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, playing festivals such as MerleFest, Blue Ox Festival, IBMA Bluegrass Live!, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Appaloosa Festival, FloydFest, Ramble Fest, Shakori Hills (US), and Electric Picnic, Spraoi, and the world’s largest festival of Irish traditional music, the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Ireland). 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. “Live at the Haw River Ballroom” was released in February 2025. 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.