Bar Stool Preachers A Sunday Service Matinee Show Added

EXTRA MATINEE SHOW ADDED – DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND

The Bar Stool Preachers
Sunday 5th April – Afternoon Matinee
Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre
Doors 12:30pm | Finish approx. 4:00pm

Because two shows simply wasn't enough.

The Bar Stool Preachers return riding a wave of momentum built on relentless touring, ever-growing audiences, and a reputation as one of the most important and uncompromising live bands in the UK today. This extra matinee has been added to meet demand — and it offers a rare chance to see a band used to festival main stages and packed European halls in a room where every word, every chorus and every surge of energy hits at point-blank range.

At the core of this era is Above The Static, a record that stands as a defining moment for the band. Originally intended as a collection of demos, it instead became a fully-realised album captured in extraordinary circumstances. Recorded in April 2021 at The Waterloo, a closed three-storey pub/venue in Blackpool during lockdown, the band — alongside producer Ben Hannah — lived, breathed and recorded the songs in total isolation. No studio gloss. No second guessing. Just instinct, urgency and honesty.

From the moment the opening track "Flatlined" was laid down, it was clear this wasn't a sketch — it was the finished article. The result is an album that captures a band in motion, fusing their ska-punk foundations with wider influences, sharper songwriting and a broader emotional range than ever before.

Formed in 2014 by Tom McFaull and bassist Karl "Bungle" Jeffery, The Bar Stool Preachers have evolved into a powerful, multi-layered force completed by Tom Gibbs, Karl Smith, Alex Hay, Alex "Whibbs" Whibley-Conway, and Ray Waters. What binds them is a refusal to stand still — musically, politically or culturally. Their sound still carries the punch, urgency and collective spirit of punk and ska, but it now stretches further: harder, deeper, and more human.

Lyrically, this is music that cuts through distraction and disinformation. Songs like "Don't Die Today", "Two Dog Night" and "Never Gonna Happen" take aim at inequality, exploitation and systemic injustice with ferocity and purpose, while remaining irresistibly catchy and crowd-fuelled. Elsewhere, tracks such as "All Turned Blue" and "Flatlined" expose vulnerability, doubt and loss — moments that hit even harder when delivered live, face-to-face, in a room like this.

Despite their reputation for explosive, sweat-drenched shows, the band have never been afraid to surprise. The stark beauty of "Lighthouse Keeper" and the genre-defying sweep of "Going Forward" underline just how far The Bar Stool Preachers have travelled — from the raw energy of their early days to a band now confident enough to let silence, space and emotion carry equal weight.

They've shared stages with some of Europe's biggest punk and alternative acts, played to tens of thousands across the continent, and continue to grow without diluting their message or their connection to community. But this matinee show strips everything back to what matters most: songs that mean something, delivered by a band who believe every word they sing.

This is not nostalgia.
This is not background music.
This is music as connection, confrontation and release.

Limited capacity – once it's gone, it's gone
An extra show for those who know how special this band really are

The Bar Stool Preachers. Up close. Fully charged. Above the static.