• NOT one to let the grass grow beneath his feet, Sebastian Reynolds is at it again this weekend – not with his band Flights of Helios (Click here for details), but as a promoter. And, once again, he’s heading to an unlikely spot.

This Sunday four acclaimed singer-songwriters will gather in the usually hushed surroundings of the Albion Beatnik Bookshop, in Jericho, Oxford.

The PinDrop Performances night will feature intimate, unamplified acoustica from Rowan Coupland, Samuel Zasada, Freada and Julia Meijer, all playing among the shelves at the Walton Street store.

Tickets are £5 on the door. The music starts at 7.30pm.

  • It’s a real Oxford affair at the O2 Academy on Saturday when the venue’s regular Upstairs session hosts a clutch of our very best new artists.

Headlining are Americana five-piece Empty White Circles, who will be on top form, this being a party to celebrate their new self-titled EP.

Formed by American-born brothers Kevin and Sean Duggan, the Oxford-based band are ably augmented by childhood friend Dave Royston and British members Calum To and Ricky Eastwood. Expect the kind of close harmonies, catchy riffs and toe tapping rhythms that sound more at home in the Appalachians than the Cowley Road.

The lads are joined by fellow country-rockers Co-Pilgrim (not strictly Oxford, but boasting The Dreaming Spires’ Joe Bennett on guitar), Duchess, The Drakes and hotly-tipped young singer-songwriter Chris Ryder.

The fun starts at 7pm and is great value at just £6 in advance from ticketweb.co.uk

  • Tauranga, New Zealand, may not be the first place you think about when considering the future of British rhythm and blues... but then that’s possibly because you’ve never heard of Brilleaux.

Frontman Graham Clark and his compatriots play the Famous Monday Blues at the Jericho Tavern on, well... Monday of course. Tickets are a tenner from wegottickets.com

  • Our top pick among next week’s gigs is Wednesday’s shows by Nina Nesbitt and Olivia Sebastianelli.

Young half Scottish-Swedish singer-songwriter Nina may be familiar as the voice behind that John Lewis advert, singing a lovely upbeat cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop. But the 19-year-old is about so much more than that. Her four-track EP Stay Out, released earlier this year, drew YouTube views of more than four million, while its catchy little title track reached Number 21 in the charts. She is currently co-producing her debut album with Jake Gosling (Paloma Faith, Ed Sheeran, One Direction) at his studio in Surrey.

Anglo-Italian singer-songwriter Olivia Sebastianelli (click here for details of Olivia) has been compared to the likes of Bat For Lashes, The xx and Stevie Nicks and releases her first EP Perfect Getaway this Sunday (on Ecola Records). Few artists effortlessly merge dreamy, ethereal songwriting with vibrant pop melody and melancholia.

“Perfect Getaway is about getting away from a stressful situation and escaping to be on your own,” she tells us. “It was one of the first songs I wrote, so it’s nice to give old songs a rebirth.”

Nina and Olivia are supported by Daniel James.

They play the O2 Academy on Wednesday. Tickets are £8 from ticketweb.co.uk