The Jack Tars
The Jack Tars will bring you music from the Golden Age Of Sail with a variety of instruments including: Melodeon, Fiddle, Guitar and Whistle. Specialising in Sea Shanties, you can expect a mixture of traditional and contemporary arrangements which are high energy and great fun for audience participation! Along with some good old Irish Folk songs, Jigs/Reels/Hornpipes you can expect a lively foot tapping performance. Gigs can be tailored to meet your requirements whether it be solely historic sea shanties or a Birthday party filled with Irish classics. We can move around & interact with the audience at a street festival if not plugged in or we can play on stage with our own full PA system and of course always dress in historical costumes.
Formed in Yorkshire 2020 in lockdown the band struggled to meet and rehearse until 2021 when they first appeared at A Wakefield Cultural Heritage Event, Ripon Boat Club & Skipton Canal Basin. Since then, 2022 has been a very good year for The ‘Tars’ as they have played successfully at a number of Yorkshire Festivals like Shepley, Holmfirth, Knaresborough, Grassington, & Robin Hoods Bay!
2023 saw The Tars build on their initial success and release a 5 track EP available on Spotify as well as music videos accompanying it on YouTube. They also had a big line up change before the spring just in time for the festival season. Highlights of the year were leaving Yorkshire to venture down south to Wiltshire’s Vintage Nostalgia Festival, Tide Over Fest in Plymouth and Harwich International Sea Shanty Festival. A rather special moment was being asked to perform at Liverpool’s’ 80th anniversary commemorations of The Battle Of The Atlantic paying tribute to the brave sailors who perished during the longest campaign during WW2.
All of a sudden it’s 2024 and The Jack Tars have been busy recording a full length 14 track album ready for release on March 8th as a CD on Bandcamp as well as a preorder campaign available via Kickstarter. The Tars have some big plans for this year as we set sail from old blighty to the shores of Europe for International Maritime Festivals!
Keep an eye on our gig list below the photos to see where we are playing this year, We will keep adding to it!
Upcoming Gigs - 2024!
MARCH/APRIL
March - Fri 8th - ALBUM LAUNCH - The Craven Arms - APPLETREEWICK - (7:30pm…)
March - Sun 30th - Victorian Fest - BACCUP (Near ROSSENDALE) - (ALL DAY)
April - Fri 5th - HEART Centre Headingley - LEEDS - (8 - 10pm)
April - Sat 6th - White Room Music Cafe - DURHAM - (8 - 10:30pm - Tickets £14)
MAY
May - Thur 2nd - Major Tom’s Social - HARROGATE - (8:15 - 10:15pm)
May - Fri 3rd - St Denys’s Church - YORK (7:30 - 10pm - Tickets £8)
May - 28th - Festival Announcement coming soon
JUNE/JULY
June - 8th & 9th - Robin Hoods Bay Folk Fest - (At Berties Of Bay All Day)
AUGUST
2nd/3rd/4th - Festival Maritim (Bremen, Vegesack) GERMANY
Sat 17th - Cowboys & Sailors at Pendragon - Mold - WALES - 7:30pm
Sun 18th - FEVA Festival - KNARESBOROUGH - 11am, 1pm, 2:30pm
Mon 19th - The Endeavour Ship - Whitby Folk Week - WHITBY - 12-5pm
22/23/24/25 - Bie Daip, Appingedam, NETHERLANDS
Thur 29th - Old School Tea Rooms (HEBDEN/GRASSINGTON) - 3pm-6pm
Fri 30th - Whitby Pirate Festival - WHITBY - Daytime & 7:30pm Concert
Sat 31st - The Ship Inn - Sewerby - BRIDLINGTON - 2pm-5pm
September
Sun 1st - The Ship Inn - Low Newton-by-the-sea - ALNWICK - 3pm - 6pm
Thur 5th - Puzzle Hall Inn - HALIFAX - 7:30pm-10pm
Fri 6th - Lightcliffe Club - HIPPERHOLME - 8pm - 10:30pm
Sat 7th - The Grove - HUDDERSFIELD - 7:30pm - 10:30pm
Sun 8th Sep - The Boathouse Bar -SKIPTON - 2pm-5pm
October
11-13th OCT - HARWICH INTERNATIONAL SHANTY FESTIVAL
December
TBC Robin Hoods Bay Victorian Festival TBC
Prices
This is a rough guide, it is best to email us as we are open to negotiations/deals. There will be 6-8 of us performing.
Pubs - £350
Festivals - £700
Private Events - £1200 (Weddings/Birthday Parties)
European Festivals - £1500