The Ton Up British Motorcycle Club rolls into Madison’s Yazoo Brewery for its 23rd annual bike show on Saturday, October 5. While the club has only one rule — own and ride a British Bike — the show is egalitarian and accepts entries from Hondas to Harleys. (One caveat: No big baggers or full dressers, please.)
With ten classes for pre-1984 vintages of all makes and one for “modern classics,” fine specimens from across the globe will be represented in all their restored glory. In years past, there’ve even been appearances by the elusive Vincent!
One of the Southeast’s oldest British MCs, Ton Up began as an informal gathering of three friends who shared a passion for British bikes: Pat Albert (RIP, dear friend), Eric England, and Jim Fungaroli. Upon forming Ton Up, they used Springwater Supper Club & Lounge as the “clubhouse.” Being restless, they decided to host a bike show at East Nashville’s OG rock joint, Slow Bar. Think of it as a pop-up event before calling such things a pop-up event.
Full disclosure: I first met Eric at Centennial Park in ’92 (long story for another time). He’d just landed a gig shooting for the then relatively new Nashville Scene. Oh yeah, and he was riding a Harley Sportster(!) His entry into the Brit-bike world came a year later when an acquaintance made him an offer he couldn’t refuse on a 1971 BSA Lightning — which he converted to a race bike and still owns. You’ll mostly see him on either his ’70 Triumph Bonneville Special or a ’69 BSA Lightning these days. And he still shoots for the Scene (and, for us, occasionally).
Pat Albert was also a friend going back even further. A highly respected mechanic and inspired bass guitarist, Pat only ever had one mode of transportation: his stripped-down ’71 Triumph Bonneville café racer. Like, stripped down to the point of not having a seat (“It’s all about the weight, man,” Pat would say.) He was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance incarnate. His only constant possessions were a bike and a bass (and the random, highly illegal SKS). Very truly the most punk rock man I ever knew.
Jim Fungaroli orbited nearby as a member of The Cactus Brothers. Throw in Dan Baird and Ken McMahan, whose band the Sofa Kings played the show, along with Grimey, Dave Brown, and Dave Gehrke of Slow Bar fame, and suddenly a pastiche of the greater Nashville rock scene circa 2000 comes into view.
It makes sense, after all. Bike culture and music are brothers-in-arms, counter-culturally speaking. Think mods and rockers and Quadrophenia. Or the Southern California surf scene in the early ’60s.
Or maybe they picked Slow Bar because Eric lived on Holly Street at the time, where his kitchen table usually held an engine being repaired. He still lives on the East Side, but the repair shop has moved to the garage.
Entertainment for the show sees the return of Ken McMahan with his latest band, The Rusty Nails, as well as Friend or Foe.
Whatever your jam, an abundance of sights and sounds await.
2024 Ton Up Bike Show
Saturday, October 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Yazoo Brewing Company
900 River Bluff Drive, Madison TN 37115
Bike Show entries are accepted from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The entry fee is $10 per bike. Handmade show trophies by Scott Lochbihler. Raffle prizes include swag donated from Cycle Gear, Boswell’s Harley Davidson, Nashville Motos, American’s Motor Sports, and five $50 gift certificates to Sloan’s Motorcycle & ATV.
Entry isn’t required to attend, so come one, come all, and BRING YOUR RIDE!
