Music4You

THIRTY bands, 10 venues, one postcode. Tomorrow Oxford celebrates what is arguably its most creative district with a day-long festival of music and performing art called Ox4.

The East Oxford bash is the latest brainchild from those plaid shirted and straw-hatted dudes at Truck, who brought us the Truck and Wood festivals.

Isn’t it a bit late for more festival shenanigans? I hear you ask. And yes, quite frankly it is way too cold and dark of an evening for even hardy trenchfooted festie veterans to lark about outside.

Which is why the guys have teamed up with promoters YouMeDancing! to bring it all inside.

Centred on the city’s iconic Cowley Road, the action swings between a clutch of venues all in the OX4 area. Among the cooler venues are Baby Simple, the Restore Garden, The 02 Academy, Cafe Tarifa and G&Ds. And the focus of it all is the East Oxford Community Centre.

As you’d expect from Truck, it’s an eclectic bunch – with everything from rock to country, indie, jazz and instrumental soundscapes. There’s even roots music from the Oxford Folk Festival, which has its own stage.

Highlights include Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s multi-instrumental electro-rock outfit The Big Pink, alternative hip hop duo Dalek, retro-jazz swing band The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band, Witney-based Senegalese Kora player Jali Fily Cissokho, and Oxford favourites Stornoway, Jonquil, Witches and This Town Needs Guns.

The extravaganza is reminiscent of the London’s Camden Crawl and our own Oxford Punt – but organiser Robin Bennett of Truck reveals inspiration for the event came from much further afield – all the way from Texas, in fact, where the city of Austin plays host to an annual bar-based music convention called South by South West.

“We’ve been lucky enough to play at South by South West and have wanted to bring that vibe to our hometown for ages,” he says. “And now we have.”

Robin plays the event twice – as part of Danny & the Champions of the World, and his own project Dusty and the Dreaming Spires – alongside brother and co-organiser Joe.

“OX4 is all about inspiring creativity, independence, solidarity and action, both in our attitude to the arts and also to our environment and fellow humans,” adds Robin.

“It’s going to be mad,” says Danny George Wilson of Danny & the Champions.

“Half the band are from Oxford so it will be a hometown gig. The event is a really interesting idea – which is typical of Robin and Joe – and Oxford’s Cowley Road is a brilliant place to do something like this.”

Explaining the concept behind the bash, Trucker Drew Brammer says: “We’re celebrating the music scene which was born from this most creative of postcodes. This mile-long strip of road in East Oxford provided a home and an essential launch pad for Radiohead, Ride, Supergrass, The Young Knives, Foals and all those rising stars who endeavour to follow in the footsteps of such luminaries shining out from this pretty city.

“As well as inspirational live bands, the day will provide workshops and open seminars to inspire and assist creativity within the arts, along with stand up comedy events, poetry slams, open microphone sessions and unconventional programming across the board.”

And, just to prove it’s not just about naked hedonism, Oxfam are getting involved to raise both cash and awareness of their climate change campaign.

It will also mark the launch of Oxford’s so-called Un-convention where music industry people – and anyone else who is vaguely interested – will convene to discuss, debate and share knowledge, with workshops on making music videos, recording a hit single, writing a film script, songwriting… and even, heaven forbid, band speed dating.

l Ox4 takes place on Saturday, October 10. Most of the music starts at about 5pm, and continues until after 10pm at the East Oxford Community Centre and Baby Simple.

Tickets for everything – including free entry into the O2 Academy’s club nights, and discounts at selected eateries – are £15 (£12 for under 18s) from the East Oxford Community Centre.