… from those who are in the know at London Celtic Punks. “… the best Celtic-Punk has a way of being both Folk enough for the Folkies and Punk enough for the Punks, and Bunch Of Bastards are a perfect example of this .. Just a week after I thought I had heard the years #1 Celtic-Punk EP (Beaver Secret Handshake) I’m not quite so sure anymore…”
Well see for yourself, click here.
…. but not so behind the scenes. Preparations are in full swing for our cd release, in De Zwarte Ruiter Den Haag, on June 13th, including new merch matching the cd’s colour and artwork. We’ll warm-up June 6th at a private do at a motorstop, and we’ll continue gigging June 20th at the ever so cosy Turf-festival.
We at BoB are happy to be part of the following 4 Saint Patrick’s Day, headlining each one as a matter of fact. So which friends old and new will we meet at the events mentioned below?
Saturday 7th: Kerzandse St. Patrick’s Day, Sportpaviljoen, Cadzand
Friday 13th: St. Patrick’s Friday, So What, Gouda
Saturday 14th: St. Patrick’s Day, Bibelot, Dordrecht
Saturday 21st: St. Patrick’s Day, Tinus, Panningen
Each event also features one or two other Irish-inspired bands, so what’s keeping you?
Hibernation time is over, over big time even, because in February and March we at BoB are being pretty busy, playing a rather nice string of gigs, including headlining ‘our’ Saint Patrick’s Day event in Bibelot, Dordrecht, on March 14th. Also on the bill that night are local heroes Baby Belushi and our mates Burning Pubcrawlers. Over the summer, a few festivals have already been booked. Check under events for information on the other gigs.
Apart from that, mid February sees our (postponed) weekend in the studio to record an EP, for which we selected six of the beauties (at least we like tot think so) we’ve been working on. They all made it to our setlist, so loyal fans will now those songs. For others, they hopefully come as a pleasant suprise.
2025 saw us play 21 gigs, three of which in Germany. Honesty has it that two of them were below par, one in terms of the number of punters that turned up (app. 15) and one because there had just been a stabbing in the crowd, which somewhat lessened our appetite to play and have fun.
On the other hand, the number of highlights by far exceeds the number of disappointments: ‘our’ St Pat event in Bibelot was once again grand (and will be repeated in 2026); we traveled East to headline the wonderful Folk on Fire festival in downtown Twülpsted (Germany); we played a show for a massive and appreciative crowd at Wantijpop (Dordrecht); we (again) played support shows for Ferocious Dog (likely to happen again in 2026); and last but not least we were part of the famous (within our scene at least) Irish Rock Night in Arnsberg (Germany).
A recording weekend scheduled for November had to be postponed, as our singer Jasper chose that week to fall ill and loose his voice, which makes singing a wee bit difficult. So much against our will, there will be no EP-release around St Pat 2026. Recording will happen though, and is now scheduled for February 2026.
Oi lads and lassies, the first six months of this year saw us play a nice string of gigs. Things kicked off at the Irish Pub Fest in Deventer, after which we revisited some joints where we’ve been welcome over the years. Besides, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day again in Bibelot and King’s Day at the Down With The King festival. June saw us play two fantastic festivals: Folk on Fire in Germany and Wantijpop in Dordrecht, which sent us into the summer break with big smiles on our faces.
Regrettably, holiday plans got in the way of playing more gigs and festivals over the summer. We will resume gigging in September, with shows in Alkmaar (Sept 6th), Gouda (Sept 13th) and more to follow. And we’ve aquuezed in one gig in Varsseveld (August 17th).
In the meantime, we will further polish the songs that we will be recording this autumn, to be launched with an accompanying newly designed t-shirt around St Patrick’s Day 2026, for which two shows have been confirmed already, including of course ‘our’ St.Pat.-evening in Bibelot, Dordrecht. A first 2026 summer festival also has already been confirmed.