I started performing at the age of fifteen and remember my first set like it was yesterday. The set was at a small folk style club in my hometown of Portsmouth and I played nothing but Bob Dylan songs, however it was a step up from the heavy metal music I had been listening to a few months before.


That summer I was invited by a friends parents to attend a folk festival in a small town called Cropredy. This was something I didn‘t even know existed but happily went along for the laugh- ter and company unaware that I would fall in love with the music of so many performers. I was lu- cky enough to see the likes of the Oysterband, Fairport Convention and Show Of Hands, all of which are still a huge influence on my own music now. It was after Cro- predy that I started performing more traditional style music and old songs.


After the adventure of my first folk festival I went each year back to Cropredy to check out new artists and I also volunteered with Barking Spider Promotions at the Southsea folk and roots festival. This was another great experience because I learnt much about fe- stival organisation and the various other aspects of running a festival.


After years of surrounding my- self in folk music and performing many local shows I enrolled on the Folk and Traditional Music course at Newcastle university, a fantastic course with dedicated teachers ready to give their know- ledge to the rising numbers of youths interested in folk music.


It was after the festival in New- castle that I started to learn about the Shanty and Maritime music because it reminded me of my hometown Portsmouth. After a diving head first into the shanty tradition I had a few meetings


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