First Sunday of the Month | May–October | 2–4pm | Wavertree | Free
Now through October, the lively chantey experience will take place aboard the historic cargo vessel.
Join the monthly sea-song sing along, hosted by a local artist who will lead the group through a variety of traditional maritime work songs and ballads. Throughout the event, attendees of all skill levels are welcome to take the stage for this round-robin where you can sing and share the chantey of your choice. Attendees are encouraged to sing along with the chorus or just sit back and enjoy each performance.
Singers of all levels, as well as listeners, are welcome to participate in this free event. You can lead or request a song during the round-robin or simply listen.
Advanced in-person registration is encouraged, but walkups will be accommodated as possible. Any in-person attendee is welcome to lead a song during the round-robin; if you have a specific song in mind, please inform us of the song title when you register. This event takes place rain or shine. In the event of rain, the event will be moved from the main deck to an indoor place on the ship.
About the Hosts
On June 2, 2024, the Chantey Sing will be hosted by Deirdre Murtha
Deirdre Murtha grew up with Irish traditional music, but found her way to chanteys in her 20s after singing in New York City Irish sessions for five years and participating in the New York Revels for two years. A fellow Reveler told her about the monthly Chantey Sings at South Street and Deirdre fell in love with the robust choruses and harmonies, history, and the community. She has been a member of both The New York Packet and The Johnson Girls for 25 years and has led a monthly Chantey Sing in Rowayton, Connecticut for many years.
About the 1885 Tall Ship Wavertree
Wavertree was built at Southampton, England, in 1885 and, after a 24-year sailing career and circumnavigating the globe at least three times, is now the last remaining iron-hulled three-masted full-rigged cargo ship. Today, Wavertree serves as the iconic centerpiece of the bustling waterfront that shaped New York City into a modern metropolis
Please note that boarding the tall ship Wavertree requires climbing a small set of ladder-type stairs and an angled gangway.
Extend Your Visit
Access to Wavertree is included with your event ticket. To extend your visit and see more that the Museum has to offer, ask Museum staff about our Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets when you check in. Before or after your event, between 11am–5pm, get Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets to see more of the Museum.
General Admission includes access to all current exhibitions on view in the introduction gallery space at 12 Fulton Street and access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Free timed tickets for a tour of the 1908 lightship Ambrose are available separately at no additional cost.
What is a Chantey Sing?
Old-time sailors on long voyages spent months living together in close quarters with no outside entertainment, no new people to interact with, a monotonous diet, and each day pretty much just like the day before. How did they keep their spirits up? Singing together! Work songs and fun songs, story songs and nonsense songs, songs of nostalgia and songs of up-to-the-moment news—all were part of the repertoire onboard. At South Street Seaport Museum, the chantey tradition lives on.
“Sea chanteys fit in beautifully with the New York tradition,” says Laura Norwitz, Seaport Museum Senior Director of Program and Education. “Sailing ships were a melting pot of languages and cultures, and chanteys and forecastle songs, along with hard work and shared challenges, helped sailors merge into one community. When we sing these songs today—some old, and some updated with up-to-the-moment lyrics—we celebrate our connection with our maritime heritage and also with the community we create by enjoying home-made music together.”
WWFM On a Positive Note – An interview with Captain Boulware
Click below to visit WWFM and listen to an interview with Captain Jonathan Boulware about our virtual chantey sing
Sea Songs, Sea Lives
Join us for a webinar series that explores the lives of diverse groups of sailors today and in history through conversations with singers, sailors, historians, and more.