Sea shanty singer invites Petersburg to join the chorus

Musician Seán Dagher will bring his interactive sea shanty performance to Petersburg next week, inviting locals to join in the maritime musical tradition that has experienced a surge of recent popularity.

The performance will be "pretty participatory," Dagher told the Pilot it will be fun and easy to take part. "The shanties are like call and response songs, so I'll sing the call part, and people sing the responses," Dagher explained.

Dagher's performance, being presented by the Petersburg Arts Council upstairs in the Elks Ballroom on Sat. evening, April 5, features call-and-response sea shanties and nautically themed songs, with the musician showcasing a cappella vocals and songs accompanied on the Irish bouzouki.

The performer has gained recognition through his work on the popular video game franchise Assassin's Creed, where he performed songs for games set during historical periods.

In Assassin's Creed 3, set during the American Revolution, "the sea shanties were so popular with people playing the game that [video game company Ubisoft] based a whole next game, AC4, called Black Flag, around sea shanties and sort of pirates," said Dagher.

These projects have created an unexpected fan base, with gamers recognizing his voice from the soundtracks. The games were released in the early 2010s, so "I get people who seem like adults, and they're like, 'Oh man, you were the sound of my childhood,'" Dagher said with a chuckle.

The musician plays the eight-stringed Irish bouzouki, not to be confused with its Greek namesake. "It's basically a mandolin family instrument... like a tenor mandolin ... about in the range of a guitar," and an excellent tonal complement to the seafaring songs, he explained.

Dagher has toured extensively with this participatory performance format, performing around 40 shows in the past year across Europe and North America. "I've had some really shockingly loud audiences, and some really enthusiastic crowds," he said.

The audience reaction steers the performance. In those places where the audience prefers not to join into the singing, Dagher adjusts the plan, "If they ... prefer just to listen to some nice sea songs, then I'll do that. I don't have a set list that I stick to."

Being nimble as a performer and traveling light, makes the logistics of this tour far more manageable than some of the larger ensembles he has performed with in the past.

"The nice thing about it is it's just me. So, I don't have to depend on other people's availabilities," Dagher said.

Petersburg marks one stop on Dagher's first-ever Alaska tour, which includes performances in Ketchikan, Skagway, Haines, Valdez, Homer, Seward, and Fairbanks.

"I'm really looking forward to getting to Alaska and seeing each individual town ... It' a sort of mythical place, you know? You hear about Alaska," said Dagher, who lives in Montreal. He noted that many of his musical colleagues are "jealous" of his northern journey.

The Petersburg Arts Council organizers are excited for the chance to host this Dagher. "It's really cool he's coming to perform live in Petersburg," Malena Marvin told the Pilot. "Dagher is a super dynamic composer and performer ... his versions of popular sea shanties have racked up millions of listens and will appeal to ... anyone who loves sea shanties and folk music."

Tickets are available to purchase online at petersburgarts.com.