Music writer Tim Metcalfe goes behind the scenes at Oxford's latest and most ambitious music venue Oxford boasts a music scene which is the envy of many a big city - and I include London in that bold statement.

We've got indie-guitar bands, techno dance bands, rock bands, industrial bands, jazz bands, multi-cultural fusion bands - you name it, and it's more than likely that your tastes are catered for.

And now the city's got a new £250,000 venue which will offer up the best in world, folk and roots music when it opens for business on December 1 with a concert featuring Geordie favourites Lindisfarne.

But the developers of Roots.net, which is being created inside the Victorian building which was once Frank Cooper's Oxford Marmalade factory in Park End Street, want it to be much more than just another arena for gigs.

As well as two performance areas it will boast a caf-bar, a craft shop and market area, a musical instrument shop and a record shop. Roots.net will also offer research facilities, music tuition and workshop space.

This ambitious project has been masterminded by a group of musicians, including Matt Sage, probably best-known as promotor of the Catweazle Club sessions at the Northgate Hall in St Michael's Street. "Oxfordshire is a major centre for roots music, yet it has no specialised venue," he said. "The music is staged in pubs, small clubs, village halls, schools and other unlikely places. Roots.net will provide a focus for such activities in a highly accessible location."

The leaseholders of the building, Park End Properties Ltd, have provided the funding for the initial design and building work. The company began looking at the option to turn the building into a music venue when plans for a restaurant fell through.

Anthony Gresswell, director of Park End Properties said: "Basically we wanted to make the best use of the property - it's a fiesty building and we wanted to see it put to a fiesty use."

"We think Roots.net will fit very nicely into the Oxford scene. It's an alternative to the exisiting pubs and clubs."

The heart of the new complex is the concert hall called The Golden Bough, which will accommodate around 280 people. It has a stage (which can also be used for theatrical productions), a bar, and - perhaps most importantly - a state-of-the- art-sound system.

The Golden Bough also offers broadcast facilities for television, radio and the Internet. Matt says that Roots.net hopes eventually to team up with Oxygen FM to offer live broadcasts. The venue's second performance area is The Wood of Faces caf bar, the 'social centre' of Roots.net, which will be used for acoustic music, poetry readings and storytelling. This will seat about 250 people - and will be open all day.

Other areas in the building will be given over to retail space and rooms for music and dance workshops. But plans are still a bit fluid.

"We've got all this space and we're determined to fill it," Matt said. "We'll just have to see how far we get!"

As well as bringing more and varied music to Oxford, Roots.net will undoubtedly help to revitalise a rather drab part of town - as well as offering local employment opportunites.

It remains to be seen if there's a big enough audience for the acts on offer to make the venue a going concern - but if success can be measured by the amount of enthusiasm and energy being channelled into the project by the people behind it, Roots.net will take off like a Saturn 5.

Story date: Friday 19 November

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