Following a hugely successful and emotional Oysterband farewell tour, the voice and spirit of Oysterband goes on.
John Jones with original cello player Ray Cooper (Chopper), now a multi-instrumentalist and solo performer, and Al Scott, current bassist, guitarist, mandolin player and producer come together in a powerful travelling trio.
As well as John’s own songs, expect Oysterband songs co-written by John and some rarely featured live, together with Ray Cooper originals, songs from the Tradition and three voices in harmony.
“There are so many songs left to sing” John Jones
John is best known as the powerful and charismatic lead singer with Oysterband, veterans of the folk and roots scene since the 1980s. They started as The Whitstable Oyster Company Ceilidh Band, one of the best ceilidh bands in the business, which then evolved into the folk/punk/rock group Oysterband, releasing over 20 albums and playing every major festival in the UK, Europe and Canada. They recorded and toured with some of the UK’s most revered folk artists, including acclaimed tours and two award-winning albums with singer June Tabor.
John’s solo work developed alongside his Oysterband duties. In 2009, he released his first solo album, Rising Road, and began walking between gigs with musicians and fans in a group he called The Reluctant Ramblers. In ten years, the Reluctant Ramblers walked over 1000 miles between shows and John released his second album, Never Stop Moving, in 2015.
“One door closes and another one opens. After so many years as Oysterband lead singer, this feels both strange and exciting.“
John Jones
Now, with Oysterband saying farewell to their armies of faithful fans across the UK and Europe with their hugely successful The Long Goodbye tour, John is about to embark on his next chapter, enlisting the help of his two long-standing friends and fellow musicians: Ray Cooper a.k.a. Chopper and Al Scott.
“It was so easy to make this work, we know each other so well,
I can’t wait for the tours.” Ray Cooper
Ray joined Oysterband in 1990 and brought in the cello sound alongside his bass and backing vocals before leaving in 2013 to go solo. Al has been associated with Oysterband for over 30 years as producer and stand-in guitarist. Al joined the band in 2013.
“It’s great to play with Ray again and also to try these songs in a more intimate setup.“ Al Scott
Between them, the trio play a variety of instruments and will be performing a range of songs and tunes from over the years, from each of their back catalogues, alongside new songs and traditional numbers.
Al says:
We all live in different places, indeed different countries, so I devised a way to collaborate that works for all of us that developed from working with JJ for his solo albums. I’d set up a bass drum click track and a chord pad that just played the root note of the key of the song and we’d record his vocal to that. That gave him a lot of freedom to express the vocal. Then we could remove the click and the chord pad and re- imagine the song by trying different chords and rhythms underneath the vocal.
John is very good at this as it’s not always easy to sing a whole song over just one note. We used this same method in January 2025 to try out ideas for our new trio project and then sent the results to Ray in Sweden to work on his parts, try different instruments and various vocal ideas. It’s always exciting to receive these back and see how the song has developed.
We then came back together in the studio in April and quickly settled into a working rhythm. Ideas flowed and it was great to hear the three of us singing together again and trying out songs with different instruments and arrangements.
The Song Goes On Tour launches across the UK in Spring 2026, with further dates planned at summer festivals and in winter 2026, and with European shows in the pipeline as well. So whilst one chapter may be coming to an end, another is just beginning: The Song Goes On!
Tour dates as Follows:
