Sea shanties rang out through Albany’s streets as thousands of music lovers packed pubs, halls and public spaces for a weekend celebrating maritime tradition, folk music and community spirit.

The eighth International Folk ‘n’ Shanty Festival transformed the CBD from Friday to Sunday, with performances filling the town’s venues including Albany Town Hall, Wesley Church, the Albany Club, Six Degrees, Wilson Brewing Company, the Earl Of Spencer Inn and Dune Beer Co.

This year’s festival embraced an Irish theme, with more than 200 musicians, shanty crews and folk artists entertaining crowds across dozens of performances.

Ticketed concerts were sold out weeks in advance while free performances kept the music flowing throughout the city.

Festival artistic director Rod Vervest said the weekend had exceeded expectations.

“It’s been another very successful program,” he said.

“We had an Irish theme this year, so there were lots of Irish acts down from Perth.

“Our headline act was from Brisbane this year, a group called Amaidi — a Brisbane-based trio who play a real fusion of of Irish, Scottish, and Celtic stuff.

“They were a really fabulous band that played in the in the town hall and also at Wilson’s this year.”

Mr Vervest said the festival featured a strong mix of visiting and local performers.

“There were 200 individual musicians here, between 40 and 50 bands with 13 shanty crews from all around the State and a big cohort of local musicians as well.

“So probably 70 per cent of the program is local artists.

“About 3000 people come to town for it.”

Mr Vervest said the festivals success was measured by the atmosphere it created as much as attendance.

“We’re more obsessed with how good it is for the community and how happy people are out there engaging with it — the real measure for us is the community spirit,” he said.

“The ticketed events were sold out six weeks before they started.

“We sold out the town hall twice and sold out Wilson’s ticketed concerts twice as well.

He said the event celebrated the whole festival rather than a particular individual performer.

“The way we like to look at it is that the the festival itself is the headline, and everyone who comes here sort of shares shares it at an equal level.

“It’s a really great opportunity for the musicians to be able to come to an event where there’s a focused audience.

“Everyone was stoked with it this year — it was great.”

Albany Shantymen member Gary Greenwald said the festival had continued to grow since its early days.

“I thought it was a fabulous weekend and I think the festival gets better every year,” he said.

“It’s kind of got its own identity now, from humble beginnings it’s become something where it’s got a lovely balance of folk music and sea shanties.

“There’s great audience participation and the artists really enjoy it so it’s a fabulous weekend.”

Mr Greenwald said one of the highlights was reconnecting with musicians from around the State.

“For us it’s meeting up with friends, catching up with old mates, sharing music, sharing ideas and hanging out,” he said.

“It’s really lovely for us because it’s like a long weekend of catching up with old mates and having fun.”

Mr Greenwald thanked volunteers who make the festival possible.

“It’s run by volunteers, so it takes a huge amount of effort,” he said.

“A big thank you to Rod (Vervest), a thank you to Mel (Goodall) for all their hard work and a thank you to the festival committee as a whole.”