The Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival may still be two months away, but tickets have gone on sale for the Gala Concert, the proceeds from which will go to the port's RNLI branch.

Last year's festival raised over £10,000 for the charity and organisers are hoping ticket sales for the Gala Concert will provide a health boost to this year's total. The Gala Concert is the only ticketed event of the festival and will feature Les Souilles de fond de cale, Kimber's Men, The Oggymen, plus Tom Lewis with QFTRY as Poles Apart. It will be staged at the Princess Pavilion on Saturday, June 13 at 7pm.

Richard Gates, town manager and committee chairman, said: “The Gala Concert is definitely one of the highlights of the festival. It's a great evening out, and gives festival goers the chance to sample some of the best shanty groups in Europe, all under one roof.”

Tickets costing £10 are available from the Cornish Store in Arwenack Street and the Princess Pavilion's box office. They are also available online from the Cornish Riviera box office which can be accessed via www.falmouthseashanty.co.uk.

The festival itself runs from June 12 to 14 and will see over 50 different shanty groups performing at over 20 venues across the town, from open spaces such as The Moor, Events Square and Custom House Quay, to numerous pubs, shops and The Famouth Hotel.