With their biggest UK tour in years kicking off this February, Less Than Jake frontman Chris DeMakes reflects on nearly three decades of British ska-punk mayhem, living all his dreams, and why he’s never felt more content.

Words & photos by Felix Bartlett  | Feb 19, 2026

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It’s 8 a.m. in Norwich, Tennessee when Chris DeMakes appears on screen, surprisingly chipper for the early hour. In the background, his daughter is engrossed in her tablet, headphones on, leaving us free to talk about what brings Less Than Jake back across the Atlantic every year or so: an enduring love affair with the UK that’s now entering its third decade.

“England really is, in some ways – I hate to say our second home – it’s like our first home away from home,” Chris reflects, the enthusiasm unmistakable even through video chat. “We were embraced by the United Kingdom way back, 27, 28 years ago now. I never, ever thought that I’d get out of the garage space, let alone go play a gig and have people who want to turn up and see my band play, to all of a sudden traveling to England.”

For Chris, England was a place of mythology back in those early days. “We weren’t as connected with technology. It was like, I’m going to go to this foreign land. I read about all my favorite bands from England, all the places they played and all the weird pronunciations – you know, Gloucester’s Gloucester!” He laughs. “You get there, and you’re like, ‘How are you doing, Derby?’ They’re like, ‘No, no. It’s Darby.’”

That affection has only deepened over time. This February, Less Than Jake return to the UK for a seven-date run that’s already seeing venues sell out, bringing The Aquabats! and The Bouncing Souls along for the ride, with The Barstool Preachers rounding out an absolutely stacked bill.

How’s that feeling? It’s really exciting to have you back in the UK.

“Thank you. I’m feeling great. Although I, you know, it just dawned on me the audacity of an Englishman talking about the weather! I’ll be over there at the end of February freezing my tail off, raining and drizzly. But yeah, we’re super excited to come back. I mean, I never, ever thought that I’d get out of the garage space, let alone go play a gig and have people who want to turn up and see my band play, to all of a sudden, you know, traveling to England. This is a place of mythology to me back then.”

How did bringing along Bouncing Souls and Aquabats come about? How did you go about curating that lineup?

“We had a list going of bands, and we were trying to put it together. Really, a lot of it all just boils down to availability. I always figured that Aquabats were – I hate using the term bigger – but I thought they were more well-known in the UK. Yes, they have fans there, but turns out they haven’t been there that much, because I was surprised at first. I’m like, ‘Wow, Bouncing Souls are playing main support.’ That’s not a diss against them or Aquabats – I had no idea what the bill was going to be like, but they both agreed to it. We got Barstool Preachers to round out the bill, and the fan response was just through the roof. The tour is selling out.”

Chris is particularly excited about Barstool Preachers’ new single: “I think this is a hit song. I just had Tom on – I have a songwriting podcast – and his episode’s coming out the first week of February. Then we’re going to have an episode with Aquabats and Bouncing Souls, and we’ll talk about a Less Than Jake song. That’ll coincide right up to when we play our first show on the 27th in Bristol.”

Can you tease any potential shenanigans you might get up to on stage together?

“I can’t give away too much. I can tell you we’re going to have two rehearsal days, which is a rarity – we hardly rehearse ever. But we’re going to have some cool stage show, some cool lights, and the usual shenanigans. No two Less Than Jake shows are ever the same. As much as we try to have a quote-unquote script, it goes out the window as soon as we walk through the curtain.”

The tour hits some of the UK’s most iconic venues – Bristol, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Brixton Academy in London, Manchester, and Glasgow.

Is there anything you’re particularly excited about? I know there’s a bit of history there, and you’ve played Brixton quite a lot.

“We have. Brixton is one of those places where tons of live albums have been shot there. Then of course, we’re playing Leeds – or as you would say, Leeds. Nottingham, not Nottingham. Birmingham, not Birmingham – that’s an Alabama. We’re going to Birmingham. And you also got to know where you’re at too. We’re not playing in Wales this tour, but I made the mistake early on of saying ‘Hello England’ and I learned the hard way there.”

Any stories you can share from past shows? You mentioned learning not to call Wales ‘England’ – any other stories from these venues?

Chris doesn’t hesitate. “I mean, just in the show you’re talking about in 2019 that you came to, that was the Fireball tour. They had a sponsor, and this would never happen in the States due to alcohol laws – you guys are just way more lax. I look down at some point, it’s one of the first shows, and there’s our trombone player in the pit with the punters, with the biggest bottle of Fireball whiskey I’ve ever seen, running back and forth, pouring it into people’s mouths. I’m just sitting there watching this go on – this is just unbelievable.”

Then there’s the heavier story. “2014, we were with Reel Big Fish and Zebrahead at Shepherd’s Bush. It’s three-tiered, the top balcony, and I see the spotlight and I’m going, ‘Oh my God, don’t do it.’ There’s this guy hanging and he goes to jump and the audience just splits.”

The crowd parted, and the man went down headfirst. “No one knew if he died. They had to land a medical helicopter in the park across the street from Shepherd’s Bush to take this guy out. We were playing Last One Out of Liberty City, the first song on Hello Rockview, and the place was whipped into a frenzy. We had to stop the show for like 45 minutes. When we got back on stage, we could never ramp up to any bit of intensity at all – it just took all the air out of the room.”

It’s a heavy story, but Chris tells it with the perspective of someone who’s truly seen it all. “There’s a level of drunk in the US that you get and you’re like, ‘I’m leaving this place because the idiots are going to come out.’ But there’s something about the UK level of crazy, at least at the shows. It’s just mental.”

You’ve just had the new EP Uncharted drop – this will be the first time coming to the UK playing it. What tracks are you most excited to play? And talk a little bit about that EP as well, which was produced by Bill Stevenson, correct?

“It was, yeah. That was done with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore out of the Blasting Room. We did seven songs – we probably could have done a record, but we just had the seven ready to go, and we wanted to go record, and it ended up being an EP. It came out December 24th, so it’s been out for about 14 months now, a little over a year. And the reception’s been great. We’re very lucky that we have songs from our past that people want to hear. That’s a great position to be in. We probably wouldn’t have to record any other songs and people would be just fine with that. But we love recording and pushing the boundaries of the band. We’ve always felt that the minute we stopped creating – on any level, creating through merchandise, creating through art, creating through music – we’re no longer pushing forward. We’re writing songs for ourselves, and that’s what we’ve always done. Luckily, people still want to hear them.”

Is there a track that you really love to play live? I know you mix it up quite a lot, but is there one in particular that you enjoy the most?

“Well, I mean, and this isn’t one of those things – it’s a UK/Europe thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a guitar part, a bass part, a drum part – they’ll sing it. You’ll hear this in Japan too, the Japanese will sing any part. But in the UK, in Europe, you’re singing the horn parts louder than the PA. So, to answer your question, Gainesville Rock City would be one of those songs, because the horn part starts that. When we drop into that, the place just goes to a fever pitch.”

You’ve worked with everyone – Snoop Dogg, U2. First of all, how did that happen? But also, is there anyone in particular you’d really love to share the stage with?

“Gosh, I’ve often said that I lived all my dreams. I didn’t play a festival with Kiss or Ozzy, but I have played with Black Sabbath when they were with Ronnie James Dio. I’ve met Brian May from Queen, Rob Halford from Judas Priest at the Kerrang! Awards, James from Metallica. All my childhood heroes I met and got to play with in some capacity. It may not have been on the same tour, but we ran into each other at festivals. Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden came up to Roger and I at the Kerrang! Awards because he had seen us accept an award from the guys in The Cult.”

He pauses, reflecting. “The Cult gives us this Best New Band award in 2001 at Kerrang!, which was hilarious because we had been a band for ten years. I was pushing 30 at that point, like 28, 29 years old. We were like, ‘Best New Band, this is the greatest thing ever!’ But I’ve got to do it all I have. If it stopped tomorrow, it would be heartbreaking just because this is what I do and it’s a passion, but it wouldn’t be heartbreaking from the standpoint of I didn’t fulfill any goal. The goal was fulfilled before we ever even got out of Florida. We were playing some epic shows in the early days down there that my friends in other bands weren’t playing those kind of shows, so I knew we were onto something awesome.”

It’s a perspective born from years of chasing the next thing. “I was searching for a long time as a younger man – how many records we sell, what’s the next thing, what’s the next thing? You realize when you keep putting the goalposts ahead of you that you’re never living here. I used to think in the past and have regrets. Being able to just say, ‘Yeah, this was how our career was supposed to go’ – the coulda, woulda, shouldas, they don’t really come into the brain anymore. Could we have sold more records or could we have done this? Well, maybe. But the journey was how it was supposed to be.”

That philosophy extends to their festival appearances too. Last year at Slam Dunk, they were moved from the main stage to headlining the tent – a shift some bands might view as a demotion. “Some bands would think like, ‘Oh, we got demoted. We’re not on the main stage,’ not us. We got in there and just threw a party and it went off. That’s a good place to be in your career where you no longer have to be like, ‘Oh, why were we on this stage? Or why weren’t we over there?’ When, you know, we ain’t got more money to play over there, does it really matter? At the end of the day, the punters never cared. Those are things only the bands care about.”

What is the one thing that keeps bringing you back to the UK, especially during these colder months?

“The demand. We’re able to come back every year and a half, every 12 to 18 months, and have audiences not only for our own tours like this, but to come out and watch us at festivals. When we played Slam Dunk last year, the tent was just – it was one of the best shows we’ve ever played. We were on the main stage the year before in 2023, then we were headlining the tent. We got in there and just threw a party and it went off.”

And despite the miserable February weather awaiting him? “I hate airports – it’s probably the worst part of this whole thing, the travel. But when I get on that plane and I know I’m going to England, man, I just can sit there and read a book and chill out. I’m the most relaxed ever. It’s a great feeling.”

Catch the band live at the following dates:

Less Than Jake UK Winter Circus 2026 Tour

February

27 Bristol Prospect Building
28 Birmingham O2 Academy

March

1 London O2 Academy Brixton
3 Nottingham Rock City
5 Manchester Academy
6 Leeds O2 Academy
7 Glasgow Barrowland