Oxford reggae and dancehall blog Sensible Dancehall is launching a new, regular club night on Thursday 24 January at The Cellar in Oxford. Pon De Floor promises to bring dancehall, soca, reggae, afrobeat, calypso and more, with music and dancing running into the early hours.
The first outing for a new, regular electronic music night at O2 Academy Oxford is happening on Friday 25 January. ‘Switch’ will be a weekly club night featuring a variety of guest DJs and performers; this first edition will include appearances by Shy FX (of ‘Original Nuttah’ fame) and the widely-travelled, well-respected Stamina MC.
The meditative, graceful and rich guitar sounds of James Blackshaw can be found at Modern Art Oxford on Saturday 26 January: the musician is the latest presentation from Pindrop Performances, who have also lined up local support in the form of Huck (of Huck And The Handsome Fee and The Epstein) and My Crooked Teeth (the solo persona of Jack Olchawski, frontman of Americana popsters Toliesel).
The regular Gappy Tooth night at The Wheatsheaf in Oxford always brings a rich mix of music, and on Saturday 26 January ’twas ever thus: headliners Flights Of Helios mix up Tangerine Dream with shoegaze, and there’s support from electronica act After The Thought (aka Matt from Truck Store!) and out-of-towners Last Night’s Victory and Ya OK Yeah.
A spot of brutal metal, if you fancy that, can be taken in at The Wheatsheaf in Oxford on Tuesday 29 January. It’s pretty obvious from the names of the bands playing that some noise and aggression may be in the offing: Cerebral Bore, Warpath, Cemtex, Acrania and Black Skies Burn all take part in a date on the headliners tour, delicately named the ‘Survivors Of The Great Apocalypse’.
On a gentler note, art meets music on Friday 1 February as the Art Jericho venue hosts an evening of solo singer-songwriter performances. Phil McMinn (ex-Winchell Riots and Fell City Girl) headlines, ably supported by the fast rising talent of Jordan O’Shea and another gig from My Crooked Teeth.
Old meets new on Friday 1 February‘s Skylarkin’ Soundsystem night at The Cellar in Oxford. The old is Earl Gateshead, a reggae DJ who has been doing his thing since punk hit in the 1970s; the new is General Roots, a London six-piece who mix up dancehall and reggae with highly energetic results!
Full details of these and loads more gigs can be found in the events calendar.
Tell us about gigs you’ll be checking out in the next two weeks in the comments!