The Jack Tars
The Jack Tars will take you on a musical maritime voyage through the Golden Age Of Sail. Specialising in Sea Shanties, you can expect a multi-instrument folk band approach backed up by powerful harmonies from the rising young folk band. The Jack Tars retain traditional elements and arrangements whilst delivering them with high energy and in their own unique style they are pioneering within the growing Shanty genre! It’s great fun for audience participation! Along with some good old Irish Folk songs, Drinking Songs and Jigs/Reels/Hornpipes you can expect a lively foot-stompin’ performance.
Gigs can be tailored to meet your requirements whether it be solely historic sea shanties at a maritime event or a private Birthday party filled with Irish classics. We can move around & interact with the audience at a street festival or we can play on stage with our own full PA system whilst always dressed in historical costumes. To read The Jack Tars full story, head down past gigs and photos.
We’ve just released our first self written Sea Song, Any Port Will Do, so do have a listen to that on YouTube. Keep a weather eye on our gig list below to see where we will be making port this year! We will keep adding to the list for next year! Have a listen to our music whilst you browse our page, using the links below. Plunder available through our Bandcamp store!
BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEO OUT NOW!
UPCOMING VOYAGES 2026!
OCT
Sat 17th/Sun 18th - CORNWALL -Mevagissey Shanty Festival - (Timings TBC - Free Entry)
NOV
Sat 28th - LANCASHIRE - Brinscall Acoustic Cabaret - Music For All NW - Eve Timings TBC (Donations)
DEC
PROV 5th/6th - YORKSHIRE - Robin Hood’s Bay Victorian Fest- at BERTIES OF BAY - (12-4:30pm - Free Entry) PROV
Sat 12th - YORKSHIRE - Made In Whitby Christmas Market - Whitby Brewery - Timings TBC - (Free Entry)
The Jack Tars Story
Formed in Yorkshire in the Spring of 2020 during 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 proved to be a very good year for The ‘Tars’ as they played successfully at a number of Yorkshire Folk 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. ‘Roll The Old Chariot’ was released a month in advance as the single which to date has 23,000 views. They also had a big line up change before the spring just in time for the festival season. Highlights of the year were finally venturing out of Yorkshire to head 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.
2024 was the busiest year yet with The Jack Tars recording and releasing their debut album ‘All Hands’, a full-length 14 track album on March 8th on Bandcamp. Along with it there was an official music video for ‘Drunken Sailor’ on YouTube which gained 8000 views. The album was later released to Spotify/YouTube in April and is still available to buy as a physical/digital copy on Bandcamp or at gigs. The Tars went on a summer tour to promote the album, setting sail from old blighty to go ‘A Roving’ on the shores of Europe to play at International Maritime Festivals in Bremen (GER) and Appingedam (NET). Other highlights were playing on The Endeavour Replica at Whitby Pirate Festival to raise money for the RNLI and returning to Harwich International Shanty Festival and playing at Made In Whitby’s Christmas Market’s.
Starting 2025 off with a full broadside, ‘The Tars’ sailed off to Poland’s International Shanty Festival in Krakow and went on more Spring and Summer voyages than any other year to date! They played for the first time in France at The International Le Festival du Chant de Marin for the first along with returning to Germany and performing at new UK venues in uncharted territory such as Hastings, Arnside, Morecambe, Middlesbrough, Halstead, Catterick, Newcastle, Surrey, Chichester, Tamworth and Haworth!
2026 has been a quiet year for the Tars on the public front only appearing for some private events whilst busily arranging their first ever self written Sea Shanty and filming a music video which took them out to sea! All filmed locally up in the north at Whitby and Hartlepool you can watch it on YouTube now. They’ve also been working on some new arrangements and material for gigs! For the end of 2026 the Tars will be making their first ever appearance in Cornwall at Mevagissey Shanty Festival before returning up north to finish the year playing in Lancashire in November and Whitby for Christmas.
Keep a weather eye on the horizon as they might just be sailing into a port-town near you!
Prices
It is best to email us for a quote as every event is different and can involve more travelling. There will be 5-7 of us performing in period costumes to fit in with your event theme and we perform in pubs, festivals, ships and private events!
Email Us At -
thejack-tars@hotmail.com
Watch Our Debut Music Video Here!
PAST VOYAGES 2025!
JANUARY
Fri 24th - The Craven Arms, Cruck Barn- APPLETREEWICK, BD23 6DA - Doors at 7pm
Sat 25th - Acoustic Cabaret (unplugged) - BRINSCALL, PR6 8QP - Doors at 7pm
FEBRUARY
21st-23rd - International ‘Shanties’ Festival - KRAKOW - POLAND - Free & Ticketed Concerts
MARCH
Sat 15th - LEEDS - The Chemic Tavern - 7:30-10:30pm
APRIL
Sat 12th - CHICHESTER - Goodwood Members Meeting - (6:30pm - 7:10pm - Weekend Tickets Here)
Sun 13th - SURREY - The Merry Harriers - (3pm - 5:30pm - Free Entry)
Thur 17th - HARROGATE - Major Tom’s Social - (7:30 - 10:30pm - Donations)
Fri 18th - DURHAM - White Room Music Cafe - (7:30 - 10:30pm - £14 - Tickets Here)
Sat 19th - MIDDLESBROUGH - Toft House - (7:30pm-10:30pm - £11 - Tickets Here)
MAY
3rd-4th - MIDDLETON HALL, TAMWORTH - VE DAY 80th Anniversary - (12-3pm - £10 - TICKETS HERE)
Sat 10th - MOLD (WALES) - Cowboys & Sailors Night - with Hell or High Water (7:30pm - LATE) (Free Entry, Reserve via the band/email/phone)
Sat 17th - WHITBY - Fish N’ Ships Festival - (4pm-6pm - Free Entry)
Sun 18th - SEWERBY (BRIDLINGTON) - Ship Inn - (2pm - 5pm - Free Entry)
JUNE
7th-8th - ROBIN HOODS BAY - Folk Festival - at BERTIES OF BAY - (12-4:30pm - Free Entry)
Sun 15th - BRIDLINGTON - Steampunk & Race The Waves Festival (12-4pm - Free Entry)
JULY
Thur 3rd - HALSTEAD - Hedingham Castle - Sea Shanty Night- 7 - 10pm - Tickets
Sat 5th - NEWCASTLE - Alphabetti Theatre - 7pm - 10:30 - Tickets £10 (Support from Kyle Lennox, Noah Fenton & Alex Lord)
Sat 12th - CATTERICK GARRISON - Private Evening Event
Sun 13th - HAWORTH - Haworth Festival - Cobbles & Clay - 7pm-10pm - Tickets £13
Sat 19th - HASTINGS - Hastings Pirate Festival (The Sea Dog Pub) - 6pm - 9pm - Free Entry
Sun 20th - HASTINGS - Hastings Pirate Festival - (Main Stage) 2:15 - 4pm - Free Entry
AUG
Fri 1st - Sun 3rd - GERMANY - Internationales Festival Maritim Bremen
Fri 8st - Sun 10th - FRANCE - Festival du Chant de Marin Paimpol
Sat 16th - MORECOMBE - Morecombe Maritime Festival - (Day time free/Evening ticketed)
Sat 16th - ANRSIDE - Arnside Maritime Festival - Sailing Club - (Evening ticketed)
Sat 23rd - BRIDLINGTON - The Ship Inn - (SEWERBY) - 2-5pm Free Entry
Sun 24th - ALNWICK - The Ship Inn - Low Newton by the sea - Free Entry
Thur 28th - HEBDEN - The OLD SCHOOL TEA ROOMS - (Near Grassington) - Free Entry
Fri 29th - WHITBY - Whitby Pirate Festival - 7 - 10pm Tickets - £5
Sun 31st - CRICH - Crich Tramway Village Pirate Day - Ticketed
OCT
Sat 18th - HALIFAX -Super Saturdays at Westgate Arcade - (1:30pm - 4pm - Free Entry)
NOV
Fri 7th - WAKEFIELD - Shanty Night - Double bill with Kimber’s Men - (Info here - Free Entry)
Fri 14th - APPLETREEWICK - The Craven Arms - Double bill with Johnny Campbell - (Tickets £11.55)
DEC
6th-7th - ROBIN HOODS BAY - Victorian Festival - at BERTIES OF BAY - (12-4:30pm - Free Entry)
PAST VOYAGES 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)
Sun 19th - Fish N’ Ships Festival - WHITBY - 1-3pm plus Evening Concert 7:30-10pm
May - Sat 25th - St Helens’ Heritage Day - ST HELENS - 11-3pm
JUNE/JULY
June - 8th & 9th - Robin Hoods Bay Folk Fest - (at BERTIES OF BAY) - 12-4:30pm
AUGUST
1st/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 - See their website
December
7th-8th Robin Hoods Bay Victorian Festival - BERTIES OF BAY - 12-4pm
Sun 15th - Made In Whitby Christmas Festival - WHITBY BREWERY - 3-5pm
Reviews
Coming Soon
