The Allegheny Bilge Rats Shanty Choir

 

Central Pennsylvania hasn’t been underwater since the pre-Cambrian era. And the founder of the Allegheny Bilge Rats Shanty Choir has never been on an oceangoing boat. But the enthusiastic response, of the singers, to the old sailor songs is clear and infectious. Our shanty choir is growing, in number and volume, in and around the Penn State Altoona campus.

Props go out to artist, musician, and musicologist Art Rosenbaum for offhandedly introducing Steven Sherrill to the genre. And to the rowdy crew who jumped onboard without hesitation when asked “want to come to a sea shanty party?”

In a world where everything is judged, commodified, packaged, and marketed, opportunities to come together for the sake of nothing other than the joy of making community noise are hard to find. The Allegheny Bilge Rats Shanty Choir sings for each other. We’d be happy to let you join us.

Fourteen rowdy & raucous tracks from our campus and community shanty choir.