Singer-songwriter Ags Connolly talks to MATT AYRES ahead of his appearances at a string of festivals around Oxfordshire and beyond

Country music has made a remarkable comeback in recent years – pop singers like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood have invaded the charts with their mainstream interpretations on a classic American genre, and to huge commercial success. It might be popular and ‘of the moment’, but it’s not the kind of music that Finstock singer/songwriter Alex ‘Ags’ Connolly considers authentic. To be a real country singer, he reckons, you have to go back to the old school.

Ags has been playing music in West Oxfordshire since his teens; from listening to classic artists like Johnny Cash and Willy Nelson, he developed an infatuation with outlaw country artists from the southern states of America. It wasn’t until his mid-20s that the talented singer/guitarist showcased his authentically derived music to the rest of Oxfordshire, as he began to play in venues such as the Bullingdon, the Jericho Tavern and even the O2 Academy. Now 30, Ags has played “pretty much everywhere” in Oxford, as well as having several London gigs under his belt. His first EP, The Dim and Distant Past, was released last year, and now sits upon the shelves of local independent retailers Rapture and Truck Store with the rest of the county’s great musical acts.

It’s usually bands that spring to mind when thinking about music in Oxford, with our greatest successes coming from indie rock acts. Ags is a solo artist, and his country music is defined by the refrained strumming of an acoustic guitar, rather than the electrified squeals characterised by heavy-handed rockers. As such, he’s used to standing out a bit on local gig rosters.

“I’ve been on some pretty weird line-ups in the past, with some pretty heavy bands,” he admits. “As a solo artist, it’s always interesting to see how that’s going to go down.

“On the other hand, I’ve done a couple of gigs with Cash, a Johnny Cash tribute band who play at the Academy quite a lot. Whenever I play with them it’s good fun because I know I’m playing to the right crowd, people who understand this sort of music, which is not always easy to find.”

listen to ‘The Oxford Mail talk about Ags Connolly, How About Now’ on Audioboom
He’ll continue to play with a varied array of bands at a string of local festival appearances this summer, starting with Truck Festival tomorrow. Having never attended the 16-year-old festival, Ags isn’t quite sure what to expect from his appearance on the Veterans and Virgins stage.

“It will be interesting to see, because there is another stage that’s specifically for country and Americana, but it’s not the one that I’m playing on!” he chuckles. “I think it tends to be quite a young crowd at Truck, so I’m going into it with an open mind – hopefully they will as well, and hopefully I can win a few of them over.”

The following day sees Ags on the line-up of a new local music event, Halfway to 75, right. It’s specifically designed to showcase “Americana, roots and good, honest music.” For this show, at least, Ags will fit right in.

“It’s a good idea, and tickets seem to be selling really well, so I’m looking forward to that,” he says of the show, taking place on Saturday at Isis Farmhouse on Iffley Lock.

Elsewhere, you can expect to find Ags crooning to the crowds at Charlbury Riverside Festival (July 28), before heading up to Edinburgh with successful Scottish country music producer Dean Owens to record his debut album.

CHECK IT OUT: Weekend tickets for Truck Festival (£74) are from truckfestival.com or on 01159 597 908. Tickets for Halfway to 75 have sold-out