Oxford Contemporary Music’s annual OCM Open season takes place on Friday 29 June and Saturday 30 June at Pegasus Theatre in Oxford. On Friday night there’s a gig presenting the best musicians from Oxford Cherwell Valley College, and on Saturday there are two events – OCM Youth Open in the afternoon from 1.30 pm, with Midnight Blink, The Method, Jollie, Fine Union and The Reaper, and OCM Open at 8.00 pm with Echo Boomer, Red Square, Jess Hall, Flights Of Helios and The Cooling Pearls. It’s all good stuff and, as OCM say, “a musical box of treats and surprises from our doorstep”: http://www.ocmevents.org/ocm/events/ocmopen2012

Some of Oxford’s thriving heavy metal scene will be on display on Saturday 30 June. At The Wheatsheaf in Oxford you can check out the charmingly-named Caravan Of Whores, supported by Ulysses Storm and Stem, and at O2 Academy 2 in Oxford there’s the latest regular Skeletor Promotions offering, with Crysis, No Consequence, The Crushing, Empire Divided and Annero. Rawk!

At Oxford’s O2 Academy 2 on Thursday 5 July is the latest Upstairs in association with BBC Introducing showcase of local music, which will see out-of-towners We Augustines supported by Deer Chicago, Highway Alaska, Yellow Fever and ArtClassSink. If the previous Upstairs nights are anything to go by, it’ll be a well-attended night of brilliant music and, if you’re so inclined, your ticket will also get you free entry to the Propaganda club that follows the live music and runs until 2.00 am!

The Truck Store folk have yet to provide details of what they’ll entail, but they’re presenting Truck Festival warm-up events at their Cowley Road shop on Saturday 7 July and Sunday 8 July. All being well (and if it’s anything like last year), expect to see lots of the acts playing Truck to turn up for some intimate live performances with, we hope, beer being served in the shop!