Folk troubadour Beans On Toast is stopping off in Swindon as part of his Small Town Celebrations Tour this month.

Beans, aka Jay McAllister, is taking part in a documentary celebrating England's small towns. The film's premiere will be screened at Glastonbury Rock Festival where Beans is performing this summer.

The folk singer is venturing off the beaten track into the heart of England, visiting such towns as St Albans, Milton Keynes, Kings Lynn, Warsop, Bolton, Cheltenham, Bideford, Poole, Newquay, Reading, and Swindon's Old Town.

Beans is a small town boy himself growing up in Braintree, Essex, and he has never forgotten his roots. He likes to give aspiring musicians a helping hand where he can, and on this tour he invites local artists to perform. The songwriters will be included in a special compilation album entitled Small Town Heroes.

In Swindon it is Tamsin Quin who has been chosen to take part, singing her mix of blues, pop and folk.

At various venues Beans wants to get down with the kids, in with the in-crowd and charm the grannies by celebrating each town's individuality. He will be visiting local attractions, having a game of rounders in the park, attending a surf meet or even joining a pub crawl.

Last August, Beans spent time in Kansas recording his seventh studio album, Rolling Up A Hill, with a duo called Truckstop Honeymoon.

He met the couple last year at the Larmer Tree Festival and they hit it off, and decided to go to The Ninth Ward Picking Parlour in Lawrence, Kansas, USA, to make an album together.

It was released on December 1 last year, Beans' birthday, and the traditional date for his record releases. It is out on Xtra Mile Recordings.

Beans began to get noticed in the melee of the British folk scene in 2005 when he opened the Glastonbury festival. His songs are hard hitting in subject matter touching on politics, drugs and love.

He has worked with some known names such as supporting Kate Nash at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2008, and his debut album Standing On A Chair was produced by Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons. Last year he toured America with Frank Turner.

On Wednesday, May 18 the musician will be performing in The Vic, Victoria Road, from 8pm. Tickets are £8 from 01793 535713 thevicswindon@gmail.com - Flicky Harrison