The Longest Johns – Live at Rock City
Bristol’s own The Longest Johns bring their viral sea shanties and soaring folk harmonies to Rock City on Thursday 28 May 2026. From traditional maritime songs to powerful originals, expect big choruses, laughs, and a full-room singalong from the band who helped ignite the global sea shanty craze.
The Longest Johns – Sea Shanties & Folk Harmony at Rock City, Nottingham
AEG Presents brings The Longest Johns to Rock City on Thursday 28 May 2026 for a night of roaring sea shanties, rich harmonies and big communal singalongs.
The Bristol-based folk group – now a trio of Andy Yates, Jonathan “JD” Darley and Robbie Sattin – have gone from singing around a kitchen table to becoming one of the most recognisable names in modern folk and shanty music.
From kitchen-table shanties to global fame
The Longest Johns formed in 2012 after a group of friends discovered a shared love of traditional sea songs at a barbecue. Within a week they’d posted their first YouTube video, and from there began building a dedicated online following of folk fans, gamers and shanty obsessives.
They released their debut EP Bones in the Ocean in 2013, followed by their first full-length album Written in Salt in 2016, featuring their takes on songs like “Drunken Sailor”, “Old Maui” and “Randy Dandy-O.” Subsequent albums Between Wind and Water, Cures What Ails Ya, Smoke & Oakum, Voyage and Pieces of Eight have cemented them as one of the most prolific and creative acts in the contemporary folk scene.
The “Wellerman” moment
Their profile went stratospheric in early 2021 when their version of “Wellerman” – originally released on Between Wind and Water – became a central soundtrack to the global sea shanty trend on TikTok. Millions of listeners discovered The Longest Johns through that song, and it pushed them into the charts and onto major label Decca’s roster.
Suddenly, the band who’d been quietly building a catalogue of originals and traditional songs found themselves at the heart of “ShantyTok”, collaborating with games like Sea of Thieves, appearing in major press, and touring far beyond the UK.
Reviews
Folking.com
“The Bristol-based four piece take an often irreverent and playful approach to the tradition… combining standards with their own, often tongue-in-cheek material.”
Darren’s Music Blog
“An upbeat album as teeming with feel-good vibes and irreverent takes as it is with maritime hardship and folk tradition… a brilliant album from the men who made shanties sexy – buy it!”
MNPR Magazine
“The Longest Johns are a delightful mix of traditional and modern sounds, wrapped with good humour and fired straight down your ear canals with rare aim and musicianship.”