QUEER HISTORY: CHANTEYS AND SAILORS to Be Presented at South Street Seaport Museum
The Ranzo Boys, NYC's premier trans maritime trio, will perform folk music and sea chanteys at 213 Water Street.
South Street Seaport Museum has announced Queer History: Chanteys and Sailors on Sunday, July 26, 2026 at 2:30pm at 213 Water Street. Book free tickets here.
Join an afternoon of music, storytelling, and hidden histories with the Ranzo Boys-New York City's premier trans maritime trio. Through a dynamic blend of performance and historical context, this event brings to light stories long left out of traditional maritime history, offering both insight and entertainment.
Blending folk music, sea chanteys, and engaging storytelling, the Ranzo Boys will explore queer narratives of the Golden Age of Sail-from Walt Whitman's dockside trysts to sailors using sea voyages to transition to living as men-as well as the vibrant, queer community that continues to surround sea music today.
Expect an afternoon that is as thought-provoking as it is joyful: part concert, part maritime history, and entirely one of a kind.
The Ranzo Boys, Lafayette Matthews, Jules Peiperl, and Lindsey Smith are traditional folk singers putting the queerness back into maritime and folk music. Formed in New York City in 2020, they have performed at the Connecticut Sea Music Festival, the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, New England Folk Festival Association, and the South Street Seaport Museum. They have also recorded eight songs for public radio that were later broadcast as a national NPR special. Their repertoire includes buzzy English harmonies, Appalachian ballads, sea chanteys, droney instrumental backing, and any song that can be remotely construed as queer.
About the 1885 Tall Ship Wavertree
Wavertree was built at Southampton, England, in 1885 and, after a 24-year sailing career and circumnavigating the globe at least three times, is now the last remaining iron-hulled three-masted full-rigged cargo ship. Today, Wavertree is visited by guests of all ages from around the globe and serves as the centerpiece of the 'Street of Ships' at the Seaport Museum. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1978 and symbolizes the profound influence of sailing ships, their intrepid sailors, and the bustling waterfront in shaping New York City into a modern metropolis. As a historic vessel with a fascinating past, Wavertree embodies the rich maritime heritage that played a pivotal role in transforming South Street into the vibrant heart of 'Where New York Begins.' seaportmuseum.org/about-wavertree
About the South Street Seaport Museum
The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working 19th century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of 'Where New York Begins.'
