Old Baby Mackerel

“Old Baby Mackerel represent the best of modern UK bluegrass. They respect tradition, yet they refuse to be confined by it.”
— The British Country Music Festival

Old Baby Mackerel are a high-energy bluegrass band from Bristol, bringing together banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, double bass and rich vocal harmonies in a live show full of blistering solos, quick-fire humour and infectious rhythm.

Formed in 2016, the band grew out of Bristol’s bluegrass session scene and have gone on to build a reputation across the UK and Europe, on rural touring circuits, festivals and international stages. Their music is rooted in traditional bluegrass, but delivered with the punch, pace and immediacy of a band built for live performance. Expect fast picking, stomping instrumentals, gospel moments, darkly witty songs, sweet harmonies and the kind of rhythm that gets knees bouncing and elbows swinging. Old Baby Mackerel are equally at home in a packed festival tent, a seated theatre, an arts centre or a late-night venue.

The band have toured internationally, including performances in Asia and mainland Europe, and have shared stages with artists including The Kruger Brothers, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley and The Lonesome Ace Stringband. They have appeared at Glastonbury, Shambala, Boomtown, Purbeck, Priddy and Swanage, as well as bluegrass festivals in Germany (Bühl), Switzerland (Willisau), Ireland (Westport), Northern Ireland (Omagh) and England (Didmarton, East Anglia and Cornwall).

In 2024, Old Baby Mackerel were featured on the cover of British Bluegrass News with a five-page article, describing the band as “currently making waves on the festival circuit”. In 2026, they are set to close The British Country Music Festival with a headline set in the Empress Ballroom at Winter Gardens Blackpool.

“An exhilarating performance: full of movement and energy…”
— Badische Neueste Nachrichten

“I’ve always got time for a bit of banjo”
— Cerys Matthews, BBC Radio 6 Music

“That’s the first Bluegrass track I’ve played on Upload and I love it, so, so good!”
— Adam Crowther, BBC Radio Bristol

“They quickly found a loyal following on the UK festival circuit.”
— Bluegrass Today

“Instrumentally excellent… wonderfully humorous and relaxed … I would defy anyone to sit through one of their sets without, at the least, toe-tapping along.”
— Brian Harrington, Newbury Today