Beans On Toast

Born in Epping and raised in Braintree, Essex, Jay McAllister developed the Beans On Toast persona in London in the mid-2000s, initially on the pub circuit around Nambucca on Holloway Road. After earlier playing in the band Jellicoe, he established himself in a direct folk and antifolk vein, blending acoustic guitar, spoken-sung storytelling, humour, social commentary and everyday chronicles. Beans On Toast emerged on the British folk scene from around 2005 and has remained associated with a busy touring schedule, with regular appearances at Glastonbury since 2007. His discography opens with Standing on a Chair (2009), followed by Writing on the Wall (2010), Trying To Tell The Truth (2011) and Fishing for a Thank You (2012). Over the years he has collaborated with figures from the British scene such as Frank Turner, who produced Trying To Tell The Truth, and Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, who contributed to Standing on a Chair and later A Bird in the Hand (2018). Without abandoning his songwriter-folk format, Beans On Toast has expanded his themes to include political commentary, road tales, family life and personal observations, as on The Inevitable Train Wreck (2019), The Unforeseeable Future and Knee Deep in Nostalgia (2020), and Survival of the Friendliest (2021).