Jo Carley & The Old Dry Skulls - Live at the Crooked Crow (early show 6pm)
Schedule
Sun, 19 Apr, 2026 at 06:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The Crooked Crow Bar | Leighton Buzzard, EN
Blues, Skiffle, Calypso and Rockabilly with a creepy vaudeville twist… It’s music that makes people wanna shake their bones!This trio are known for their unique live show, transporting the audience to a bygone era when witches and black magic were rife. Their songs tell stories of deals with the devil, demons in love, witchdoctors, zombies, ghosts, ghouls, journeys to the deepest jungles and other exotic adventures which are told using sweet melodies and syncopated sounds.
Jo Carley: Lead Vocals / Washboard / Mandolin / Percussion
Tim Carley: Battered Archtop Guitar / Kick / Rattlin’ Shoe / Backing Vocals
Stephane Spitz: Baritone Saxophone / Beat-up Double Bass / Backing Vocals
The music takes influence from early vaudeville blues acts such as Victoria Spivey via Cab Calloway, Wilmoth Houdini and Wanda Jackson, but adding a creepy and theatrical twist that echoes Dr John and Screamin Jay Hawkins.
Voodoo has found it’s way onto British shores and Jo Carley is the wild and dark demonic music-hall mistress sent to predict hell in a way to entertain and amaze you, telling tales of terror with old-timey flair. She’s joined by her songwriting partner and husband, the zombie-like Tim Carley, who drives the sound with blues-soaked rhythms on an old archtop guitar, kick drum, and rattling shoe. Completing the spell is multi-instrumentalist Stephane Spitz, shifting seamlessly between syncopated baritone sax leads and the pulsing heartbeat of the double bass.
They are a DIY band, constricted to the beat-up musical instruments they have to hand. This gives them the elements of Skiffle, Blues, Jazz, Rock n Roll, Psychobilly, Rockabilly and Gothabilly.
Jo and Tim left the rat race in 2013 to dedicate themselves to music. After a few years of busking around the UK and picking up odd gigs here and there they settled in a beach bungalow by the sea on the East Coast of England where they set up 'The Voodoo Shack', a studio to write and make music.
2023 saw them playing the main stage at Upton Blues Festival, Ealing Blues Festival and they were also invited to participate in the UK Blues Challenge by the UK Blues Federation. They joined the Rev Horton Heat and Demented are Go at the Psychobilly Freakout Festival in London.
2024 saw the band playing the Azkenna Festival in Spain (with the likes of Queens of The Stoneage, L7 and Sheryl Crow) and Rolmos Roots Rock Festival in Belgium with some of Europe's biggest Rockabilly acts. They supported Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band on their UK tour and joined Hillbilly Moon Explosion at their London show.
2025 saw them on tour in the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands before joining The Meteors at the Pyschostock Festival (UK) and Errol Linton at Buxton Blues (UK) before returning to the studio to begin work on a series of singles and videos that will lead to a new album in 2026.
Jo Carley And The Old Dry Skulls live to play live shows and touring the UK and Europe every year.
Where is it happening?
The Crooked Crow Bar, 27 Waterborne Walk,Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom
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