Jerry Bryant will present a musical program on traditional sea chanteys at the Holliston Historical Society on Sunday, September 8, at 2:00 PM. All are welcome to attend this free program in the barn at 547 Washington St. in Holliston.  Refreshments will be served.  Please join us!

The men who worked on square-riggers in the 19th century used rhythmic work songs, which they called chanteys (or shanties, depending on where they were from), to coordinate their muscle power as they raised sails, moved cargo, and heaved up the anchor. We love these songs today for their compelling rhythms, singable choruses, and the salty flavor they deliver, conjuring images of wooden ships bowling along under a cloud of canvas.

Jerry is a singer and independent folk scholar who has deeply studied traditional sailor songs, including chanteys. He has appeared at maritime festivals across the US, singing the old songs and keeping the art of the chantey alive. He accompanies his singing with concertina and banjo, but delights in belting out a capstan chantey unaccompanied, the way it was done on the deck of a barque or brigantine 200 years ago. His research allows him to add historical insights to his performances, so the audience comes away from one of his programs with an understanding of the cultural context in which these songs were originally sung.

Bryant has a YouTube channel called Chantey Talk, in which he explains the ship-board tools and terminology sailors used in traditional chanteys. He has delivered scholarly papers at the Mystic Seaport Museum, and has sung on numerous recordings and soundtracks. His arrangement of the 19th-century sailor song Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate was used in the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World.