Folk'N'Shanty Night

A night of sea shanties & Balkan-Mediterranean meanderings with The Salty Sirens & East of West.
Touring their latest album, ARIA-nominated trio East of West draws inspiration from the rich cultural melting pot of the Balkan and Mediterranean regions, spicing it with a hint of contemporary European jazz. Comprising Bosnian-born composer Goran Gajić on double bass, Philip Griffin on oud and laouto, and Malindi Morris on percussion, East of West explores the borderlands between genres through their intricate compositions and improvisations.

East of West weaves connections between people and place - between the interior spaces we inhabit when journeying in our imagination and the external world of connections we share with the people and places around us. Born in Bosnia, New Zealand and England, this trio of well-travelled musicians weave music that connects with the hearts and minds of the audience in a contemplative yet dynamic performance. Touching on many genres but deeply in tune with its own sound, East of West questions boundaries and borders, reaching across them to touch the minds and hearts of listeners.

“The splendid interactions between the musicians here suggest an affinity with the best traditions of European jazz."

THE AUSTRALIAN (Eric Myers) ★★★★

 “Influences from the Balkans and Mediterranean meet jazz and contemporary classical.”

SONGLINES, UK (Christina M. Bauer) ★★★★

 "Fans of world fusion will certainly resonate with East of West’s musical intuition and ethnic sophistication..." 

JAZZTRAIL, New York (Filipe Freitas)

Lovers of swell sea shanties and rollicking singalongs, The Salty Sirens are Kristy "Capstan"field (vocals and accordion) and Elyse "Fish"patrick (vocals and whale facts). Since 2021, they have been rocking boats the country wide with their flavour of sea shanties, SHE shanties and sea songs with a modern, queer twist, and now these sapphic sailors are sailing into Ipswich to lead you on a musical journey through traditional and modern nautical folk song, tales of shipwork, daring adventure, defiance and debauchery on the high seas.
Hoist the anchor and limber up those sealegs - these really aren't your grandpa's sea shanties!

Thanks to funding from Creative Australia, we are giving away 10 free tickets per month to community members who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend. Message us to claim yours, and we'll allocate them, no questions asked. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.