Fisherman's Friends

Fisherman's Friends play Victoria Hall on Sunday 4 April 2027, starting at 7:30 PM. They're a Cornish sea shanty group with a repertoire of over 200 shanties, folk and maritime work songs, and for this show they'll be joined on stage by musicians Marcus Bonfanti and Simon Johnson. The singing line-up includes Jeremy Brown, Jon Cleave, John 'Lefty' Lethbridge, John McDonnell, Jason Nicholas, Toby Lobb and Simon Biddick.

If you've never come across them, the name is pretty literal. They're a band of Cornish fishermen and Port Isaac locals who started singing in a living room back in 1990 and still hold down their day jobs. They're widely credited as the first modern act to bring shanty singing back into the mainstream, and in 2010 a million-pound record deal with Universal catapulted them from their lives as fishermen and coastguards into national folk music superstars. Since then they've played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, the Proms, and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and performed for 80,000 rugby fans at Twickenham. Their story has also been told in two feature films and a stage musical.

They've put out ten albums and picked up a BBC Folk Award, and they still raise money for local charities, including the RNLI. The show they're bringing to Stoke-on-Trent is built around their traditional sea shanties, folk songs and maritime work songs, with the group's harmonies taking centre stage. They describe the night as one of joyous harmony, infectious folk songs and more than a barrel o' laughs. It's a long way from Port Isaac to the Midlands, but the set is the same one they've been taking across the country.

So, Fisherman's Friends at Victoria Hall on Bagnall Street, Sunday 4 April 2027, 7:30 PM.