Tim Hughes takes his pick of the best local(ish) gigs

Country-rock

  • THE EPSTEIN
  • St Albans Church, Charles Street, Oxford
  • Tonight (Thursday)
  • Tickets £10 from wegottickets.com

It has taken The Epstein more than three years to finish their new album, but their creation Murmurations has been well worth the wait.

The album, the follow-up to 2007’s Last of the Charanguistas, shows them moving away from their Americana roots into more widescreen cinematic territory, and reflects members’ rock heritage as well as the band’s traditional folk-flavoured melodic warmth.

They launch the album tonight, with support from The Dreaming Spires and Jordan O Shea.

Click here to read our interview with frontman Olly Wills...

Indie-rock

The Lemonheads’ frontman made a lot of new friends when he played at Truck Festival a few years back.

This time he returns for a Glastonbury warm-up show at the O2 Academy — though without his fellow Lemonheads.

Dance

  • THE UK GARAGE SUMMER SESSION
  • O2 Academy, Oxford
  • Tomorrow (Friday)
  • Tickets £10 from ticketweb.co.uk

Get your box fresh sneakers on for a night of top-notch garage from a dream team of DJs, Mcs and producers. The UK Garage Summer Session features Matt Jam Lamont, Pied Piper, Mike ‘Ruff Cut’ Lloyd, Artful Dodger, DJ Dee, Archie Bizzle. The night is hosted by CKP, PSG, DT and Mista Bigstuff.

Festival

  • GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
  • Worthy Farm, Somerset
  • Tomorrow (Friday)-Sunday
  • Tickets sold out

It may be a little out of our area, but ‘Glasto’ has always been an important event for Oxfordshire. Not only does it feature a host of local talent (this year including Lewis Watson, Foals, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, and Stornoway) but it raises a righteous amount of money for our very own Oxfam. If you can’t be there, highlights will be televised on the BBC.

Blues

The UK’s longest-running international weekly live music session continues with Steve Roux and his six-piece Brass Knuckle Blues band. Expect loud things from Frontman Steve, who has played with Albert Collins, Rory Gallagher Harrison, Leo Sayer and, err... Status Quo.