The Longest Johns

On 27 May 2026 at O2 Academy Islington in London, The Longest Johns bring their Bristol-born take on maritime folk to the stage. First known as an a cappella quartet, they’ve built a sound around close harmonies, hand percussion and unfussy acoustic arrangements, reviving sea shanties and coastal ballads alongside their own writing. Across Written in Salt (2016), Between Wind and Water (2018) and Cures What Ails Ya (2020), traditional work songs rub shoulders with originals like Bones in the Ocean, rooted in stories of life at sea.

The swell around their version of Wellerman carried their music far beyond folk circles and led to Smoke & Oakum (2022), where the group refines a balance between old chants and contemporary folk narrative. On stage, voices lead the way: call-and-response, steady pulse, and choruses that pull the room into the tune. The set moves from dockside laments to rolling deck rhythms, tracing voyages, storms and shore leave with the plainspoken power of songs made to be sung together.