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• Saturday 21 October 2023, 7:00pm

Oysterband are back on stage where they belong, with a brand new album and classic live tracks. Uplifting songs for uncertain times.

“We’ve never been more pleased to say…..Meet You There!”

The 5-times BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning outfit that brought passion, power and not a little poetry to folk and roots music, enter their fifth decade as vital and creative as ever, with some of the finest songs in the modern folk canon to their name: Put Out The Lights; When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down); Blood Wedding; Everywhere I Go; The Oxford Girl; Granite Years; Native Son; A River Runs…..these and many others from their vast back catalogue will feature as they embark on another year of international touring and festivals.

Theirs has been a unique and fiercely independent career. Oysterband still play with that spirit of the punk ceilidh band that roared through people’s lives all those years ago. But the growing depth and sensitivity of their songwriting, coupled with the strength of John Jones’ voice and their remarkable musicianship, have lifted their music into a richer, more acoustic era.

Their occasional collaboration with folk diva June Tabor has produced two cult-classic award-winning albums,  Freedom & Rain  and  Ragged Kingdom . The latter and their hugely influential album  Holy Bandits were voted among the Ten Best Albums of the last 30 years by the public in a poll by fRoots Magazine in 2016.

Support by Nunnery Norheim 

Lizzie Nunnery and Vidar Norheim are an alternative folk duo from Liverpool and Norway. Their debut  album  Company of Ghosts  was one of BBC Radio 2′s top 10 folk albums of the year, and launched a creative collaboration that is ever surprising and innovative. Following Norwegian and UK tours of their play with songs  Narvik ( Best New Play, UK theatre awards 2017), they return with  I Saw the City : an aching, soaring album, conjuring love for the city and dreams of escape. 

This event is part of Manchester Folk Festival. 

Manchester Folk Festival is an urban multi-venue festival based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The festival takes place each October and brings together a diverse range of artists who represent the broad definition of contemporary folk music. This year’s festival runs Thu 19  – Sat 21 October.

Click here for more information.

6pm  - Doors

7pm-7.30pm  - Nunnery Norheim

8pm-10pm  - Oysterband

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Oysterband Tour Dates and Upcoming Concerts

Frequently asked questions about oysterband, is oysterband on tour, how many upcoming tour dates is oysterband scheduled to play, when does the oysterband tour start, what venues is oysterband performing at, 2024 tour dates:, 2025 tour dates:.

• News Jazz ’24: Theo Croker, Jacky Terrasson and more 13.06.2024
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Oysterband Announce Three-Piece Acoustic UK Tour This Spring

On a rare tour, the three original members of Oysterband open their treasure-chest of music and stories of life on the road as one of the most-travelled bands in the folk world. Taking in shows across the UK this Spring, tickets are on sale now.

Expect great acoustic versions of classic and rare songs with John Jones’ characteristic passionate vocals, Alan Prosser’s sublime guitar skills and Ian Telfer’s soaring fiddle and dry wit. Three musicians at the top of their game offer an irreverent, insightful glimpse into their world… and some great songs.

26/04/2023 – The Greystones, Sheffield – Buy Tickets 27/04/2023 – The Ropewalk, Barton-upon-Humber – Buy Tickets 28/04/2023 – Brewery Arts, Kendal – Buy Tickets 29/04/2023 – Band on the Wall, Manchester – Buy Tickets 30/04/2023 – NCEM, York – Buy Tickets 01/05/2023 – Broseley’s, Birchmeadow – Buy Tickets 02/05/2023 – St. James’ Church Hall, Emsworth – Buy Tickets

Oysterband (acoustic)

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DLWP present: Oysterband & June Tabor ‘A Long Long Goodbye’

Saturday 5 october 2024 7.30pm tickets £30.50.

• 5 October, 7.30pm Book

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After 45 years on the road, Oysterband have decided to take the tour bus out for its last ride!

After 45 years on the road, the legendary Canterbury-formed collective will be hanging up their touring boots and bringing their unique partnership with the English folk songstress to a worthy conclusion.

But it’s not over yet… With a tour aptly named “ A Long Long Goodbye ”, Oysterband will be bowing-out in style with a year of unmissable shows planned at some of their favourite haunts, where they will be performing a career-spanning set, including highlights of their collaborations with June Tabor.

In a statement about the upcoming tour, Oysterband said:

“We’re hanging up our travelling shoes, but we’re taking a year or so to say goodbye to our lovely live audience.  And we mean to enjoy every minute! It’s been a long, tough, joyful journey, but the time has come. In the words of our own song “Granite Years” , we’re waving you a long, long goodbye… Come help us celebrate!”

ONSALE NOW!

6.45pm Doors

7.30pm Show Start

Emerging in the early 80s from their folk club and ceilidh band days, Oysterband infused both the traditional and their own songs with a passion and energy that was electrifying. Polkas, politics and a heaving dance floor seemed just right for Thatcher’s Britain. Signing to new roots label Cooking Vinyl, headlining English Roots Against Apartheid, playing Glastonbury and the Fleadh several times each, touring with The Pogues in Europe and Billy Bragg in North America, hosting their Big Session Festival in The Midlands. All gained them a large and loyal following both at home and internationally.

Endlessly touring and writing over the course of their 45 year career, the band have played all over the world and released dozens of studio releases throughout their career, including seminal albums like ‘Holy Bandits’ (1993), ‘The Shouting End of Life’ (1995) and ‘Diamonds On The Water’ (2014), not to mention timeless compilations, and unbeatable live albums.

Initially collaborating with June Tabor in 1990, the meeting of minds produced the cult favourite ‘Freedom & Rain’. Reconnecting some 21 years later, the resultant album ‘Ragged Kingdom’ would become one of the best-selling folk-rock albums of the new millennium.

And Oysterband’s efforts have not gone unnoticed either. Awarded winners of several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including Best Band twice, Oysterband’s song-writing has never stood still, and hits such as “The Oxford Girl”, “When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down)”, “Everywhere I Go” and “Put Out The Lights” are now staples of the folk canon.

Most recently, Oysterband released their final studio album ‘Read The Sky’ to much acclaim in 2021 and recently undertook an extensive tour of Europe, plus a special “Decades” tour across the UK where they explore their back catalogue. Embarking on a new tour later on in 2024, Oysterband will be going out on a high as they bid “ A Long Long Goodbye ” to fans and friends with a series of unforgettable live shows.

From their earliest days as a noisy, politicised ceilidh band in the late Seventies, Oysterband have never stopped evolving or providing soundtrack to the changing times.

Initially meeting at Canterbury in Kent, at a time when pubs were alive with folk clubs and music sessions, the Oyster Ceilidh Band (as they were known then), were a band on a simple mission to get dancefloors bouncing. But with a chemistry between its members and music that made a profound connection with its audiences, greater things soon beckoned as the times became more complicated.

Releasing music with relative prolificacy, from their debut as Oyster Ceilidh Band ‘Jack’s Alive’ in 1980; through classics like ‘Step Outside’ (1986), ‘Wide Blue Yonder’ (1987), ‘Ride’ (1989) (as Oyster Band); to mid-period Oysterband wonders like ‘Deserters’ (1992), ‘Holy Bandits’ (1993), ‘Trawler’ (1994), and latter period gems like ‘Rise Above’ (2002) or ‘Diamonds On The Water’ (2014)’; Oysterband have been a constant and uplifting presence in music throughout the decades and have ratcheted-up dozens of studio releases throughout their career.

The band released what stands as their final album in 2022, the acclaimed ‘Read The Sky’, which found the band taking a political stand for their environmental beliefs. As true to their political roots as they ever were, the album was released to chime with the COP26 summit in Glasgow of that year. The album hit the Official Folk Album Chart No.1, a testament to their enduring popularity across the ages.

The creative heart of Oysterband is still here after 45 years: John Jones (vocals, melodeon), Alan Prosser (guitars) and Ian Telfer (violin), with Al Scott, their longtime producer, on bass, Adrian Oxaal (cello and guitar) and newest member Sean Randle on drums.

Most recently, Oysterband undertook an extensive tour of Europe, plus a special “Decades” tour across the UK where they explored their back catalogue in greater depth. Announcing a series of shows with June Tabor in 2024, Oysterband will be going out on a high as they bid “A Long Long Goodbye” to fans and friends with a series of unmissable shows.

They’ve travelled the world but they still play with the fire of that dance band back in Kent.

Featuring  John Jones (vox, melodeon), Ian Telfer (violin, keyboard), Alan Prosser (guitars), Sean Randle (drums, percussion), Al Scott (bass, mandolin) and Adrian Oxaal (cello, guitars), with June Tabor .

Suitable for all ages. Under 14 accompanied by an adult (18+)

Please note that Booking Fees apply on the following transactions:

Online : Tickets booked online are subject to booking fees when purchased through our website. E-tickets for print at at home are emailed instantly on the account you have registered with DLWP and are free of charge. They can also be downloaded from our website within My Account.

Telephone : £3.50 per transaction + £2 postage or free collection at the Box Office.

In Person : There are currently no charges for booking tickets in person.

There is a £2 charge to post tickets.

We strongly recommend ticket buyers to take out Ticket Protection insurance with Secure My Booking available when you book your tickets at check out.

Please note that we are only able to post tickets within the UK. If you live overseas please select box office collection or print at home tickets. Tickets purchased for post will be sent 10 – 14 days before the show date.

Full terms and conditions can be found here .

Book online: Pre-show dining can be booked online as an add-on when purchasing tickets for selected events. You will be purchasing a ticket to guarantee your meal before the show. Please note you must be a ticket holder to the show to book pre-show dining.

Already booked your tickets? If you’ve already booked tickets for a show and would like to add dining, please contact Box Office: [email protected]

On the night: If you have pre-booked please come to the bar to order from the gig menu and sit at one of the reserved tables.

Please be aware that we operate no re-entry for gigs. This means that once you have entered the building, you cannot go out and re-enter. This policy is in line with other major music venues across the UK and put in place on police advice. No re-entry is clearly signposted as you come through security on the front door. There is a fenced-off area on the terrace for people who go out to smoke or vape.

There are plenty of welcoming and good value B&Bs & boutique hotels in Bexhill. The De La Warr Pavilion regularly uses the following:

• Seapray Rooms
• The Driftwood
• The Cooden Beach Hotel
• Coast B & B
• Buenos Aires
• De La Warr View (Holiday Flat)
• By Rail Direct trains go from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford to Bexhill. There are also trains from London Charing Cross, changing at St. Leonards Warrior Square and from London Bridge or Charing Cross going to Battle. Battle is only a short taxi journey away (15 mins approx). Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk  for up-to-date train travel information.
• Taxis Town Taxis:  01424 211 511 Parkhurst Taxis:  01424 733 456
• By Car If driving from the London area: Take the M25, then A21 to Hastings. Turn off at John‘s Cross and follow the signs to Bexhill. OR Take the A22 to Eastbourne, go across the Bishop roundabout to the A271 and follow the signs to Bexhill and the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is on the Marina. From the Brighton area: Follow the A27 out of Brighton until you arrive in Bexhill On Sea.
• Parking Please be aware the Rother District car park outside the De La Warr Pavilion operates paid parking until 7pm. After this time parking is free.

Within the limits of this Grade One listed building, the De La Warr Pavilion strives to be fully accessible with a range of facilities to support your visit.

Assistance Dogs are permitted into the building.

Please contact the Box Office on [email protected] to arrange a visit.

Facilities for disabled visitors

• Ramped access at the front of the building
• A low counter at the Box Office and  Information Desk
• Disabled toilets on two floors
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• Spaces for wheelchairs in the auditorium for seated events
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• Ramped access into the Studio
• Two travel wheelchairs are available for use at the De La Warr Pavilion. To reserve, please call our box office and information desk on (01424) 229111 or ask a member of staff on arrival. The chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and are intended for use inside the Pavilion. Please contact us for more information.

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• Large print season brochures

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• An T-Switch induction loop in some areas of the auditorium (please indicate when booking as this facility is not available on the balcony)
• British Sign Language interpretation tours of the building and exhibitions are available on request.

Related events

Last night of the bexhill proms, sunday 7 july, instrumentalist of the world, saturday 12 october.

• Discography

Oysterband Biography

See below for:

(2) the polite official version (3) a micro-version and (4) an outside view

(1) The Individuals

Born in Falkirk, a place he has revisited just once, on a wet Wednesday (and it was closed). Each male generation of his father's family either worked in a bank or went to sea, which might explain a few things if you believe in genetics as destiny. Grew up in Aberdeen, and in more egalitarian days, when such things were easier (hooray), was the first in his family to go to university, studying Lang'n'Lit at Aberdeen, which he loved, and at Kent at Canterbury, which he did not. Flunked out of an attempted doctorate (the words "George Meredith" can still bring him out in hives) and dossed around as waiter, bartender, overeducated skinhead until "Music saved my life!" Was the fiddler in artfolk band Fiddler's Dram (with Alan and others) until they had a huge novelty-hit single, "Day Trip To Bangor". Fiddler's Dram did one more tour then gratefully took the money and the gold discs and ran, in Ian's and Alan's case into what was then an aspiring dance outfit, The Oyster Ceilidh Band……

Writes much of the band's output of lyrics, generally in consultation with John. Has been banned, er, democratically outvoted by other Oysters from playing sax on stage. Until recently lived in a Cypriot/Kurdish village in north London, where his immediate neighbours were Jamaican, Pakistani, Somali, Greek Cypriot, Chinese and South American, and he liked it very much, thanks, apart from the police helicopters at night.  Has now relocated to a village north-east of London.  Currently into: North Africa, Iran, Turkey;  the poems of C D Wright and of Michael Donaghy;  and the novels of Orhan Pamuk;  though none of these are likely to have an influence on future song-writing.

ALAN PROSSER

Upbringing: totally normal, except for driving parents and siblings demento with whistles, recorders, banging on the piano, etc. They did not deserve this. Early groups (savour the period charm of some of these names): The Clee Three; Madame John; Cuspidor; Beggar's Description; Fiddler's Dram… also a stint with Albion Band. Instruments tried: guitars, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bowed psaltery, bones, bandura, various guitar synths, sitar, drums (failed), trumpet (failed failed), banjo-mandolin (eeyuk!)… Alan says: "I dropped out of Kent University to become a medieval minstrel and pizza chef, though not usually at the same time. Invented the banana-flavoured bolognese sauce for spaghetti, which remains a signature dish in the sense that no one else on the planet will touch it with a bargepole. Got heavily into the guitar; in fact got so far into the guitar that once when Ian was wittering about recent events I had to say: "General election? What general election?" - which I have not been allowed to forget. Found myself in The Oyster Ceilidh Band and the rest you know. Married Jane Elder in 1988, one son Harry born September '93. Made two solo albums, Hall Place (1997) and Makerfield (2003), and a trio album Nomads (2006) with Brendan Power and Lucy Randall.

Born in Aberystwyth, Wales, and brought up in Meltham, Yorks. Dad rarely spoke Welsh, maybe because they called him Taffy, which he hated. Mum's family came from Castleford and had a coal-mining background. Parents were Labour supporters, grandparents were Communists, so there was no shortage of political argument in the house. My grandad, Edward Longley ("Red Ted"), was the greatest influence on my life when young. From him I got radical politics, the sense of injustice, al love of nature, a love of lurchers, hatred of the Tory way of mind, the sense of history, and a short temper.

Went to grammar school; was made aware of what selection in schools does to people. Survived school thanks to good teachers and was the first of my family to get to university. After football, music was my big love, particularly Northern Soul. Became the first mod in Meltham. Learned piano, thankfully.

Went to Exeter University: a revelation, it was so middle-class. Took Politics and Sociology (people did in those days). Fell in love with British traditional music and all things English - learned melodeon, morris-danced, wore collarless shirts, and generally tried my best to become an old man before my time. Arrived in Canterbury, Kent, via London, and met afro-haired, bespectacled guitarist and severe short-haired Scottish fiddle-player (among many others in a truly amazing local music scene). Was an English teacher for some time and became a year-head in Canterbury's only comprehensive school. I was a lazy teacher but a good year-head - I think.

Helped form Oyster Ceilidh Band, which in its prime was the best ceilidh band, anywhere, ever. Took on the role of singer, went full-time into music, never looked back. Now I live on the Welsh border and am struggling to learn Welsh.

Photographs by Alan Prosser

(2) The official, polite biography (aka "more than you really wanted to know") :

Currently Oysterband consists of founder members John Jones (vocal, melodeon), Alan Prosser (guitars, vocal), and Ian Telfer (violin, keyboard, vocal) with Dil Davies (drums), Al Scott (bass guitar, mandolin, vocal), and Adrian Oxaal (cello, guitar, vocal).

At first - around 1978 - purely a dance band ("The Oyster Ceilidh Band"), we soon started experimenting with radical arrangements of traditional songs and with home recording, and even put out 4 albums in the early 80s. These sound harmless enough now, but at the time their home-made, try-anything attitude was controversial. We were determined that traditional music should not be just a branch of the heritage industry.

Other musicians came and went. The name shortened to The Oyster Band. We began to learn how to write songs. In 1985 we met a new roots-music label, Cooking Vinyl. Step Outside (1986), with Ian Kearey on bass and Russ Lax on drums, was their first release. We went on to make 9 studio albums with them.

In the late 80s we toured almost continuously. As well as territories opened up by our new record company in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and North America, and shows with similar-minded artists such as Michelle Shocked and Billy Bragg, we toured for the British Council in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco. Travel on this scale had a powerful impact on our attitudes to the world and on our songwriting.

It also made normal domestic life difficult. First Ian Kearey left in 1988, to be replaced by Ray Cooper; then when Russ Lax left in 1990 Ray called up his old friend drummer Lee Partis. The name shortened again at this point to Oysterband. Russ's last act was to record Freedom And Rain with us and the great English folk diva June Tabor. Although it was essentially a covers collection, the songs were shrewdly chosen, and the album was very well received, particularly in the US. "Imagine if Aerosmith and Madonna announced they were to tour together??!!?" said Rolling Stone , excitably.

Meanwhile in the UK the ground was shifting. As we were expanding from a folk background, others were expanding from a rock background in a folk direction, and the convergence became a new scene. The Pogues, The Levellers, The Waterboys, Celtas Cortos....we found ourselves working in a different context, often called "Celtic" (though the word seems to mean something different in every country). The US became harder, but we acquired new audiences in the UK, Germany and Spain. The high-point of this period is probably Holy Bandits (1993); the first song "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down" was later a substantial hit for Great Big Sea in Canada. (Thanks, guys!)

By 1997 our relations with Cooking Vinyl had cooled somewhat. We didn't seek a new contract, but we co-operated with the preparation of a "Best Of" 2-CD collection, Granite Years (2000), covering the years 1986-1997.

In 2003 we were honoured to receive the "Good Tradition" award at the BBC Folk Awards, and in 2005 were voted "Best Group".

Lee Partis spent some years training as a counsellor/therapist, even while drumming and singing for Oysterband. In 2008 he fulfilled a long-term ambition and left us to work in a prison in the north of England, possibly a first in the history of the entertainment industry. The very experienced Dil Davies then took over the drummer's stool.

In recent years, we've consciously tried to evolve our songwriting beyond the clichés of the "Celtic" style, and with Rise Above (2002) and especially Meet You There (2007) we think we're getting somewhere. Meet You There was hailed widely at the time as our best recording ever.

However, just when we were thinking of taking a tea-break, everything was turned upside down again by the remarkable success of our reunion album with June Tabor, Ragged Kingdom , released in 2011. Waiting 21 years to make a follow-up to Freedom & Rain may seem perverse, but hey! both parties were seriously busy. We never lost our friendship with June in the meantime, and even played the occasional show together; and one day the time just seemed right to try recording together again. Ragged Kingdom gained us 3 more BBC Folk Awards (Best Album, Best Group and Best Trad Track, plus Folk Singer of the Year for June). We toured it very enjoyably through 2012 and 2013 and featured on BBC TV's Later....with Jules Holland .

In early 2014 we put out a collection of new material, Diamonds On The Water , followed by a "Best Of... Vol 2" CD to cover the years from 1999 to 2015, under the title This House Will Stand . The 6-piece line-up with Al Scott and Adrian Oxaal was well-established, but during 2016 Dil Davies handed over on drums to Pete Flood, formerly of Bellowhead. The new album in 2022, Read The Sky , features Pete on one track while the rest of the album was made with Oysterband's new drummer Sean Randle.

(3) In 50 words:

Oysterband make a modern, folk-based British music, acoustic at heart, sometimes intense, sometimes rocking. Since 1978 they've toured in 35 countries  -  festivals, concerts, bars, rallies, jails, bring 'em on!  -  won 5 BBC Folk Awards and made 13 studio albums and one DVD.

They are still full of ideas.

(4) An outside view:

A while back, we asked a music journalist to write a description of the band's career. Here's a slightly shortened version of what he came up with. It's a little unfinished now, but the detail is still informative:

"Right through the '80s and early '90s, you'd have been hard pressed to find something more unhip to be associated with than… (ahem)… fo*k music.

Oysterband had little choice in the matter. Influenced by all manner of music, culture and style, they listened to anything and everything - but the heartbeat of the band was a deep-rooted love of the traditional music of Britain.

Not the invented tradition of twee choruses and dodgy ideologies that inspired a million fake-rustic cliches, a travesty that turned off the very people it was alleged to represent. But a tradition that dealt in integrity, passion, human experience and human emotion - songs that made you want to dance/laugh/cry/jump for joy/kick a few heads in. Hey, that could be folk music, it could be rock music… maybe it's just GOOD music. Whatever, it has helped the Oysters become one of the most irresistible bands of the last decade. And the one before that too.

They originally collided in and around Canterbury, a gang of like-minded mates and musicians who could jam and practice for free in a squat near the university. The ones who wanted to give it a go full-time were Alan Prosser, Ian Telfer, John Jones and Ian Kearey, and co-opting Russell Lax on drums they tackled Thatcherite Britain with a rare old vengeance in the mid-'80s: the rock end of Thatcherite Britain. Flailing distressingly in a laughable sea of new romance, postpunk apathy and pop pap, the music world didn't quite know where to put itself when faced with this sudden onslaught. Folk-rock - whatever that was - had long since withered and died and the Oysters, angry and loud yet still eminently tuneful, were way out on a limb.

STEP OUTSIDE, first release of new label Cooking Vinyl in '86, was born to grab attention on several levels (though maybe not as a PR event - on the day the record came out, the band were in Bombay doing something else entirely). Their treatment of the traditional standard Hal-an-Tow was a keynote track, a venomous statement of intent for a brave new dawn that clearly involved grabbing folk song by the scruff of the neck and shaking furiously. This, alongside some vitriolic social commentaries from their own pens, got up quite a few noses and dented the veneer of sweetness and light which was strangling pop and rock at the time (and a lot of folk and roots music subsequently).

At every turn since, they've steadfastly followed their own instincts, gloriously disregarding irrelevancies such as image, make-believe musical boundaries and media flavours of the month. Their own writing took a leap on 1987's WIDE BLUE YONDER, which included the classic, if seriously strange, Oxford Girl . It featured an electrifying cover of Billy Bragg's Between The Wars , and had a guest appearance from Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes some years before Sting had the same idea. lan Kearey left to be replaced on bass (and, increasingly, cello) by Chopper, who came to play a defining role on their next album Ride… and indeed their sound ever since. Ride - including a cheeky version of New Order's Love Vigilantes - left us in no doubt of the band's unconditional commitment to its own path.

A largely live album, LITTLE ROCK TO LEIPZIG, rounded off the '80s; while they entered the new decade veering off at an unexpected tangent, collaborating with the high priestess of English folk song, June Tabor, on their most successful album thus far, FREEDOM AND RAIN. They toured with Tabor too - a tense, fascinating amalgam between two highly independent and sharply contrasting spirits and styles which merged into an uneasy dream ticket for English music. "Imagine if Aerosmith and Madonna announced they were to tour together…!!" said Rolling Stone magazine, excitably. It was a refreshing diversion, but one that distracted the Oysters from the sense of purpose that had driven them for so long… and it confused their followers.

DESERTERS in 1992 saw that sense of purpose dramatically re-emerge, new drummer Lee joining to complete the current line-up and provide a harder edge still to a darker style of songwriting. The contrast between Deserters and the relatively jaunty Freedom And Rain again confounded the critics.

But by this time the goalposts had shifted again. Bands like The Levellers had been building a fervent following with an alternative indie approach that embraced many of the values pioneered by Oysterband. There was also an unexpected upsurge of young musicians taking their own inspiration from folk song and traditional instrumentation; and with their spectacular '93 album HOLY BANDITS striking a glorious balance between their own traditions and a very modern kind of rock, the Oysters suddenly found themselves talked of as godfathers of a new English style of roots rock. After years being regarded by the music industry as on a par with inter-planetary aliens, it came as a shock to them to discover they were now 'leaders of a movement'.

If anybody imagined this would mellow the band they were wrong. After a compilation album (TRAWLER) on which they rather novelly (and to Cooking Vinyl's initial horror) decided to re-record most of the old tracks to enable Chopper and Lee to put their own stamp on them, they came back in '95 with THE SHOUTING END OF LIFE, probably the most aggressive and political album of their career. It was an album of acute extremes, from the trailblazing title track to their raging treatment of Leon Rosselson's socialist national anthem The World Turned Upside Down.

In '97 they teamed up again with friend/producer Alan Scott for DEEP DARK OCEAN. It came, unpredictably, with a smile on its face, warm and melodic and, revealing an unexpected talent for quirky pop music, surprised in an election year by ignoring politics altogether (except in the sleevenotes: "Yes, we voted Labour but we didn't inhale").

HERE I STAND, co-produced with Alaric Neville, released during the last summer of the 20th Century, created another landmark with the formation of their own label Running Man. Happily, sales proved the Oysters' following were not fazed by the album's provocative (read "risky") mix of austerity, improvisation, tradition and outright pop; which proved surprisingly radio-friendly and promises well for the label's future.

But while marking time with an interesting remix of one of the Here I Stand songs, Ways Of Holding On, featuring ice-princess Emma Härdelin from Swedish band Garmarna, Oysterband were talking to their former label. Autumn 2000 saw the release of a Best Of Oysterband compilation, titled GRANITE YEARS. Covering the period 1986 to 1997, it weighed somewhat toward the later albums, partly because Cooking Vinyl had already licensed out a compilation from the early albums under the title Pearls From The Oysters (one the band had successfully avoided using for a great many years!), and partly because they reckon their writing has improved with time (and who are we to argue?). The compilation was Cooking Vinyl's idea, but as it contained many of the band's most-requested songs, they were happy too.

"In my time we've drunk away a century," sang John on I Know It's Mine (track 8 on Here I Stand). But a tie-up between Running Man and two linked German labels, Westpark Music and Pläne, made interesting new projects possible in the new millenium. On RISE ABOVE (2002), savagely pruned in the course of recording to its leanest, meanest form, the intensity and grandeur of traditional tracks such as Blackwaterside and Bright Morning Star were a significant extension of the band's aesthetic range. During the sessions they also picked up Irish piper James O'Grady, who played on five of the tracks, as a temporary addition to the line-up; and that diversified and enriched the band's live sound for a couple of years.

THE BIG SESSION Vol. 1 (2004) and the DVD of THE 25th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT (2005) were among the fruits of these expansions (see elsewhere on this site), and with the highly successful inauguration of The Big Session Festival in 2005 as an annual Oyster 'signature' event, possibilities just seemed to keep on opening up.

After a short lull there then appeared the remarkable MEET YOU THERE (2007), widely acclaimed as Oysterband's best album ever. Part of the secret of its success was its long gestation - with nothing to prove and no deadlines to meet, the band and producer Al Scott had leisure to hone the production and mixing to a fine point, creating rare excitement and dynamism from an almost entirely acoustic instrumentation. As Sing Out! said, it's their fullest realisation of a unique Oysterband sound. The tours that followed, especially the 30th Anniversary Tour in 2008, were notable for the intensity and command of the band's performances.

At the end of 2008 drummer Lee Partis finally decided to hang up his sticks, and was replaced by Dil Davies. A CD for the 30th anniversary, THE OXFORD GIRL & OTHER STORIES, 14 Oyster songs from all eras revisited in their current dynamic acoustic style, was released in 2009 while the band took a break to recharge their creative batteries and plot new ideas.

The new ideas turned out to be a triumphant reunion with June Tabor after 21 years, first with the highly-acclaimed album RAGGED KINGDOM, which garnered 3 more Folk Awards (plus a fourth for June) and was voted fROOTS Magazine's Album Of The Year for 2011;  and then in two years of concentrated touring and festival appearances.

In 2013 Ray "Chopper" Cooper left Oysterband to pursue a solo career, and that marked the end of an era. Undaunted, the band promptly wrote and recorded a 13th studio album, Diamonds On The Water , released in February 2014. 

The ideas seem to just keep on coming.  As always:  watch this space!

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50 Years of Kick-Ass Rock and Roll

• Oct 20, 2022

The Dictators Announce More Tour Dates!

The Dictators have announced more dates on their latest tour. The run of new shows includes Debonnair Music Hall followed with a performance at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, New York with legendary band Blue Oyster Cult .

You said you wanted to see The Dictators live and we’ve got six shows to close out 2022 with more coming in 2023. C’mon down, let me see a sea of hands!!

The added shows are just the beginning and the band plans to include more dates in the coming 2023 year.

The Dictators - Tour Dates

The Dictators have announced three more tour dates to close out 2022. The tour will now include a show with our old friends Blue Oyster Cult.

NOV 2, 2022

Debonnair Music Hall

1409 Queen Anne Rd, Teaneck, NJ 07666

NOV 5, 2022

With Blue Oyster Cult

St. George Theatre

35 Hyatt St, Staten Island, NY 10301

NOV 8, 2022

The Alchemy

171 Chestnut St, Providence, RI 02903

NOV 10, 2022

Horseshoe Tavern

370 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A2

NOV 11, 2022

The Rec Room

1680 Richmond Street, London, ON N6G 3YN

NOV 12, 2022

306 King Street West, Hamilton, ON L8P 1b1

Here’s a little preview of a song we’re working up!

For more information on dates and locations for shows, visit The Dictators website at www.thedictators.com

Recent posts.

The Dictators Announce 3 Upcoming Shows in Canada

Keith Roth Joins The Dictators

The Dictators Announce the Departure of Scott Kempner

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Blue Öyster Cult

Blue öyster cult concert setlists & tour dates, 2023 north american tour, upcoming shows.

• Date and Venue Doors Scheduled
• Jun 26 2024 Lynn Memorial Auditorium Lynn, MA, USA Add time  –  Scheduled: 8:00 PM Add time Add times 8:00 PM
• Jul 05 2024 J Resorts Glow Plaza Reno, NV, USA Doors 7:00 PM  –  Scheduled: 8:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
• Jul 06 2024 Concert Bowl, Lake Mission Viejo Mission Viejo, CA, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Jul 12 2024 Twin River Event Center Lincoln, RI, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Jul 13 2024 The Showroom, Golden Nugget Casino Atlantic City, NJ, USA Add time  –  Scheduled: 9:00 PM Add time Add times 9:00 PM
• Jul 19 2024 Moondance Jam 2024 Walker, MN, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Aug 03 2024 Little River Casino Manistee, MI, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Aug 27 2024 New York State Fair 2024 Syracuse, NY, USA Add time  –  Scheduled: 6:00 PM Add time Add times 6:00 PM
• Aug 31 2024 Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells Baraboo, WI, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Oct 04 2024 Family Arena St. Charles, MO, USA Doors 6:00 PM  –  Start time: 7:45 PM (Est.) 6:00 PM 7:45 PM Estimated
• Oct 25 2024 Honeywell Center Wabash, IN, USA Add time  –  Scheduled: 7:30 PM Add time Add times 7:30 PM
• Oct 26 2024 Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center Lima, OH, USA Add time Add time Add times
• Nov 02 2024 Des Plaines Theatre Des Plaines, IL, USA Doors 6:30 PM  –  Start time: 8:15 PM (Est.) 6:30 PM 8:15 PM Estimated

Blue Öyster Cult at The Eastern, Atlanta, GA, USA

• Before the Kiss, a Redcap
• Career of Evil
• Burnin' For You
• That Was Me
• Golden Age of Leather
• Cagey Cretins
• Harvest Moon
• E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
• Tainted Blood
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Blue Öyster Cult at Agave Caliente Terraza, Cathedral City, CA, USA

• Transmaniacon MC
• Dancin' in the Ruins
• Then Came the Last Days of May

Blue Öyster Cult at Spokane Live! at Spokane Tribe Casino, Airway Heights, WA, USA

• Burnin' for You

Blue Öyster Cult at Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln City, OR, USA

• Blade Runner (End Titles)

Blue Öyster Cult at Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI, USA

• The Red & the Black
• Shooting Shark

Blue Öyster Cult at Muckleshoot Casino, Auburn, WA, USA

Blue öyster cult at river cree casino, edmonton, ab, canada, blue öyster cult at the showroom at golden nugget casino, las vegas, nv, usa, blue öyster cult at rialto theatre, tucson, az, usa, blue öyster cult at the space at westbury, westbury, ny, usa.

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• (Don't Fear) The Reaper ( 2559 )
• Godzilla ( 2498 )
• Burnin' for You ( 2257 )
• Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll ( 2241 )
• E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) ( 1617 )

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6,075 people have seen Blue Öyster Cult live.

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• Wed 3 Jul ➙ Sun 7 Jul Plaitford, Powells Farm New Forest Folk Festival Feast of Fiddles, Jacqui McShee's Pentangle, Hatful Of Rain, Gilmore & Roberts, 3 Daft Monkeys… View tickets
• Fri 2 Aug ➙ Fri 9 Aug Sidmouth Folk Festival Sidmouth Folk Festival 2024 Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, Angeline Morrison & The Sorrow Songs Band, Chris While & Julie Matthews, Chris Wood And Andy Cutting… View tickets
• Fri 23 Aug ➙ Mon 26 Aug Middle Claydon, Claydon Estate Towersey Festival 2024 Billy Bragg, The Staves, Tide Lines, Pokey LaFarge, Oysterband… View tickets
• Thu 3 Oct Birmingham Town Hall Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Fri 4 Oct Bristol Beacon Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Sat 5 Oct Bexhill-on-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Sat 12 Oct Manchester, RNCM Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Sun 13 Oct Sunderland, The Fire Station Oysterband June Tabor View tickets
• Tue 15 Oct Leicester, De Montfort Hall Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Sat 19 Oct London, Barbican Centre Oysterband, June Tabor View tickets
• Thu 14 Nov Bury St Edmunds, The Apex Oysterband View tickets
• Sat 16 Nov Kendal, Brewery Arts Oysterband View tickets
• Mon 18 Nov Manchester, Band On The Wall Oysterband View tickets
• Wed 20 Nov Sheffield City Hall and Memorial Hall Oysterband More info
• Fri 22 Nov Hertford Corn Exchange Oysterband View tickets
• Sat 23 Nov Cranbrook School (Queens Hall Theatre) Oysterband View tickets
• Wed 4 Dec Portsmouth, The Wedgewood Rooms Oysterband View tickets
• Thu 5 Dec Stroud, Subscription Rooms Oysterband View tickets
• Fri 6 Dec Emsworth, St. James' Church & Parish Hall Oysterband View tickets

January 2025

• Fri 17 Jan Glasgow, Saint Luke's Oysterband View tickets

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Blue Öyster Cult tour dates 2024

Blue Öyster Cult is currently touring across 1 country and has 10 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Lynn Auditorium in Lynn, after that they'll be at J Resort's Glow Plaza in Reno.

Currently touring across

Upcoming concerts (10) See nearest concert

Lynn Auditorium

J Resort's Glow Plaza

Bally's Twin River Lincoln

Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino

Ho-Chunk Gaming - Wisconsin Dells

The Edge Pavilion

Family Arena

Honeywell Center

Lima Veterans Memorial Civic Center

Des Plaines Theatre

Past concerts

The Eastern

The Show - Agua Caliente Casino

Spokane Live, Spokane Tribe Casino

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Recent tour reviews

Blue Öyster Cult – 22/2/2019 – Hammersmith Odeon

I got to the Odeon (Apollo) as The Temperence Movement were starting up. They’re a Black Crowes style band with a singer who reminded me of a young Rod Stewart. They should have been my thing – they certainly had a lot of support in the crowd – but they weren’t. The drummer was pedestrian and the sound was muddy. They weren’t bad; they just didn’t rock my boat.

Arriving on stage to the theme from ‘Game of Thrones’, Blue Öyster Cult continue to rock my boat to the point of capsizing. The best news of the day is that Danny Miranda is now full-time on bass. Kasim Sultan was the last bass player and while a fine jazz-rock player was totally wrong for BÖC. That said, he’d previously annoyed me as bass player for Meat Loaf, so maybe I annoyed him too. Miranda was the bassist on the last two BÖC albums (20 years ago!), and has the right level of attack and bounce in his playing to propel the groove along.

Basically, this is Buck Dharma’s band – he was a founder member, writer of the three big hits and still plays incredible guitar parts. The other almost original member is Eric Bloom on guitars and keyboards, who was the happiest I think I’ve seen him.

We only got two songs from ‘Secret Treaties’ but otherwise a good mix of the hits and a couple of lesser known numbers – the best of which was a beautiful rendition of ‘The Vigil’ which sent Miranda spinning gently around the stage. The crowd did a lovely job of singing ‘Burning for You’, but throats were a bit raw for ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ having just sung ‘Godzilla’ at the tops of our voices.

Unlike their last London gig, no-one broke a guitar string or lost their voice, or got the words wrong or needed bits of the drum-kit replaced. But then they weren’t trying to video this gig, so there’s a lesson in that.

A storming gig from one of my favourite bands.

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Firstly, the place was packed. I don't know if it was a fortuitous alignment of the stars, or what, but there was literally no space inside.

Parhaps powered by the audience's energy, BÖC hammered out a storming set, throwing everything into it. The playing was fast and furious, especially Richie Castellano on guitar, but the 'old timers' Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma gave as good as they got!

Quite a bit of chat between songs and even a 'peoples vote' between Harvest Moon & Shooting Shark. The rest of the set, an almost two hour show, was full of classic BÕC songs, with a few 'deep cuts' thrown in, had the audience rocking throughout.

The set list:

01 Tattoo Vampire

02 Before the Kiss, a Redcap

03 Career of Evil

04 Burning for You

05 Harvester of Eyes

06 People's vote

Harvest Moon

07 The Vigil

09 Buck's Boogie

10 Then Came The Last Days of May

11 Black Blade

12 Godzilla

13 Intro to Reaper aka Where's Eric

14 (Don't Fear) The Reaper

15 The Red & The Black

16 Hot Rails to Hell

17 Cities on Flame (With Rock & Roll)

These guys are fun to rock with. I saw them my first time in 1975 in Salt Lake City at the Terrace Ball Room. Anyone who remembers the Terrace knows how awesome to rock the roof off that place. BOC did that night. Eric Bloom kicked it hard on vocals. This was the band that recorded their best albums. They had bombs, and fog machines and a light show to knock your socks off. What a show. I've seen almost all rock bands worth seeing. BOC s still one of my favorite concerts. I then saw them a few years later at the Salt Palace. Again, they killed it. Buck Darma was fun to watch. Eric was impressive in every way. I slept over that night in the line to get Aerosmith tickets going on sale at 9:00 am the next morning. At 7 am I went across the street to eat and wash up. In the lobby was the BOC checking out of the Motel. I got to talk with the brothers, Buck and Eric. I still have their autographs from Agents of Fortune Tour. They were very kind and jovial. We had a 15-minute goof around lil party. Then they were off to the airport in another city. I'm so glad to see Eric is still showing his vocal talents today. What a true musician and a great Rocker. To the BOC* Dean

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World Is Your Oyster Festival 2023

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Oysterband call time and announce tour with June Tabor – A Long Long Goodbye

After 45 years on the road, the legendary Oysterband are calling time, and, as they say, put it, they are hanging up their travelling shoes. If you’re going to call time, you may as well do so with a big splash, and I’m pretty sure that news of Oysterband and June Tabor reuniting for a tour is enough to excite fans.

Aptly named “ A Long Long Goodbye ”, Oysterband will revisit some of their favourite haunts to perform a career-spanning set, including highlights of their collaborations with their longstanding creative compadre June Tabor. Alongside an appearance at this year’s Cambridge Folk Festival, the band will head out on a string of seven shows alongside June Tabor this October (details below).

In a statement about the upcoming tour, Oysterband said:

“We’re hanging up our travelling shoes, but we’re taking a year or so to say goodbye to our lovely live audience.  And we mean to enjoy every minute! It’s been a long, tough, joyful journey, but the time has come. In the words of our own song “Granite Years” , we’re waving you a long, long goodbye… Come help us celebrate!”

Their collaboration with June Tabor in 1990 produced the cult favourite album Freedom & Rain , and it was renewed 21 years later for Ragged Kingdom ’ one of the best-selling folk-rock albums of the new millennium. The album opened to Bonny Bunch Of Roses , which our Neil McFadyen described as galloping from the speakers like a messenger from the battlefield, giving us the first hint of the vocal explorations and engaging arrangements on offer. On that album, they also featured a cover of Joy Division’s masterful swansong, Love With Tear Us Apart . In our 2012 interview, John Jones told us:

“It was a song we’d wanted to do for some time. There’s a thread of Oysterband listening that’s outside of its own evolution, that’s into Tom Verlaine and Television, the Velvet Underground, a dark, hard, driven music that we’d also heard in Joy Division. We don’t play that music [live] but we like it. Just as we recorded Love Vigilantes by New Order, you hear something … something beautiful, bittersweet.”

Oysterband were one of our Artists of the Month in 2022 in the lead-up to the release of Read the Sky , a song collection no one could have predicted they would return with.

Oysterband: Read the Sky

KLOF Mag’s Danny Neill caught up with John Jones to discuss that album. He also spoke about their early days and most treasured memories of Oysterband on stage:

John Jones Oysterband Interview (Extract)

So, what was your entry point with folk music?

I loved singing; I used to go to a folk club where they let you join in the choruses, and I just loved singing in the choruses. I already played the piano, and I thought, well, if I learn the accordion or the melodeon, I can get into this; I just went for it. I loved the stories. I loved the history behind the stories, and I like music with roots. Blues, soul and folk music, so I guess it was giving me my roots, and I just fell in love with the tunes and the stories.

You formed the Oyster Ceilidh Band and presumably had no idea it could turn into a long-running concern?

I think we got together so that we could make some money for the folk club, and we just enjoyed playing for dances with this incredible group of musicians. Canterbury was a very fertile ground for great musicians, Prog Rock and all sorts of things; you know, people stayed there. We had thirteen people in this great big ceilidh band just having fun playing at the weekend, then it became more serious, and we started to write songs. We had no idea, really, until about 1984-85. What happened was Pete Lawrence, and Martin Goldsmith started Cooking Vinyl; Pete approached me to be the first act on the label, then Billy Bragg put on a folk gig at the ICA and asked us to go on that with him, so a friendship began there. It just took off, and by then, The Pogues had arrived, The Waterboys too and we just knew that we wanted to make folk music as exciting as possible and to take it to as many people as possible. We were coming from the folk scene, and those bands were from the rock scene and embracing folk, which gave us the feeling that it was all possible. I remember the NME finally covered a folk band, polkas and leather jackets are a powerful combination! We were just rocking up polkas and going for it; it was plugging into something that was quite intoxicating really.

Oysterband performing ‘Here’s To You’ (1994).

What are your most treasured memories of the Oysterband onstage?

There are several, luckily most of them are good, there are one or two horrors. One in particular; a track of ours called ‘Granite Years’ we had the good fortune of having a radio hit with it in Spain, partly because it had on it a guy called Jesus Cifuentes from the band Celtas Cortos who became our friends, we did a sort of half Spanish half English version of it. So, there we are, we were in Las Palmas in Grand Canarias playing on the beach for Womad. They estimated there were thirty thousand people there towards the end of it. They stretched from the sea; in fact, they were in the water splashing about right in front of this promenade. We finished with the song, and they got right into it, we started this clapping, and it was just a sea of hands. Then I suddenly saw myself on the screen at the side of the stage, and I thought bloody hell, I want a bit of this! It was intoxicating, likewise just going over to Canada and playing the Edmonton Folk Festival, which is a huge festival, taking the stage there and seeing them get up. Sometimes when people are not really expecting what you do, and you just see that effect on them, I still love that. It’s so great; luckily, there are so many of them.

Oysterband at Edmonton Folk Festival (2015) performing Granite Years

Oysterband: The Folk Radio Interview

Featuring  John Jones (vox, melodeon), Ian Telfer (violin, keyboard), Alan Prosser (guitars), Sean Randle (drums, percussion), Al Scott (bass, mandolin) and Adrian Oxaal (cello, guitars), with June Tabor (vox); the full list of dates for Oysterband & June Tabor’s Last Tour Together can be found below.

OYSTERBAND & JUNE TABOR: ‘A LONG LONG GOODBYE’ Thu 3 Oct 2024 – Birmingham – Town Hall

Fri 4 Oct 2024 – Bristol – Beacon

Sat 5 Oct 2024 – Bexhill – De La Warr Pavilion

Sat 12 Oct 2024 – Manchester – RNCM Concert Hall

Sun 13 Oct 2024 – Sunderland – The Fire Station

Tue 15 Oct 2024 – Leicester – De Montfort Hall

Sat 19 Oct 2024 – London – The Barbican Tickets are on sale from this Friday @ 10AM here: www.alonglonggoodbye.live

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