Tim Hughes looks forward to the Oxford Folk Weekend with the help of director Cat Kelly

Hundreds of musicians, dancers and craftspeople will descend on Oxford city centre this weekend for a celebration of one thing – folk music.

From Gloucester Green to the Castle, and the Old Fire station to the Ashmolean, the air will be thick with the sound of fiddles, flutes and clashing sticks, as bands, buskers, Morris dancers – and anyone who feels like joining in – celebrate Oxford Folk Weekend.

The event, now in its second year, evolved from the former Oxford Folk Festival and is a rich celebration of folk music, with an emphasis on local artists. And director Cat Kelly believes it is more inclusive than ever.

“We’re a community festival aiming to showcase and celebrate the vibrant and busy folk scene in Oxfordshire,” she says. “We are proud that we can show off our high quality local artists alongside national and international performers.

“We have worked hard to develop a strong community feel to our festival and there are more than 1,000 people involved in putting it together.”

They include Morris dancers, stewards, performers and volunteers.

“We are working closely with lots of local organisations: the Pitt Rivers Museum and Creation Theatre are holding family sessions; we’re hosting performances in the Central Library, on top of the Castle Mound and in the old jail cells; musicians from Crisis will be performing; and local charities are running fairground games at our Village Fete in Gloucester Green. The aim really is to make the community feel like this is their festival, that they can be a part of it, and have some ownership of it.”

The music ranges from traditional folk from Oxford’s Magpie Lane to Turkish-Cypriot musician Dogan Mehmet, who is currently starring as Songman in War Horse. There is also a Scandinavian session, clog and belly dancing workshops and story-telling.

Headline acts include North Oxford singer-songwriter Jackie Oates; the Melrose Quartet, featuring artists Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Richard and Jess Arrowsmith; and a show by BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winners Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar. Also appearing is local harpist Steph West, who plays in the British Para-orchestra and performed during the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day; and Bryony Griffith and Will Hampson from the Demon Barber Roadshow – former winners of Best Live Act at the folk awards.

“The highlights for me are going to be in the unexpected little moments,” says Cat. “That will include dancing among the aisles in the library, bringing an old fashioned village fete to the centre of Oxford, and Dogan Mehmet leading a belly dance workshop.

“Artist-wise, I’m really looking forward to the Melrose Quartet, and the evening ceilidhs are always really popular and very good fun.”

Families, meanwhile, can join a family ceilidh, and there will be free pots of bubbles handed out to children at Bubblemania in the Castle Gardens.

“The thing I most like about the weekend is that there is something for everybody,” says Cat. “There are fun things for families and stuff that will introduce people to different types of music, such as blues, country and world music, as well as more traditional folk. And half the events are free, so people can just wander up and try stuff.”

As an acclaimed folk musician herself, Cat is the perfect person to organise a celebration of British roots music. She was involved in the former Oxford Folk Festival and helps to run Oxfolk – a series of monthly ceilidhs in Kennington.

She says: “The Folk Weekend is a wonderful event and is going to grow and grow. It’s great that there is a focus on local performers as Oxford has got a really strong music community.

“I’m really proud we have got something like this here – and that so many local people are helping to make it happen.”

Jackie Oates, 29, from Summertown, headlines the Old Fire Station on Saturday, performing a concert of lullabies dating back to the 1800s. She will also hold court with a show of soporific songs in the suitably hushed surroundings of the Central Library earlier in the day.

“People have a cliched view of English folk music,” she says. “We think of folk musicians as men with beer tankards and Aran jumpers “For too long there was a general assumption that anything from Scotland or Ireland is musically better. But English folk music has incredible melodies and lyrics and tells you far more about people’s lives than any history book. You get a snapshot of people’s lives, experiences and emotions and it tells you what it’s like being human.

“We have a rich heritage and we should be proud of it.

“After all, it is sexy and it is cool!”

Oxford Folk Festival runs from tomorrow until Sunday at venues around the city centre. Weekend tickets are £48. Day, individual concert tickets and concessionary tickets are available.
For more details go to folkweekendoxford.co.uk