Origin Essex, United Kingdom Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter | Instruments Guitar, Vocals Name Beans Toast | |
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Born 1 December 1980 (age 43) ( 1980-12-01 ) Associated acts Billy Bragg, Frank Turner, Johnny Flynn, Laura Marling, Emmy the Great, Mumford and Sons, The Holloways Role Singer · beansontoastmusic.com Profiles | ||
Beans on toast folk singer songs from the shed
Beans On Toast is the stage name of British folk singer Jay McAllister from Braintree, Essex, who rose to prominence out of the UK folk scene in 2005. His songwriting openly deals with the topics of politics, drugs and love. Beans on Toast has released eight studio albums, traditionally releasing a new record each year on 1 December, McAllister's birthday.
Contents
- Beans on toast folk singer songs from the shed
- Beans on toast things
- Career
- Studio albums
- Compilations
- References
Beans on toast things
Career
Jay McAllister was born on 1 December 1980. Embarking on the folk music scene in 2005, Beans on Toast opened the Glastonbury Festival, and has done so every year since. He supported Kate Nash at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2008. He released his debut 50-track double album Standing On A Chair in 2009. Produced by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, it featured guest vocals by Emmy The Great, Frank Turner and members of The Holloways, amongst others.
Along with Ian Grimble, Beans on Toast produced 2010 follow-up Writing On The Wall. Both albums were well-received and gained positive reviews in the Sunday Times and the Mirror, alongside airplay on 6Music, XFM, and Radio 1 and 2. Later in the year, Beans On Toast played in the "Westway Round the UK Tour", the first national tour by Strummerville bands.
Beans on Toast's third album, Trying to tell the Truth, was released in 2011 and produced by Frank Turner, with Beans on Toast going on to be the support act for Turner’s sold out Wembley Arena show in April 2012.
A fourth studio album, Fishing for a Thank You, was released in 2013 with production work by Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart. During this period, Beans on Toast also headlined a sold-out Scala show in Kings Cross, London, which was captured and released as the Live at Scala album in 2013. The fifth album, Giving Everything, was released on 1 December 2013 and made it into the top ten of the iTunes’ Singer-Songwriter Charts.
In 2014, Beans on Toast performed to a crowd of over 100,000 in one week while opening Frank Turner’s UK stadium tour. In the same year, he embarked upon his first American tour, playing headline shows as well as several dates with Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly. A limited edition 10” was released in the UK entitled Best of Toast Pressed On A Vinyl for Record Store Day 2014 in April. This led to a sixth studio album, The Grand Scheme of Things, followed by a UK tour.
Throughout 2015, Beans on Toast toured the UK and US, as well as playing one-off shows in the Netherlands, Germany, and South America. He kicked off the year touring America before returning to the UK for an "Off the Road" tour, visiting smaller venues in the UK. Beans on Toast also toured during the festival season, appearing at YNOT Festival, Boomtown, and the Glastonbury Festival, amongst others. In mid-September, Jay followed long-time friend and producer Frank Turner on his headline tour of America. In December 2015, Beans on Toast released a seventh album, Rolling Up A Hill, recorded in Kansas with Truckstop Honeymoon.
In 2016 McAllister again completed his usual touring schedule, including North America, two UK tours, and a number of other shows worldwide. On his main UK tour in November/December McAllister had two main support acts, SkySmeed, an American country singer and Tensheds, a piano bashing duo. On the 1st December, he released his 8th album "A Spanner In The Works" which was recorded over one weekend on a laptop, straying a way from a typical Beans on Toast album with no guitar being used.