Beans On Toast

Jay McAllister, who performs under the name Beans On Toast, is a folk singer-songwriter whose career took off from the UK folk scene in 2005. Born in Epping in 1980 and raised in Braintree, Essex, he has built a catalogue of fifteen studio albums, with new records arriving each year on 1 December, his birthday. His first performances as the act took place in London, mostly at the Holloway Road pub Nambucca, where he lived.

His records range from the crowded, guest-laden double album Standing On A Chair to A Spanner in the Works, a set recorded over one weekend on a laptop with no guitar except on one track. His 2009 debut, the 50-track double album Standing On A Chair, was followed in 2010 by Writing on the Wall, co-produced with Ian Grimble. Support slots for Kate Nash and Frank Turner, including a 2014 run opening Turner's UK stadium tour, put him in front of larger crowds. More recently he released Survival of the Friendliest in 2021, and The Fascinating Adventures of Little Bee, a children's box set made with Jaime and Lily Adamsfield, in 2022.