About Us

An exhilarating and perfectly balanced performance of music and comedy featuring tight harmonies, witty ad-libs and virtuoso musicianship. It’s inspiring, it’s fun and guaranteed to raise a smile.

Chris McShane and Ralph Shaw are a match made in Penistone, the Yorkshire market town where these two musicians grew up. They knew of each other way back when but it wasn’t until Ralph returned from a 30-year overnight stay in Vancouver, Canada, that they finally ended up working together.

Chris, a multi-instrumentalist, has significant chops on guitar, mandolin, bass guitar, ukulele and tenor banjo. His talents are a perfect accompaniment to those of Ralph whose time in Canada was spent singing, playing 5-string banjo, harmonica, ukulele and leading the way as a forerunner of the ukulele movement which included touring nationally and special appearances at international festivals.

Musically, their approach and sound is impressively eclectic – they perform a wide range of acoustic musical styles including folk-pop, music hall, instrumental folk, doo wop, tin-pan-alley, banjo rock and disco ukulele! And it’s all served up with a warmth and skill that comes from their years of experience.

Following in the tradition of variety shows they perform original compositions and repurpose familiar song styles for today’s audiences, all interspersed with witty ad-libs and banter.

Having eaten more than Chris when he was younger, Ralph accidentally grew to be at least 12 inches taller which has led to some commentators suggesting that they look like “a musical Little and Large”. This may be a bit of an exaggeration but it does present an interesting visual dynamic as soon as they hit the stage.

For more information about these musical geniuses please  visit their websites.