A brand new one day shanty and folk festival is set to take place in Tavistock Meadows on September 5, building on the outstanding success of a series of sold out shanty events held in the Town Hall over the last three years.

Curated by a local woman with a passion for music, the Down by the River Festival will feature internationally recognised artists, regional performers and community groups,with all proceeds going to mental health charity Make a Difference Tavistock and Tavistock Youth Cafe.

“ I am really excited to bring my vision of Down by the River to life. As we’ve already seen, there is a real appetite for live music in Tavistock and the Meadows is a perfect venue to celebrate that. It will truly be a day to remember,” said organiser Jane Scott.

The festival will be headlined by the Wellermen, the global folk group famous for popularising sea shanties online. Their videos have garnered billions of views across TikTok and YouTube, with over 110 million streams of their debut album,and appearances on Ant &Dec and the Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall.

The jampacked line up also includes:

The Countrymen, a folk rock harmony band featuring original and contemporary music about Cornwall who have played all over the UK and who have released two albums to date.

Barrett’s Privateers, a well-known mixed voice shanty group from the Tamar Valley formed by singers leading traditional pub shouts across Cornwall and fronted by the charismatic Gideon Barrett.

Cousin Jack, a singing group based in Bude, made up of eight singers and two musicians, performing Irish folk, Cornish songs and sea shanties with harmony and instrumental pieces.

Banned from the Moor, a singing and instrumental ceilidh group who bring an energetic mix of folk rock and dance music that’s guaranteed to get the feet moving and the spirits lifted!