TIM HUGHES previews a one-night festival showcasing Oxford’s talent around the city

We all know it’s hard to keep on top of a music scene as vibrant as Oxford’s.

There are just so many bands, too many venues, and not enough days in the week. It’s a dilemma faced by every self-respecting music-lover. Fortunately, help is at hand in the shape of a one-night festival of local talent.

It’s called the Oxford Punt, and it takes place once a year at a mixed bunch of venues within walking distance of each other in the city centre.

The event, which started 16 years ago, sees 20 bands playing five venues over the course of just over five hours, and is the single best opportunity local gig-goers have to see some of the year’s hottest new (and not-so-new) artists.

“This is the perfect chance to see a few bands you might have heard about but have never had a chance to see,” said Ronan Munro, who stages the event each year. “And they will all be there on a plate on one night.”

And, said Ronan, who edits Oxford’s highly-respected monthly music magazine Nightshift, it is not just the audience which benefits. “It’s also good for bands, who are guaranteed a ready-made crowd,” he said.

This year’s line-up is certainly a beauty, with a classic line-up of ultra-new bands and more familiar faces. And all have one thing in common. None have played the Punt in their present guise.

“I’m really please with the line-up,” he said. “Last year’s Punt came back after a year off so had a really strong line-up and I thought it would be hard to match that this year. But the response was amazing and I still had 110 demos. Getting that down to 26 was relatively easy, but taking it to 20 was really hard.”

Among the best-known names on the bill are chic, low-fi pop act Candy Says, featuring Julia ‘Juju’ Heslop, formerly of Little Fish and partner Ben Walker on keys, singer Elisa Zoot and drummer Mike Monaghan.

As Little Fish, Juju recorded an album in Los Angeles, gigged everywhere from Hollywood’s Viper Room to Knebworth, Reading and The Royal Albert Hall, played with Courtney Love and Blondie and supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Alice in Chains and Juliette Lewis. Candy Says is a different proposition – cooler, calmer, French-flavoured and more sophisticated than the sweat-drenched performances of old, while still huge fun.

Another familiar face is that of Phil McMinn, best known through his work as frontman of epic-pop acts Winchell Riots and Fell City Girl, and who opens the festival at 7pm at The Purple Turtle. They are joined by one of the most creative and unusual bands anywhere, The Goggenheim, and doom hip-hop duo Death of Hi-Fi.

Also playing are Listing Ships, Yellow Fever, Duchess, Ags Connolly, The August List, Nairobi, Mother Corona, Bear Trap, Empire Divided, Ragdoll, Agness Pike, Traps, The Graceful Slicks, Limbo Kids, Poledo and After the Thought.

So sought-after is a Punt slot, that bands deluge Ronan with demos months in advance – all hoping to make the cut. When one of the first bands selected, the striking Vienna Ditto, revealed they couldn’t play the night, Ronan had no shortage of candidates to take their place. He chose Limbo Kids, who will be playing their first gig.

“I have always said bands can’t play their first gig at the Punt, but Limbo Kids have got a lot of pedigree,” he says.

The electro-pop act features James Hitchman from Alphabet Backwards and Ollie Thomas from Ute and Grinding Young.

“I could do it with completely new acts but you’ve got to allow for people being able to move around,” he goes on. “Take Candy Says, for example. They are a very different band to Little Fish, who played a legendary Punt set in 2008 at Thirst Lodge, before it became a strip club. It was heaving; you couldn’t even get into the venue.”

Playing the Punt has become a rite of passage for every Oxford band, with many Punters – including Young Knives, Fixers, Jonquil, Stornoway and Yannis and Jack from Foals (in the form of their old band Elizabeth), moving on to gain an international audience.

“Some bands have really made their name at the Punt and many have gone on to big things after playing,” said Ronan. “This is a great chance to catch the next big bands to come out of Oxford before they make it.”

So what is he most looking forward to? He is, as usual, too diplomatic to say, but admits he is keen to catch Witney hip-hop act Death of Hi-Fi. “They are the best hip-hop act to come out of Oxfordshire, but I’ve never seen them live. I have also never seen Duchess, though I loved their demo. But I am looking forward to just being surprised on the night.”

The bands cover a range of genres, from pop and hard rock to country, folk and hip-hop.

Ronan added: “We have got metal bands, some acoustic singer-songwriters and in Nairobi, Duchess and Yellow Fever, three bands with an Afro-pop flavour, which is obviously this year’s new trend.”

The action takes place at The Purple Turtle, The Cellar, The Wheatsheaf, The Duke’s Cut and The White Rabbit.

“We’ve returned to The Wheatsheaf, which is the equivalent of a comfy pair of slippers...and The Cellar – which is more like a bullet-proof jacket!”

The Oxford Punt takes place on Wednesday.

  • Entry to each venue is £5, with free entry to the Duke’s Cut and White Rabbit. Multi-venue Punt Passes are £8 from oxfordmusic.net