The Dreadnoughts Barrel in with ‘Polka Pit’

The world-renowned folk-punk firebrands,  with no warning and no apologies, have dropped a surprise single—“Polka Pit”—and with it, a call to arms: their eighth full-length album, Polka Pit, arrives September 19 via Punkerton Records, and it’s set to turn every venue, bar, and living room floor into a swirling, stomping revolution.
Polka Pit isn’t a gentle nod to the past. It’s a headbutt to the present. The Dreadnoughts, known for fusing sea shanties, polkas, tarantellas, and Celtic stomp with fists-up punk energy, are throwing down the gauntlet with an album that sounds like a riot in a beer hall.

According to frontman Nick Smyth, the single “Polka Pit” is “a tribute to the magic of punk rock and the power of traditional polka.” And you feel it. It’s got the grit of a basement show and the soul of a dance hall, fused in a sound that dares you not to move—and not to think. The track is pure Dreadnoughts: blistering, raucous, and deeply rooted in musical history. Think Gogol Bordello at a barn burner. Think The Pogues leading a street march through Krakow. Think accordion blazing rebellion with a cider pint in hand, the melodies might make you jump. But the message hits just as hard.

Now signed to Punkerton Records, The Dreadnoughts are entering their next phase with swagger and purpose. Known for albums like Polka’s Not Dead (2010), Foreign Skies (2017), and Green Willow (2022), the band’s discography is a living, breathing, bruising testimony to their commitment to fusing history with fury. Where others sprinkle folk into punk, The Dreadnoughts live inside both worlds—and burn the bridge between.

It’s a full-throttle soundtrack to a world unhinged. Blending everything from tarantellas to sea shanties, waltzes to war cries, The Dreadnoughts summon centuries of folk tradition and channel it through street punk energy and political bite.

This is protest music with a pint in one hand and a Molotov in the other.

They’ve taken their cider-soaked, boots-on-the-floor sound from the dive bars of Vancouver to over 30 countries, turning every gig into a celebration of chaos, culture, and collective catharsis.

To mark the record’s arrival, The Dreadnoughts will play an album release show September 19 at Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus, OH, joined by folk-punk allies The Boy Detective and Brave The Sea. Expect accordion pounding jigs , swirling bodies, and a pit that smells like revolution.

The Dreadnoughts continue to evolve—louder, tighter, and more committed to the fight. Their roots may run deep in the traditions of Eastern Europe, the British Isles, and the seven seas, but their impact hits wherever there’s an ear willing to listen and a foot ready to stomp. So clear the floor, raise your glass, and brace yourself.