[email protected] @NightshiftMag NightshiftMag nightshiftmag.co.uk Free every month NIGHTSHIFT Issue 245 December Oxford’s Music Magazine 2015 Oxford’s road warriors keep it proper heavy. Also in this issue Introducing WATER PAGEANT Oxford’s songs of the year plus COMMON PEOPLE comes to Oxford! NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 COWLEY ROAD CARNIVAL BAD COVER VERSION host is back again next year on Sunday their latest charity music quiz at 10th July. The annual celebration The Big Society on Cowley Road of east Oxford life, music, food, on Tuesday 15th December. The NEWSdance and more, attracted 45,000 multi-media quiz will raise money people to Cowley Road this year. for Oxford Homeless Pathways and Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU To get involved, volunteer or Aspire. It starts at 7.30pm. Phone: 01865 372255 just find out more, go to www. cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk. AS EVER, don’t forget to tune email: [email protected] into BBC Oxford Introducing Online: nightshiftmag.co.uk EARLYBIRD TICKETS FOR every Saturday night between CORNBURY FESTIVAL 2016 8-9pm on 95.2fm. The dedicated are on sale for a limited time now. local music show plays the best Next year’s event takes place Oxford releases and demos as over the weekend of the 8th-10th well as featuring interviews and July at Great Tew Estate. Adult sessions with local acts. The show camping tickets are £165, with is available to stream or download discounts for under-16s and over- as a podcast at bbc.co.uk/oxford. 70s. You can also now become a Cornbury Friend, with an annual OXFORD GIGBOT provides a £100 standing order giving you a regular local gig listing update on 30% discount on up to eight adult Twitter (@oxgigbot), bringing festival tickets, offering a potential you new gigs as soon as they go saving of £480. To find out more live. They also provide a free and book your tickets, visit weekly listings email. Just contact www.cornburyfestival.com. [email protected] to join. RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL will Much as your bank / privatised take place over the weekend of the utility company / phone provider 23rd-24th July 2016. Oxfordshire’s are “experiencing a high volume of largest free music festival takes calls right now,” here at Nightshift OXFORD IS SET TO HOST COMMON PEOPLE NEXT YEAR. The place on Mill Field in Charlbury, we’re experiencing a high number two-day music festival will take place in South Park over the weekend of with two days of local bands across of releases and demos by local the 28th – 29th May. three stages. Stick it in your diary. acts. Which is great – don’t get us Common People is organised by the same team that runs Bestival on the wrong, this makes us very happy Isle of Wight, and Camp Bestival in Dorset every year, consistently hailed SUPERNORMAL is back again that you’re busy making music. as two of the best festivals in the UK. in 2016. The music and art festival But it does mean we don’t always The first Common People event took place in Southampton this year and returns to Braziers Park, near have room to review everything will be twinned with the Oxford event in 2016, both events taking place Wallingford, over the weekend as quickly as we’d like. If you are simultaneously with the main stage line-ups, curated by DJ Rob da Bank, of the 5th-7th August. The artist- planning on releasing something likely to be swapped between the cities. This year’s event featured sets curated, not-for-profit event is please let us have it in plenty of from Fat Boy Slim, Clean Bandit, Band of Skulls, De la Soul and Jaguar renowned for its leftfield line-up, time. If we get a release on deadline Skills, amongst others. with this year’s sold-out event day with a note saying “this came The South Park event, run in conjunction with Oxford City Council, will featuring sets from Trembling out yesterday,” you’re pretty much have a capacity of 30,000 and feature three stages, including a local bands Bells, AR Kane, Charles Hayward buggered. Also, we reserve the stage, curated by Nightshift, and a DJ stage. It will be the largest music and Necro Deathmort. Find out right to decide if something is a event to take place in South Park since Radiohead’s homecoming show in more at release or a demo. A couple of 2001. www.supernormalfestival.co.uk. tracks stuck up on Soundcloud is One of Bestival’s directors involved in the organisation of Common a demo, whether you think so or People is Ben Turner, who grew up in Oxford, is familiar with the local MARTIN CARTHY will headline not. Oh, and the usual stuff – make music scene and is keen to make local acts an integral part of the event. the Oxford Folk Weekend in sure you include a contact number Talking to Nightshift about the announcement of the festival he said, “With 2016. The annual festival returns with releases and demos, and make Common People, we’re trying to support the smaller cities in the UK who over the 15th-17th April, at venues sure you stick enough stamps on contribute a huge amount to the music landscape but often get little back. in the city centre. Earlybird tickets the envelope if it’s a CD. This will Oxford has an incredible history with music on many levels and I’ve been are already on sale at put us in a good mood before we lucky enough to have grown up in one of its most exciting eras –when www.folkweekendoxford.co.uk start reviewing. And that’s what you hanging out at the Manic Hedgehog record store, going to the Co-Op want, right? Hall or Oxford Poly for gigs was as valuable as listening to John Peel or UPRISING returns reading the Melody Maker, where I then went on to work and start my for a second outing this career in the music industry. I’ve been travelling and spreading my vision month. The unsigned of music around the world for 20 plus years through various mediums, but bands showcase, run our team’s collective success and contribution with Bestival has been a jointly between the O2 high-point. We decided to do a metropolitan festival in Southampton with Academy and BBC Oxford Common People and we all found the experience inspiring and rewarding, Introducing, takes place on and when thinking of a second city, there was honestly only one option Friday 11th December at the we considered: Oxford. A lot of this was subconsciously because of South O2 with sets from My Grey Park, which I’ve been saying for many years is one of the best festival Horse, Tremorheart and The sites in the world. We all believe it is, and we hope to bring Oxfordshire Fixation, with more acts to together for our unique combination of fun and creativity.” be added. Acts wanting to Common People will be a non-camping event with tickets on sale for play future Uprising nights each day. Prices are set to be a bargain £27.50 per day, while everyone should upload their songs who signs up for the festival’s mailing list will be put in a draw to get their to the BBC Uploader at ticket for just £10. www.bbc.co.uk/music/ The first set of acts due to play will be announced in early December. To introducing/uploader. sign up to the mailing list and find out more, visit commonpeople.net. A Quiet Word With go back. It was great to visit Poland; Poznan is a we probably did longer tours around the release rock and metal bands to Oxford. Given their beautiful city and incredibly cheap. Hard to pick a of `Horizontal Life’ though, and shifted a lot of increasing success, do they ever feel like local scene favourite. I guess out of all of the places we got to copies. `Omniscient’ was a bit slow at first; the tours leaders? see more of Poznan and Oss, which was cool, but weren’t in place really, but things are going better RYAN: “No, not at all; we do our thing and maybe the best shows were Berlin, Oss and Antwerp.” now we’ve been playing more shows again, and the venture out of town more than some local bands, MATT: “Every night was a success, and the UK leg vinyl really seems to sell well in Europe.” but there are a lot of good bands here, it’s just a was just as fun. It was our first venture into Poland Desert Storm never sit still for long, though. question of how hard they push themselves. We just and it’s always exciting to play new cities. That Despite so much time out on tour, they’re already have a lot of drive, passion and commitment and said, returning to venues we’ve performed at before thinking ahead to album number four, writing and a lot of the opportunities Desert Storm have had featured them. “Last year we did an eighteen-date and seeing familiar faces after hours on the road playing new songs on recent dates. have been because we’ve made them happen by UK and Ireland tour with Karma To Burn, and a is always a pleasure. It’s tough to pick a favourite ELLIOT: “We have plans to go back into the studio organising tours etc.” five-date UK tour with Nashville Pussy; this year when there are so many aspects to consider – with Jamie Dodd in January.