ROBYN HITCHCOCK

  • Fat Lil’s, Witney
  • Wednesday
  • Tickets £10 from Rapture, Witney; Truck Store, Oxford; or wegottickets.com

The last time we saw Robyn Hitchcock in Oxfordshire, he was joined on stage by most of REM and in the audience by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. So Witney music-lovers can be forgiven a bit of excitement over the singer-songwriter’s show in the town this week. Don’t miss the chance to see a man who has worked with everyone from Nick Lowe to Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

Indie-rock

  • LANTERNS ON THE LAKE
  • The Bullingdon, Oxford
  • Wednesday
  • Tickets from wegottickets.com

From symphonic rock to electronic, Geordie band Lanterns on the Lake have cornered the market in dreamy low-fi soundscape-pop. Singer Hazel Wilde and her band make a long- awaited return to the city, but start off with a free in-store show at The Truck Store, over the road. Expect gems from new album Until the Colours Run. The in-store show starts at 6pm.

Jazz-swing

  • GABBY YOUNG
  • Cornerstone, Didcot
  • Tomorrow (Saturday)
  • Tickets from wegottickets.com

Singer-songwriter Gabby Young brings her seven-piece party band to the Cornerstone for a night of carnival-style fun. Her eccentric and energetic music has been described as circus swing, and includes elements of music hall, folk, Balkan brass and stomping jazz.

Experimental jazz

  • PORTICO QUARTET
  • Newman Rooms, Oxford
  • Tonight (Friday)
  • Tickets £14 from wegottickets.com

Combining jazz grooves with electronic and post-rock, Portico Quartet are a fascinating outfit in the process of change. Long known for their instrumental flights of fancy, the band are now introducing vocals, adding a new dimension to their acoustic soundscapes.

Pop

  • ALUNAGEORGE
  • O2 Academy, Oxford
  • Saturday
  • Tickets £13 from ticketweb.co.uk

Inspect pop’s bright new future in the company of these purveyors of futuris-tic r&b. Expect room shaking tunes from head-turning debut Body Music.

Post-indie-rock

  • THE YOUNG KNIVES
  • The Cellar, Oxford,
  • Saturday
  • Tickets have sold out

One of the best bands Oxford has ever produced, The Young Knives have kept fans on their toes through continual reinvention. Their latest album, Sick Octave, marks the biggest departure from their catchy early punk-pop days. Henry, Oliver and Tom (aka The House of Lords) start a national tour with an intimate home-town show to perform the new record in its entirety. Pure theatre is guaranteed.

Henry tells us about the album - and its genesis. Click here for interview...