MEN are Singing, Cornwall’s first alternative male voice choir is taking to the road this autumn with a special farewell stage show, visiting five venues.

The acclaimed social art project/brainchild of artist and composer Seamas Carey started life six years ago as an inquiry into why younger men weren’t joining choirs. It has since developed into a 50-man-strong chorus, headlining festivals and inventing new traditions, with a surprising mix of barnstorming covers and heart-warming original compositions.  

Seamas explains: “However, all good things must come to an end. This final touring show is a theatrical, spirit raising and moving exploration of what it means to be a man, and how to embrace an ending together”. 

“Featuring bucket loads of vulnerability, self-aware humour and positive masculinity – the men will share their love of singing, invite you to join in, and hopefully, make you feel better,” he adds. 

The tour dates include:

At the same time, Men Are Singing are releasing their debut and final album on vinyl. This will be available to order at the shows, along a wide range of exclusive ‘merch’ including caps, t-shirts and other goodies. As well as the famous Tea Towel, featuring pictures of all the men drawn by themselves, there is also a beautiful, limited edition print by local artist, and choir member, Matt Johnson.

“This farewell stage show is Men are Singing’s most ambitious endeavour yet,” said Seamas. “With this tour we also want to create a lasting legacy and archive for future people to start their own choirs. We want to spread the smile-inducing effect of people singing together and hopefully inspire future generations to carry on the tradition. Because, we believe, singing makes you feel better.” 

Choir member, Henry Emmett, explains the choir started as a social experiment to see if you could younger men to join choirs by singing less conventional songs and taking themselves a little less seriously. 

“Since 2018 over 150 men have taken part in the choir. It’s built into a really strong community force of positive, caring, sensitive men. We’ve been creating music videos, holding talking circles, making new traditions and along the way entertaining thousands of people at our gigs,” he explains. 

The choir wants to celebrate everything we have achieved, all our successes as well as our mistakes and really think about what it means to end well, adds fellow member, Peter Lefort. 

“There is so much we still want to do before we finish. As well as farewell tour and album, we want to leave a legacy – a blueprint – for others to follow in our footsteps,” he adds.