Beans On Toast

Jay McAllister is Beans on Toast, a terrifically prolific folk singer who writes songs like traditional folk artists of a bygone era without necessarily sounding old and transporting listeners to older times. He is modern from a production and composition point of view, singing about matters that touch on aspects of contemporary life, whether it is video games or the question of privacy in the digital world. His mindset and approach to songwriting, however, and the passion with which he performs have a strong throwback quality. He is a contemporary troubadour telling stories about the people on the outside of society and/or left behind, with politically charged lyrics. That is, of course, when he is not taking on songs addressed to children, following a grand tradition of folk music (see Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger).