2022 Festival

The 2022 Connecticut Sea Music Festival is a maritime folk festival that will take place in Essex, CT on June 10-13th. We’re partnering with the town as well as with individual venues such as the Griswold Inn and the Connecticut River Museum. The daytime events are free, with donations accepted. Evening Concerts are ticketed.

Tickets for the Evening Concerts are available online through eventbrite, including a preorder-only package that includes admission to the Connecticut River Museum (a beautiful museum with local history exhibits). Online sales close Sunday, June 5th, at midnight. Concert tickets will also be available at the gate to our mainstage tent, directly before and during the concerts.

T-Shirts for the 2022 Festival are now available! Community T-Shirts are print-on-demand via our Bonfire store, and are available in two color options!

Weekend Schedule

Take a look at our daytime Workshop Schedule! This includes all workshops and demonstrations, as well as an exciting extra – musical trips on the water out of the Connecticut River Museum (separate ticketing required through CRM. Call 860.767.8269 or visit https://ctrivermuseum.org/).
Below the grid, you’ll find our map of the town and festival sites. Our festival sites are spread throughout the town, so be prepared for a little walking about (this is a two-page document which can be printed out double sided on one sheet).

Friday, June 10th:
The weekend starts off with the Symposium on the Music of the Sea at 9:00 A.M. on Friday.
Coffee and pastries will be available from 8:00-9:00am! The symposium will be in-person at the Essex Library, and we are pleased to announce that thanks to a generous grant from Connecticut Humanities, it will be streamed online at our YouTube channel.

Music kicks off on Friday at 7:00 P.M. with our first Evening Concert, held at our mainstage tent on the lower lawn of the Connecticut River Museum.

Saturday, June 11th:
Saturday morning, music and workshops begin at 10:00 A.M. at multiple venues throughout the town.
The Saturday Evening Concert begins at 7:00 P.M.

Sunday, June 12th:
Sunday morning begins with the traditional maritime hymn sing – this time, revival style under the big tent!– and continues with music and workshops throughout the town from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. The final concert of the festival will be Sunday afternoon, and run from 3:00P.M. at 6:00 P.M.

Monday, June 13th:
Still standing after a weekend of music? Come to Survivor’s Night at the Griswold Inn for some farewell music & merriment.

Parking in downtown Essex is very tight! We have arranged for several satellite parking locations, and will be running shuttles on Friday from 5:00P.M.-11:30P.M., Saturday 8:00A.M.-11:30P.M., and Sunday 8:00A.M.-6:30P.M. Satellite parking will be indicated with signs coming into town, as well as marked on our map! Our shuttles are not handicap-accessible this year. There are several marked handicap parking spots in downtown Essex, labeled “H” on the map.

We understand many attendees have concerns about indoor events. Our Evening Concerts are under the mainstage tent at the Connecticut River Museum. Sides may be up or down, weather-dependent. The Town Green and the Family Stage are outdoors – both of these move to the Town Hall in case of rain. These two stages have no seating– be prepared to sit on the grass, or bring your own chair! Demonstrations on the Lay House Lawn will move to the covered North Deck at the Connecticut River Museum if there is rain.

While the MM&TS expects all attendees to abide by the current State of Connecticut COVID regulations, we do highly encourage all attendees to remain masked for the benefit of their fellow community members.

2022 Featured Performers

How to Get There

Essex, CT is most easily accessed off of Connecticut Route 9. Parking in town is very limited; satellite parking will be available for festival attendees, with some Accessible Parking reserved in town. Check back soon for more info.

From the East, South, or West:
From Interstate 95 (either direction), take Exit 69 onto CT Route 9 North. Take Exit 3.

From the Old Saybrook train station, take the Boston Post Road towards CT 154 North. Turn left off of CT 154 for the entrance to Route 9 North. From Route 9, take Exit 3.

Coming off Exit 3, turn left (you will be crossing a median) and then right at the light.

From the North:
From Interstate 91 South, take left Exit 22S to merge onto CT Route 9 South (Middletown / Old Saybrook). Off Route 9 South, take Exit 3. Turn left , then left again at the light.

Where to Stay

Below is a listing of local hotels and motels.

In Essex:
The Griswold Inn (one of our venues) is directly downtown and has lodging and excellent food.

In Ivoryton:
The Copper Beech Inn
The Ivoryton Inn

In Old Saybrook:
Liberty Inn
Quality Inn
Pier Blue Inn
Super 8 by Wyndham
Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
Saybrook Point Resort & Marina

In Old Lyme:
Old Lyme Inn

In Deep River:
Riverwind Inn B&B

Quick Navigation

Weekend Schedule

Featured Performers

Directions

Lodging

Organizers

Bonnie Milner & Anayis (A.J.) Wright
Festival Directors

Joseph Morneault, Edie Stern, & Janet Buck
Venue Liaisons

Faye Ringel
Symposium Coordinator

Geoff Kaufman
Friends of the Festival Coordinator

Donna Goodspeed & Jodi Brazal
Volunteer Coordinator &
Assistant Volunteer Coordinator

Lynz Morahn
Housing Coordinator