A bit of a quiet week follows the excitement of all those recent festivals… but there are at least a couple of gigs worthy of your attention. On Friday 16 August at O2 Academy 2, Oxford, there’s a metal/rock showcase from new local promoters Black Bullet Live: they’ve lined up Driven, Martyr De Mona, Komrad, K-Lacura and Salvage to bring the noise on a Friday night.

Alternatively, also on Friday 16 August you could swing by the Wheatsheaf in Oxford. The increasingly popular Mayors Of Miyazaki will be doing just that as part of their second-album-promoting tour, and they’ll be supported by the sublimely-named Punching Swans, Jumpstart The Jungle, and the fantastic Oxes-style math-rocking loonies Masiro.

A gig worthy of very much note takes place on Monday 19 August, as it’s promoted by MusicInOxford.co.uk! Last seen as an undisputed highlight of last year’s Audioscope festival, Baltimore’s Arbouretum will bring their blend of Americana and doomish noise to the Port Mahon in Oxford, with fantastic support from Listing Ships and Coma Wall. It’s a small venue, but it’s going to be a big gig.

The White Rabbit in central Oxford have their latest live music offering on Tuesday 20 August. The deliciously-named Sex Hands will be joined by the strangely-named Beta Blocker And The Body Clock and the excitedly-name Whoo-Ah! for an intimate show with, according to what we read here, free pizza. Oh, and it’s free entry too!

Towersey Festival takes place from Thursday 22 August to Monday 26 August. Located near Thame, Towersey’s annual shindig has been running for nearly fifty years (!) and this year – alongside all kinds of real ale, poetry, comedy and theatre – the musical entertainments will include sets from The Blockheads, The Unthanks, Spiers and Boden and Martin & Eliza Carthy.

Full details of these and loads more gigs can be found in the events calendar.