The weekend before Eric went to sea we went to the 29th annual Sea Music Festival at the Mystic Seaport. Thankfully we heard singing across the estuary coming from the Seaport while we were out for our Friday evening walk. We checked the website and found the event was all weekend. Up until now, we never knew about it. I pegged who it must have been that we heard performing. We found Danny O’Flaherty on the schedule for Saturday and planned to just go and see his concert.
Barnacle — Originally uploaded
by eclectic echoes.
Dance a Jig — Johann enjoying an
Irish Jig, Originally uploaded
by eclectic echoes.
We ended up spending the entire day there and it was wonderful. The only bad thing about it was that multiple concerts and activities were happening simultaneously on opposite ends of the Seaport, so you couldn’t do it all. It was hard to choose.
The storytelling and music of Hand in Hand, Danny O’Flaherty, the Johnson Girls, and Robbie O’Connell filled us with joy. We thought about all the chores we didn’t get done and decided it was more than worth it. So much so, that on Father’s Day, Eric finally asked if we could go back for the last day of the Festival. That was what he wanted to do for Father’s Day. So I put the bread I’d been asked to bake on an extra rising schedule and we left for what we planned would only be about 2 hours.
Hand In Hand — Originally uploaded
by eclectic echoes.
Kenny Wolin — Originally uploaded
by eclectic echoes.
Over 6 hours later, we got home. The bread ended up tasting OK, but not the best looking I’d ever made! It didn’t matter, though, because we had another incredible day. After Johann ran in the field with the barn swallows and the cute little boy who was there, we went back to Lighthouse Point. We heard Barnacle, Bob Zentz, Finest Kind, and Rick Spencer perform from 11 am to 3 pm. The children’s parade arrived led by some of the performers playing instruments. The children were playing the instruments they had made for the parade. Then came the final concert. Every group that performed in the Festival came up and did one song. I didn’t know much about sea chanties before. I realized how much I’ve been missing out on. I love the rich history and the wide variety within the genre. The final song, as is their tradition, was “Going Down to Old Maui” sung by Don Sineti. He has such a powerful, deep voice. With all the wonderful performers backing him up, the sound was golden. We’re sorry we missed seeing the Festival before. We won’t miss is again while we are living in Mystic. I also won’t bake bread until after the concerts are over!
Johnson Girls + Johnson Boys — Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.
Finale! — Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.
