up every third Friday of the month to perform at the Tea House Theatre, on Vauxhall Walk in London, from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM. They also put on the very popular Riverside Pub Sea Shanty Sing-Along at the William Morris Pub in Merton Abbey Mills, on the first Thursday of every month from 8:00 PM. These experiences are guaranteed to leave a big smile on your face, regardless of your age, and will definitely leave you wanting more.

And people cannot seem to get enough of them! Their February show aboard The Golden Hinde ship -a historical galleon captained by Sir Francis Drake between 1577 and 1580 while circumnavigating the world- was incredibly popular, with tickets selling out almost immediately. The group will be returning to the Hinde on April 17th, although tickets have sold out once again. If you did not manage to get any, you need not worry! They have recently announced another show in June, so keep an eye on our page for more details to come!

They have recently announced a new lunchtime show, which will take place at the Jamboree near King’s Cross Station, on Sunday the 13th of April at 12:30 PM, with tickets priced at just £10. The Jamboree is a quirky grass-roots live music venue dedicated to world music where you can regularly see Old Style Jazz, Americana, Cajun, Celtic, Mediterranean, Eastern European Folk, Cabaret & Art performances and music while enjoying reasonable prices for food and drink. It also occasionally hosts some of England’s most talented musicians, like the Ewan Bleach Orchestra.

The Colliers Wood Shanty Singers will fit right in among the eccentric décor and musical paraphernalia that adorns the walls, and they will raise the roof with their charming performances and lively melodies. They will be performing two sets of ten songs each, which will amount to just around two hours of shanty singing and beer-slinging, and encouraging the audience to sing along with chorus sheets and table captains, who will lead their tables’ chanting during the choruses. There will be free drinks given out to the four best-dressed sailors and to the four best shanty chorus singers, so make sure to look the part and give it your all!

Folk and Honey are exclusively giving away five free tickets to this event! All you have to do is head over to our Facebook page, comment “Aye, aye, captain!” on our giveaway post and tag a friend who you’d like to bring with you. We will choose up to five winners at random, so keep an eye on your DMs to claim your prize. Also, make sure to keep an eye on our social media for future exclusive giveaways. Good luck!

You may find more tickets here. You can also join their group, or sign up here to connect with other sea shanty lovers and meet up at their events.

Check out this video of their 2024 performance at the Jamboree from their Youtube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVLDQIztEqI

Geoff Robb - 'The Music of Trees' Tour

Celebrated guitarist and composer Geoff Robb, winner of the Brighton Fringe Live Music Award, is going on tour this spring to treat audiences to an evening of magical storytelling and virtuoso acoustic guitar music inspired by the Sussex woodlands he calls home. ‘The Music of Trees’ is a one-man show that weaves together woodland folklore and mythology in a suite of original compositions, perfectly demonstrating Geoff’s mastery of sonic storytelling and his signature blend of classical, jazz, Celtic and Spanish musical influences.

Geoff has previously delighted audiences across the UK and beyond, from Buckingham Palace and The House of Commons to Glastonbury Festival. ‘The Music of Trees’ also earned him rave reviews at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe and was highly praised by several publications, like ‘Broadway Baby’ or ‘Arts Review Edinburgh’.

From building his own beautiful Maple guitar to composing all his harmonies and learning to record and produce at home (due to COVID restrictions), ‘The Music of Trees’ is a delicately handcrafted performance that promises to transport audiences to a magical woodland story where the main characters are its trees. The idea came to Geoff in 2018 after spending some time alone with his guitar in the Outer Hebrides and writing ‘The Willow’. About this, Geoff says, “As the ideas for the compositions developed, I researched the folklore and medicinal properties of each tree by reading books including ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben and ‘Walking with Trees’ by Glennie Kindred.”

“Having a reason to spend time alone in nature with my guitar has been very fulfilling and rewarding and I’m already thinking about which trees to write about next. There is something very magical about being with a tree – connecting, listening and waiting for musical ideas to come.”

Purchase and listen to ‘The Music of Trees’ on Geoff’s website or Bandcamp, and don’t miss your chance to experience this magical show live at any of the following dates:

Fri 21st March - Bridgnorth Library, Bridgnorth, Shropshire

Sat 22nd March - St Leonards Church, Yarpole, Herefordshire

Sunday 23rd March - Kitchen Garden Café, Birmingham

Thu 22nd May & Fri 23rd May - The Actors, Brighton, Brighton Fringe Event (1 hour show)

Sat 24th May - Thorington Theatre, Southwold, Suffolk

Tue 17th June - Sandy Hill Arts Centre, Corfe Castle, Dorset, Purbeck Guitar Festival

Sat 28th - OSO Arts Centre, Barnes (3.30pm and 7.30pm shows)

Fri 11th July - ECOS Amphitheatre, Merlin Theatre, Frome (Inside or outside theatre depending on weather conditions)

Sat 19th July - West Horsley Place, Surrey (Inside or outside theatre depending on weather conditions)

Sun 24th August - Brighton Open Air Theatre (BOAT), Brighton

Thu 28th August - The Horton Arts Centre, Epsom

Tue 1st July - The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks, Sevenoakes Festival

More info here: https://geoffrobb.com/shows

Facebook: @geoffrobbguitarist

Charli xcx’s reaction to ‘Songwriter of the Year’ sets the tone for the 2025 BRIT Awards

With the BRIT Awards quickly approaching, the British music industry is preparing to celebrate the artists who have represented this country internationally in 2025. Since the nominees were revealed on the 23rd of January, anticipation has been building up as fans attempt to predict who will take home the awards for the main categories. The pool of nominees is full to the brim with diverse and multi-genre talent, with names like Dua Lipa, Nia Archives, Sam Fender, Beadadoobee, Little Simz, RAYE, Jorja Smith, JADE, Rachel Chinouriri and FLO bringing the UK’s best to the BRITs’ spotlight.

But one artist has taken the world by storm since last year’s BRITs. Former young girl from Essex, now multi-Grammy winner Charli XCX and her club-pop dance album ‘brat’ defined 2024, leaving no one untouched with its charismatic combination of party-girl antics and sincere introspection. ‘Brat’ was highly awarded and is the highest-rated album of 2024, according to Metacritic. Its impact on the world cannot be understated, as the “Brat Summer” phenomenon had everyone from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to former American Vice-President Kamala Harris scrambling to ride Charli’s wave in an effort to appeal to their young voters. So, it was no surprise when the nominations came out and Charli was nominated for the following categories: ‘Album of the Year’, ‘Artist of the Year’, ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Dance Act’ and ‘Pop Act’.

The BRITs will occur on Saturday, the 1st of March, at London’s The O2. The main categories will be televised, on ITV1 and ITVX from 8:15pm, ranging from ‘Artist of the Year’ to ‘International Song of the Year’, along with eight much-anticipated musical acts. The lineup includes Ezra Collective featuring Jorja Smith, Lola Young, Sam Fender, Sabrina Carpenter, JADE, Myles Smith, The Last Dinner Party and Teddy Swims. 

Some of the categories that will not be televised have already been awarded. The ‘Global Success Award’ was understandably given to Sabrina Carpenter, with ‘Rising Star’ going to the UK’s own Myles Smith and ‘Producer of the Year’ being awarded to PC Music founder and ‘brat’ executive producer A.G. Cook. And, of course, Charli XCX was named ‘Songwriter of the Year’.

Her reaction, which she posted to her X page, made fun of herself and her lyrics with the cheeky attitude that is so uniquely Charli and so incredibly brat, reminding long-term fans of why we fell in love with her in the first place and setting the tone for the upcoming BRIT awards. Some are even speculating that Charli was making fun of an online joke, based on a video of Taylor Swift from over 10 years ago which has very similar lyrics and some have joked “predicted ‘brat’”.

For all effects and purposes, the 2025 BRIT Awards will most likely be Charli XCX’s victory lap after dominating the industry this past year and demonstrating how authenticity still sells. As such, fans are expecting ‘brat’ to win most of the nominations it received, with #BRATSWEEP starting to trend again online after Charli’s success and iconic performance of ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish at the Grammys. Tune in to the BRITs on Saturday to celebrate as our girl finally gets her flowers from her home country!