The Solent Shanty Buoys 5 chaps singing shanties and songs of the sea a capella

We need an area for 5 blokes with mics with 2 speakers on stands (about 8x5 meters - though we've sung in smaller areas). We need 2 x13amp sockets and 1 or 2 parking spaces

Yes, we're self contained. We bring our own PA system as well as simple lighting. For festivals, etc. we're happy to use the festival's kit

We need directions to the venue and the place to unload our equipment. It's helpful if you give us the approximate audience size. Tell us if you'd like us to bring chorus sheets for the audience.

Yes, we can play music before and between sets. We would generally play shanty or folk music but we can adapt to the client's needs

We played a wonderful gig at the exclusive Oxbridge University Club in Pall Mall. It was a formal dinner interspersed with our shanties. We got all of them singing! We've performed at many brilliant venues at the Falmouth International Shanty Festival: on stage, in pubs, bars and restaurants. The atmosphere is amazing. Tens of thousands of shanty fans are there over the weekend so it's just one big party. We go down well at beer festivals where we find the audience is up for some hearty singing. At the other end of the scale we have performed at funerals and wakes where we tone down our act to fit in with the atmosphere. Audiences have reported they they find our contribution quite moving

We are big fans of The Longest Johns and we include several of their songs in our sets such as Bones in the Ocean and The Captain's Daughter. We also include songs by The Jolly Rogers and Fisherman's Friends. Of course many shanties and songs of the sea are traditional, and we add to the tradition by penning some of our own.

We are all sailors and share a love of the sea and our journey began at our sailing club. The booked band let us down. We stepped in at short notice and the audience responded enthusiastically. That decided us to spread the joy of singing together and we built up are repertoire from then on.

We love performing at all sorts of events and we tailor our sets to each audience. We particularly like pubs and beer festivals where the audience doesn't need much encouragement to join in. Of course shanty festivals are great because everyone is there to hear our sort of music. We also enjoy the quieter venues where we can really interact with the audience.

We sing mainly shanties and songs of the sea, but we also sing some folk songs and, given time to learn the song, we can sometimes accommodate the client's requests

We do add percussion (cajon, tambourine, bells) to some songs, but we don't use musical instruments

We're happy to perform without amplification if the venue is suitable. We prefer amplification for big venues, lively venues or when performing outside.

We need about 30mins to set up. We're happy to do 2x45 min or 2x60mins. Sometimes people ask us to split into 3 shorter sets with short breaks for the audience to refresh their glasses. At dinners, we sometimes sing as the guests arrive then do our main sets at appropriate breaks in the food service with a grand finale at the end. Our act centres around audience involvement so we don't do background music. Note: some smaller venues don't need our PA system so we're happy to be flexible

Yes, we've performed outside on many occasions. We need a power supply and we prefer it if we are under some sort of cover

We can work up specific songs in advance if requested. If people ask for well-known songs on the night we do our best to oblige. Our sets offer a variety of styles and moods and we choose what we think the audience will like, but we are always open to suggestions.

We're often described as great fun but we also sing some more serious songs which the audience can find quite moving.

If you've booked us for 2x45 min sets that is what you'll get but we're quite happy to split the sets differently (e.g.3 shorter sets) and we're always willing to extend up to about 2 hours in total

Chorus sheets help to get audience participation so we like to provide them. Sometimes the venue is too big, or chorus sheets aren't appropriate, but we sort this out with the client before the event