Great Big Sea: 20 of our favourite things for their 20th anniversary

Grace Stanisci

In honour of Great Big Sea's 20th anniversary and the release of their new box set "XX" on Oct. 30, we count down our 20 favourite moments, videos, songs and everything we love about this group of awesome Newfoundlanders.

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20. The variety of instruments that the founding members play.
According to The Canadian Encyclopaedia, here is a list of the instruments each founding member of the band is able to play:

- Alan Doyle is responsible for "vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandola, mandolin and banjo." He can also play the medieval lute.
- Bob Hallett is also responsible for vocals and can play the "mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, banjo, fiddle, whistles, pipes, accordion and concertina."
- Sean McCann, a vocal contributor, plays the "guitar, tin whistle, bodhran and handles percussion."

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19. The whole album "Up," but especially the track "Run Runaway."

18. They've performed on a cruise ship tour called "Ships and Dip."

17.Their 2005 song "Captain Kidd" from the album "The Hard and the Easy."

16. Their track "Oh Yeah" is the theme song in the opening credits of the Canadian television series "Republic of Doyle."

15. They worked with Canadian singer/songwriter Hawksley Workman on their album "Fortune's Favour."

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14. The tune "Consequence Free" from the album "Turn"

13. Their song "Recruiting Sergeant" pays homage to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in World War I.

12. Their track "Walk On The Moon" from the 2008 album "Fortune's Favour."

11. There is a bonus song on their album "Play."

10. The three founding members are still in the band today.

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9. The tune "Good People."

8. They perform for charity.
- Check out GBS performing for the Cambridge Memorial Hospital Charity here.

7. Their rendition of R.E.M.'s classic song "End of the World" from the album "Play."

6. How Doyle feels about hockey and his passion for the Montréal Canadiens.

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5. The song "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)."

4. Their performance at the 2002 Juno Awards that took place in their hometown of St. John's, Nfld., and started with an a capella audience sing-along of their version of the Newfoundland folk song "The Ryans and the Pitmans," "Rant and Roar."

3. Doyle performed Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" on the Spanish Steps in Rome with actors Russell Crowe, Kevin Durand and Scott Grimes after the release of their film "Robin Hood" in 2010.

2. Their uplifting track "Ordinary Day" from 1997's album "Play."

1. They are proud to be Canadian.
If you don't believe us, just check out what Doyle wrote on Twitter while traveling abroad on tour this past July: "Happy Canada Day. Proud to fly the Maple Leaf all last week in Europe. People form all over the world smile when they see it. Lucky Us."

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