The Tan & Sober Gentlemen at Haw River Ballroom

This show is standing room.Born and raised in North Carolina, the Tan and Sober Gentlemen began taking in the songs, stories, and tunes that make up their beloved state’s musical tradition before they could talk.The music of the Carolinas, (and Appalachia in general) stems from the marriage of the Irish fiddle and the African banjo, which first met in the American South before the Revolution. The Tan and Sober Gentlemen aim to bring these traditions full circle. They play Irish tunes, ballads, and pub songs right next to the Appalachian fiddle tunes of their youth, melding the two into what they call “Irish-American hillbilly music.”Meanwhile, they have earned a reputation as one of the South’s hardest-hitting live acts, playing at blazing tempos and putting every last bit of energy they possess into the show...

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This show is standing room.Born and raised in North Carolina, the Tan and Sober Gentlemen began taking in the songs, stories, and tunes that make up their beloved state’s musical tradition before they could talk.The music of the Carolinas, (and Appalachia in general) stems from the marriage of the Irish fiddle and the African banjo, which first met in the American South before the Revolution. The Tan and Sober Gentlemen aim to bring these traditions full circle. They play Irish tunes, ballads, and pub songs right next to the Appalachian fiddle tunes of their youth, melding the two into what they call “Irish-American hillbilly music.”Meanwhile, they have earned a reputation as one of the South’s hardest-hitting live acts, playing at blazing tempos and putting every last bit of energy they possess into the show. The result is a raucous celebration of the Carolinas’ Irish heritage, with drinking, dancing, and merriment galore. Since their formation in 2017, the six-piece band has toured the US and Ireland, headlining legendary Irish clubs such as Whelan's and the Roisin Dubh and playing the internationally renowned festival Electric Picnic. Stateside, their resume includes festivals such as the IBMA Bluegrass Live!, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Appaloosa Festival, Great Blue Heron, and Shakori Hills. This year they will be adding Merlefest and the Blue Ox Festival to their resume as well as Fleadh Cheoil na Héireann, the world's largest annual festival of Irish music. In January of 2024, in their home of Alamance County, they sold out their show at the Haw River Ballroom recording a live album with a crowd of 800 people. They released their sophomore record, Regressive Folk Music, in June 2022, and their debut record, Veracity, was named by Shite'n'Onions as one of the five best Celtic punk records of 2019 and 2020.

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