Charlotte Krol and Tim Hughes are impressed by the freewheelin' fun on offer at Oxford's Folk Weekend

It’s hard to believe Oxford Folk Weekend is only two years young. This polished re-imagining of the old Oxford Folk Festival is slick, professional and huge fun. It also boasted a great line-up of local and national talent.

Headlining Saturday’s proceedings was Summertown lass Jackie Oates, who soothed the OFS theatre with an extended set of lullabies. Nothing like as twee as it sounds, the songs were lilting, lovely and, in parts – such as the song Bird – dark and twisted. They were gripping, and no one slept.

Jackie’s set topped off a great day which also saw stunning performances by Towcester husband-and-wife duo Phil and Sophie Thurman, aka Jenkinsons Folly, and singer and concertina master Ian Giles and Dave Townsend – the best being a tune about the dashing highwayman Dumas.

Sophie and Ian had already delighted festival-goers as part of Oxford folk legends Magpie Lane.

Among Sunday’s highlights was the set by BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winners, Ciaran Algar and Greg Russell. Guitarist and singer Greg insisted one of their tracks was “the second best love song to come out of Stoke since Angels by Robbie Williams”.

It’s arguably better. A beautiful English concertina hugged his earthy burr, whilst Algar matched the tune with a gorgeous fiddle. Both musicians made playing music look as easy as breathing. A stellar performance, it set the bar for the remainder of the festival. In the OFS studio, 10 fiddle players, a percussionist, a concertina player, a guitarist and a bassist made up the giant wall of sound that is the Oxford Fiddle Group. And as the 14 broke into song, out came our smiles.

It is difficult not to beam with such energy in the room. Among the Irish reels and old American timers were Scottish tune Dark Island (with passionate vocals, Celtic drone and plodding basslines) and local song Come Write Me Down.

The group took the crowd on a journey of musical geography; inviting friends to perform Appalachian dancing or educating us with songs from Abingdon. And it’s all full of good old-fashioned fun.

James Bell (and the Half Moon All-Stars) provided a different experience altogether, with energetic songs more fitting to fans of Beck than Bert Jansch. Of course, some variety is healthy in a sea of musicians sporting beards and plaid shirts. But while he is an exceptional guitarist, his brash and bolshy vocal style is more of an acquired taste.

Another band boasting a skilled guitarist is Until The Bird. The duo deftly flit between trombones, ukuleles, guitars and accordions. Singer Dave Hawkins has a wonderful, soft vocal style which he compliments with clever and erratic guitar progressions, while multi-instrumentalist Thom Harmsworth picks up whatever instrument suits the song best. From sea shanty accordions to fast picked ukuleles, it was a joy to behold.

The festival was closed in cross-cultural style by the charismatic Dogan Mehmet. The Turkish-Cypriot musician, actor and raconteur thrilled, inspired and had the crowd in laughter with a set of Turked-up traditional folk, heartwrenching Anatolian tunes, (including the classic Uskudar), funk and reggae – even succeeding in getting the audience singing in Turkish “Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines” – which is still going around in my head days later.

It was a rousing end to a weekend which was as diverse as it was fun.

Charlotte Krol and Tim Hughes