Sacred Harp singing is an American unaccompanied choral tradition, picking up in popularity within the UK and Ireland folk scene and taking off particularly in London and Cork. Wikipedia has some information and history on the singing style, which has also had a small Oxford community of enthusiasts participating in house-based singing sessions since the late 1990s. There have also been several radio shows dedicated to the tradition, including a documentary presented by Cerys Matthews, and examples have sprung up in the form of folk musician Sam Carter’s work and the soundtrack to the feature film Lawless, as in this recording:

There are now plans for a weekly singing group, taking place at the New Road Baptist Church in Oxford town centre, starting on 15 January and running on every Tuesday night for as long as it remains suitably-attended.

Organised by the Oxford Sacred Harp Singing group, the singing meetings are inviting anyone and everyone who is interested to take part, with no music-reading ability or prior experience required.

For more information about Oxford Sacred Harp Singing, and to contact the organisers of these new weekly meetups, visit their website.