Songs of the Sea

Oceans are vast, deep and mysterious. Their waters contain more than simply  salt and marine life. For all of humanity’s existence they’ve sustained our  bodies, swallowed them whole and carried people vast distances to foreign  lands. Oceans connect us and keep us apart. Floating on the swell of an  ocean’s turbulent seas are grand, lyrical narratives that are forever evolving  – stories, myth and song. 

Steering the audience through Songs of the Sea is Mikelangelo (Michael  Simic of the folk quintet, Mikelangelo and The Black Sea Gentlemen) – a  raconteur, salt-crusted storyteller and bittersweet bard. In his deep baritone,  Mikelangelo explores the heart’s stormy reaches; indulges in absurd  overboard shanties; and catches secrets freed from the sea’s breaking tides.  Shipwrecked sailors, bewitching mermaids and wily fishermen are all  characters in Mikelangelo’s songbook. 

Joining Mikelangelo are Van Diemen’s Fiddles; and the internationally  renowned folk artists Luke Plumb and Dave McNamara on mandolin and  accordion. Together they draw on maritime folk music styles, experimental  and classical composition to evoke in song the salty smack of open water.