What's new on the Oxford music scene...

  • BRACE yourself for the sound of bells, clashing sticks, and frantic fiddling because tomorrow marks the start of Oxford’s Folk Weekend.

The event, which takes place in venues across the city until Sunday, will showcase the cream of folk musicians — with a good number hailing from our own county.

It’s going to be hard to ignore the festivities — with singers taking over the Central Library, Morris dancers reclaiming the streets and musicians congregating in pubs, halls and even the Ashmolean Museum.
The focus for most of the programme is the Old Fire station, which will host music in its theatre, studio, gallery and loft.

Highlights include  Jackie Oates on Saturday night, Oxford band Magpie Lane tomorrow, and the Melrose Quartet (Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Richard and Jess Arrowsmith), Turkish-Cypriot singer Dogan Mehmet, and BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winners Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar on Sunday.
Other names to watch out for are Boldwood, Jon Fletcher, Jenkinson’s Folly, James Bell and harpist Steph West.

For something quirkier, there will be a family ceilidh in the Wesley Memorial Church Hall, a performance by Ian Giles and Dave Townsend in a cell at Oxford Castle, and fiddling in Gloucester Green.
Among this year’s new features is the Oxford Village Fête, which will be set up at Gloucester Green, featuring music, dance, arts and crafts, fairground games and Morris dancing.

Weekend tickets are £48 (£42 concessions, £30 youth, £20 under 12). Day and individual concert tickets are also available. More details from folkweekendoxford.co.ukhttp://www.folkweekendoxford.co.uk

Folk Weekend star jackie Oates tells us why we should be waking up to lullabies. Read here

  • Don’t forget that Saturday also marks Record Store Day, an event marked at the county’s remaining independent music shops — Truck Store, in Cowley Road, Oxford, and Rapture, in Witney.

Truck Store will greet music-lovers with an acoustic set by The Wedding Present and performances by Wild Swim, Empty White Circles and Brickwork Lizards. The shop will be open from 8.30am, with bands on from 1pm.

At Rapture there will be live music outside the shop from Runaway, Signal My Escape, The August List, Jordan O’Shea, Traps and those hardworking Brickwork Lizards, again.
There are also dozens of special releases, which will only be available on the day.

Go to recordstoreday.co.uk for details.