The Shabs is a Folk Punk band from Cape Town South Africa.

Having gigged extensively across South Africa and Europe for the past 6 years they deliver a tight, captivating set that blends sincere, melodic sing-a-long folk with the raw energy and DIY ethos of punk rock. Drawing influences from artists such as Frank Turner, Erik Petersen and Against Me!, the band never ceases to get a crowd to throw their fists in the air and sing along to their anthemic tunes which have been described as honest, raw and easy to relate to.

The band is made up of Jon Shaban on guitar and vocals, Ryan McArthur on double bass and backing vocals and Jon Case on drums, as well as frequent collaborations with female vocalists. Each musician brings their own flare and flavour to the music, adding to the uniqueness of their fresh ‘’High Quality Folk Punk” sound.

Since the release of their debut album “Folk is Dead” in February 2016 they have toured relentlessly around South Africa (performing at festivals like Rocking The Daisies, Mieliepop, STRAB, Park Acoustics and FORR) as well as four very successful European tours (UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Rep, Belgium) where they were favourites at festivals like Mighty Sounds (twice), No Borders No Nations, Earthquake and Ziva Ulice.

2018 saw The Shabs launch a split album, “Deja View” with SA folk punk legends, Rambling Bones.

The Shabs released their second full-length album, Can You Hear Us At The Back, in March 2019 supported by a South African and European tour.

For bookings or press contact –
jon.shaban@gmail.com

Press Quotes:

“The songs are consistently strong, with delivery to match…This gig confirmed the quality and popularity of The Shabs” – Bruce Dennill, Participate

“Its going to make you wanna dance your socks off. It’s also gonna wildly uplift you and bring some realities to the fore.” – Skye Mallac, Texx & The City

“For those of you who thought the folk punk genre had pretty much explored every possible avenue and had run it’s course, well The Shabs are here to prove that this isn’t the case with a surprising and idiosyncratic album.”– The Punk Site

“Folk Music and Punk Rock are genres that rely heavily on the art of storytelling. The Shabs have definitely mastered this form of art. For this, they have my ears.” – Audio Inferno

“It is definitely a great piece of work not only in the band’s discography but also in the genre itself.”
– Music Server Czech Republic