St Ives Shanty Shout turns ten with 40 groups and a ‘Tin-niversary’

Ten years ago it was a handful of friends and a one-day charity gig. Later this month, 40 groups will fill 14 venues across St Ives, with more than 100 hours of singing packed into a single weekend.

The St Ives Shanty Shout returns on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2026, and organisers are calling this one the ‘Tin-niversary’. Expect plenty of music, plenty of singing along, and buckets out for a local cause.

From 15 buskers to one of St Ives’ best-loved music events

The Shout started in 2016, paid for at first by a small grant from St Ives BID. Back then it was 15 performers busking in the town centre.

It has grown a lot since. But one thing hasn’t changed. Every venue is still within a 10-minute walk of the next, so you can wander from pub to café to hotel without missing much.

It has become a fixture on the pre-Christmas calendar, drawing groups from across the country. Among the regulars are Kimber’s Men, who make the trip down from Yorkshire every year for the atmosphere and the welcome.

Shanty Kids take the stage at St Ia Church

To mark the tenth year, the Shout’s own ‘Shanty Kids’ will perform at a special concert in St Ia Church on the afternoon of Saturday 21 November. They are local children aged between five and ten.

They will share the bill with other performers, including a group led by St Ia’s vicar, Nick Widdows.

Singing for the Edward Hain Centre

Once again the money raised will go to the Edward Hain Centre, the community health and wellbeing hub for St Ives.

Keep an eye out for the Centre’s volunteers in purple T-shirts (sponsored by St Austell Brewery). They will be collecting donations all weekend.

And they won’t be on their own. Betty Stoggs, Cornwall’s Charity Maid, and Falmouth’s Pilchard the Pirate will be working the crowds and encouraging everyone to give what they can.

Every donation helps keep the Edward Hain Centre going, so its health and wellbeing services, activities and community support stay open to people in St Ives and the surrounding area.

The venues taking part

The event is sponsored by St Austell Brewery and supported by St Ives Town Council. Alongside St Ia Church, the venues hosting performers are:

• The Bier Huis Grand Cafe
• Café Art
• The Castle Inn
• The Golden Lion
• Harbour View House
• The Lifeboat Inn
• Pedn Olva
• The Pilchard Press
• The Queen’s Hotel
• Tretho Lounge
• The Western Hotel
• The Rum & Crab Shack
• Sea of Coffee

The Shanty Shout Committee and the Edward Hain Centre have thanked the performers travelling from far and wide, the venues whose contributions help secure the event’s future, the volunteers and collectors, and the audiences who turn up to listen, sing and give.

For the latest news on this year’s line-up, visit the St Ives Shanty Shout website or follow @stivesshout on Facebook and Instagram.