The Official Home of The 65th Annual Windjammer Days
Sunday, June 27 through Saturday, July 3, 2027
Windjammer Days Sea Shanty
Sea shanties are functional, rhythmic work songs that originated during the golden age of sail, particularly flourishing in the 19th century aboard merchant vessels. Unlike leisure songs sung for entertainment, true shanties were precise tools designed to synchronize the heavy, collective labor required to operate massive wooden ships. Tasks like raising the anchor, hoisting sails, and pumping water demanded immense physical coordination. By using a call-and-response format—where a solo leader called a "shantyman" sang a lyrical line and the crew responded in unison—sailors could pull or push precisely at the same musical moment. The genre heavily absorbed diverse musical influences, blending African-American work songs, Caribbean rhythms, Irish folk music, and traditional British ballads, creating a unique maritime melting pot.
Salt on your tongue, a beat in your chest, and a song to outrun the storm. This isn't just a festival, it’s a living, breathing celebration of seafaring history. Join us for a week of live maritime folk music, community shanty blasts, and coastal traditions.
The repertoire was strictly categorized by the type of work being done, ranging from "short-haul" shanties for quick tasks to long, narrative "capstan" shanties for continuous hauling. However, the dawn of the steam engine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries rapidly rendered these songs obsolete, as mechanical power replaced muscular crew labor. While they vanished from practical daily use on commercial ships, shanties survived through the preservation efforts of folk collectors and twentieth-century maritime enthusiasts. In recent years, the genre experienced a massive, unexpected global revival via social media platforms, proving that these centuries-old driving rhythms and communal harmonies still resonate deeply in the modern digital age.
Long before there were radios, there were the songs of the sea. Experience the full spectrum of maritime heritage through the music that defined it: the muscular, driving rhythms of working sea shanties and the sweeping, heart-wrenching poetry of traditional ocean ballads. Witness world-class folk artists and traditional shanty crews breathe new life into tales of devastating shipwrecks, distant harbor lights, and the untamed power of the wild Atlantic.
Main Events
Future Dates for Windjammer Days
June 25-July 1, 2028
June 24-30, 2029
June 23-29, 2030
June 22-28, 2031
The Annual Windjammer Days Festival is presented by Friends of Windjammers, a nonprofit community organization made up entirely of volunteers. It is the collective passion for the sea and for keeping traditions alive for future generations that drives this event, and keeps our community inspired to bring Windjammer Days to you year and after year. We hope you enjoy!