From postman to popstar! Nathan Evans took old sea shanties, sang them on TikTok, took over the Internet, and landed himself a record deal. Sea shanty “Wellerman” star Nathan Evans will perform in Lithuania and Estonia.
24.01. Fotografiska Tallinn, Estonia
The flight of Nathan Evans' singing career is illustrated by large numbers. He has 1.2 million followers on TikTok, his version of "Wellerman" has received more than 16 million views on YouTube, and 5.2 billion TikTok videos carry the hashtag #seashanty. Among his fans, one will find legendary rock band Queen guitarist Brian May, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Take That singer Gary Barlow.
It all started when Nathan from Scotland decided to start uploading TikTok videos after completing his morning postman duties. One of the first shanties he shared on his channel was a cover of a century-old traditional Irish song "Leave Her, Johnny". But everything took on a new dimension when Nathan was challenged to make his cover version of the sailors' work song "Wellerman." The singer's voice and charisma gave the song a boost, which led to incredible results.
For the former postman, who discovered himself overnight at the center of the pop-folk cultural movement #seashanty, the European tour starting in January 2022 is a long-term dream.
"I can't describe how happy the announcement of the tour makes me. I've been dreaming about it since I was 6 years old. It's just wonderful! ”Evans rejoices.
Lifting the spirits of those in the pandemic today Nathan says: „back in the day when the shanties were sung, it was to bring everybody together, to keep them all in time, to keep the morale high“ and that’s exactly what he has done a century later.
