Jazz/blues
THE ORIGINAL RABBIT FOOT SPASM BAND KNEES UP

O2 Academy Oxford n Tomorrow. Doors 8pm n Tickets £7.50 from wegottickets.com Oxford’s virtuoso vintage jazz and jump-blues act The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band return for their now-traditional Christmas gathering. Expect a raucous mix of superb musicianship and freewheeling revelry with special guests singer Julia Titus and washboard player Daz Price. 

Soul
CRAIG CHARLES

O2 Academy Oxford n Tomorrow n Tickets £16 from ticketweb.co.uk He may be best known for his roles in Red Dwarf and, more recently, Coronation Street, but Craig Charles is also something of a musical aficionado — a popular DJ and radio presenter specialising in soul and funk. Tomorrow he brings his box of discs to the O2 Academy Oxford for The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club. The night also features a live set from Temple Funk Collective, Tony ‘Naked’ Nanton, Fajita Funk and Count Aidan Skylarkin’.

Various
PIN DROP CHRISTMAS PARTY

St Giles Parish Rooms, Woodstock Road, Oxford n Saturday n Entry by donation Singer-songwriter Bethany Weimers and blues-soaked country-rockers Swindlestock are among the attractions at this year’s fundraiser for the Gatehouse project for the homeless.

Reggae
SKYLARKIN SOUNDSYSTEM’S REGGAE CHRISTMAS

O2 Academy Oxford n Christmas Eve n Early bird tickets are £6 + fee (standard tickets £8) from ticketweb.co.uk Usher in the big day to the wholesome sounds of reggae and dub, courtesy of the Skylarkin Soundsystem’s Reggae Christmas. The continuation of a long tradition of reggae-flavoured Christmas Eve bashes, this year’s spectacular features tunes from Dub Mafia, Constant Jammin, Desta*Nation DJs and the host himself, ‘Count’ Aidan Skylarkin.

Folk
BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST

The Village Club, High Street, Nettlebed n Monday n Tickets visit nettlebedfolkclub.co.uk There’s a treat for folk fans on Monday with a festive show by Bellowhead’s Paul Sartin and Hoover the Dog’s Paul Hutchinson — aka Belshazzar’s Feast. The date, the last on their 2014 Stocking Fillers tour, sees Sartin on oboe, violin and vocals, and Hutchinson on accordion, serving up a suitably tinselly set.