Indie-rock
Albert Hammond Jr
O2 Academy Oxford
Monday
As guitarist with New York buzz band The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr was one of the hippest artists on the planet. As a solo artist he still radiates cool, and has a stunning back catalogue of his own work, including latest album Momentary Masters, which rivals anything he did with Julian Casablancas et al. See Soundbites
Americana
Huck Astley
The Library bar, Cowley Road, Oxford
Tonight
Tickets are £5 from wegottickets.com
Huck Astley is one of the Oxford music scene’s most imaginative artists – a singer-songwriter and poet whose work is simultaneously fun and provocative.
For the past few years, the West Oxfordshire musician – who has played with The Epstein, Huck and the Handsome Fee and Sextodecimo – has been working on his magnum opus; a body of work, he refers to as a “folk operetta” called Alexander the Great.
Rather than extolling the virtues, or otherwise, of the legendary Macedonian warlord, however, his musical epic follows the story of a teenager from a strict conservative family the American Deep South, who runs away to the swamps of Louisiana with a half-American Indian. It would not be giving much away to say it does not end well.
Huck has completed the third act of the opera, and performs songs from the saga at this cosy venue.
Country-rock
Wild Ponies
Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Tonight
Tickets from
cornerstone-arts.org
Based around the core of singer-songwriting duo Doug and Telisha Williams, Wild Ponies play juicy melodic Americana laden with hooks.
With Doug on acoustic and electric guitar, Telisha on upright bass, and Tobias Humble on drums, the band play dynamic biting roots, as evidenced on latest album Things That Used To Shine.
Americana
The Black Feathers
The Roastery, Magdalen Road, Oxford
Saturday
theblackfeathers.com
Don’t be fooled by The Black Feathers. With their stunning harmonies and engaging songwriting, husband and wife Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler may sound like they are straight outta Texas – but they actually hail from Gloucestershire.
Completing a run of great Americana bands playing the county this week, this duo play tunes from their debut album Soaked to the Bone.
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