LongreadsMar 5

"He sensed tension between the band members and Guzmán, and he noticed that the individual Sailors seemed to be scraping by."

An excerpt from the new Atavist issue by Peter Ward—about the dark secret of a ShantyTok folk band:

https://longreads.com/2026/03/05/sea-shanty-wales-atavist/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#Longreads #Nonfiction #Journalism #Wales #Folk #Music #Slavery #Labor #ShantyTok #SeaShanty

The Dark and Stormy Tale of a ShantyTok Band

When a scraggly band of folk musicians arrived to tour the UK, residents of a small Welsh town were enamored—until they learned that the band’s leader ruled with an iron fist.

Longreads
Aaron PrivenJan 20, 2025
They can shut down #tiktok or not but I have now downloaded the #shantytok videos and I no longer have to care.
Aaron PrivenDec 29, 2024
I’m thinking I should figure out how to download TikTok videos so I can keep listening to those Wellerman collaborations #shantytok #SeaShanty #TikTok
Eric SippleOct 20, 2023
I love how the (ahem) anchor of the whole #ShantyTok explosion was a song that's neither provably from the era of shanties (it was first documented in 1966, and all evidence is the same anecdotal story from the folk artist who documented it) nor actually a sea shanty (there's no call and response, and it's more of a ballad).
Adam Kaplan 🚌🚊🚢May 2, 2023
Who remembers #seashanties #shantytok ?
chenryJan 15, 2021
Wondering how long until we get an amazing rendition of Fathoms Below #shantytok