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 of 2019 supported by a South African, European and UK tour.
For bookings or press contact –
jon.shaban@gmail.com