The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson, 16 January | Event in Nelson | AllEvents

The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson

Wellington Sea Shanty Society

Highlights

Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 10:00 am

The Boathouse, Nelson

Advertisement

Date & Location

Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 10:00 am (NZDT)

The Boathouse

326 Wakefield Quay, Stepneyville, Nelson 7010, New Zealand, Nelson

Save location for easier access

Only get lost while having fun, not on the road!

About the event

The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson
NAUTICAL GAMES /// BEST DRESSED PRIZES /// SINGALONG SHANTIES

🌊 We're coming back! 🌊
🌊 Ka hoki anō mātou! 🌊

Round up your crew, dress salty, and come have a sing and a dance with Aotearoa New Zealand's most Seaworthy shanty group the Wellington Sea Shanty Society!

⛴️⛴️⛴️

Live review from Maryanne Cathro:
"Having been handed a booklet of lyrics... we grab seats around the edge ... It’s all very casual, with the added delight of people dressed as sailors in striped tops and white hats, pirate hats and newspaper hats, and even life jackets! It’s like they know what is about to happen!

As the band takes to the stage... a spotlight falls upon storyteller Louis Tait. Microphone in hand he starts to weave a tale of the sea, to riffs of music from the band.

Back to those booklets of lyrics – this whole show is a singalong and it is with great enthusiasm that the first shanty begins...the audience sings and stomps and laughs.

It’s hard to describe the impact of stadium concert level audience euphoria in a small community hall, yet that is what it is. Bopping bodies, bathed in coloured light, so into the music, which is just fantastic in every way. The dance area is more like an ecstatic mosh pit.

What is it about shanties? They came out of shared singing and so they lend themselves to this, I guess. But what Vorn Dont le Père Etait Marin and Lake Davineer bring to these songs is a thoroughly modern, old-fashioned sense of fun and magic.

I am reserving specific comment for the currently most famous shanty in their repertoire, ‘The Wellerman’... The crowd goes wild! The stomping probably puts the hall onto Geonet. I would not have been surprised if a giant cracken had appeared and body-surfed the crowd."

⚓⚓⚓

WELLINGTON SEA SHANTY SOCIETY

Aotearoa New Zealand's Most 'Sea Worthy' Shanty Group™ have been belting out traditional and original sea songs from Aotearoa, France, Spain, the UK and more, since time immemorial (2012).

The W.S.S.S have toured Aotearoa and France multiple times and are known for their rowdy and participatory live shows. They've performed at Paimpol (one of the world's largest shanty festivals), Splore, Albany Folk Festival (Aus), Quebec Sea Shanty Festival (Canada) and a shipload of other festivals in NZ, France & Canada.

They will be playing new classics from their forthcoming EP 'Never Mind the Rowlocks' as well as your foamy favourites from the 'Sea Shanties of the 70s, 80s, & Today!' EP and their 'Now That's What I Call Sea Shanties' series.


You may also like the following events from Wellington Sea Shanty Society:

Also check out other Music events in Nelson, Entertainment events in Nelson, Festivals in Nelson.

interested
Stay in the loop for updates and never miss a thing. Are you interested?
Yes
No

Ticket Info

Tickets for The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson can be booked here.

Advertisement

Nearby Hotels

The Boathouse, Nelson, New Zealand
Reserve your spot
Ask AI if this event suits you

Host Details

Wellington Sea Shanty Society

Wellington Sea Shanty Society

Are you the host? Claim Event

Advertisement
The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson, 16 January | Event in Nelson | AllEvents
The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Experience - Whakatū/Nelson
Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 10:00 am