Further 2017 dates to see Blackbeard’s Tea Party
The tea party continues into winter 2017…
Playing together since the summer of 2009, Blackbeard’s Tea Party have become firm favourites on the English folk scene. An independent band with four albums to their name, Blackbeard’s Tea Party have also completed a number of successful UK headline tours.
Their latest album ‘Reprobates’ was produced by Dave Boothroyd at Reel Recording Studios. Barn-storming folk tunes rub shoulders with narrative folk songs, telling dark tales of wicked and nefarious characters. The title ‘Reprobates’ doesn’t just give their latest album its theme. It’s also a nod to the band’s reputation for musical mischief, frequently breaking folk-rock’s conventions. The album shows off the band’s imaginative arrangements, accomplished musicianship and dark sense of humour. ‘Reprobates’ follows the 2009 mini-album ‘Heavens to Betsy’; the band’s first full-length album, 2011’s ‘Tomorrow We’ll Be Sober’; and 2013’s ‘Whip Jamboree’ which R2 magazine called “the best party going on five inches of plastic.”
Blackbeard’s Tea Party combine fiddle, melodeon and voice with the interlocking grooves of two hand percussionists, a distorted electric guitar, and funk-inflected bass patterns. Though their music often takes traditional tunes and songs as the starting point, it’s clear that Blackbeard’s Tea Party is not for folk purists. Theirs is a gutsy take on folk which aims to renounce the trendy twee of bands like Mumford and Sons in favour of folk’s darker and more primitive origins, all by way of classic rock, funk and dance music. The resulting arrangements are often quirky and boisterous. This playfulness – along with their anarchic and ebullient stage show – has won Blackbeard’s Tea Party a small legion of fans.
Reception for the band has been phenomenal over the last two years: the Huffington Post called Blackbeard’s Tea Party the ‘THE band to see at Glastonbury 2014’ and, after they played to their biggest ever crowd at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, they were overwhelmingly voted the best band of the festival by Fairport Convention fans. This year sees the band on another UK headline tour in support of ‘Reprobates’, with new dates announced for September, October, November and December 2016.
October 2017
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Sat 28th. Ragged Bear Festival Queen’s Hall, 75 Queens Rd, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV11 5LA, Tel: 024 7634 7402 Tickets £17-£35
November 2017
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Fri 24th. The Octagon Bradford Rd, Riddlesden, Keighley, W Yorks BD20 5LY, Tel: 01274 562252 Tickets £13.50 — Doors 7:00 p.m.
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Sat 25th. The Hut, Goathland Community Hub and Sports Pavilion, Goathland, Whitby YO22 5LY, Tickets £11.21 — Doors 7:30 p.m
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Sun 26th. The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette St, Soho, London W1D 4JB, Tel: 020 3871 7777 Tickets £13.00 — Doors 7:00 p.m.
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Tues 28th Band on the Wall 25 Swan St, The Northern Quarter, Manchester M4 5JZ, Tel: 0161 834 1786 Tickets £12.00 — Doors 7:30 p.m.
December 2017
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Sun 3rd. The Louisiana, Wapping Rd, Bathurst Terrace, Bristol BS1 6UA, Tel: 0117 926 5978 Tickets £12.00 — Doors 7:30 p.m.
Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Fri 15th. The Crescent 8 The Crescent, York YO24 1AW, Tel: 01904 622510