About this Event

Sheelanagig



Sheelanagig, are releasing their 5th album “Beard Town” recorded at the legendary Real World Studios and are hitting the road for a UK tour.



They have become something of a West Country institution for the past decade. A quintet with a well-stocked armoury of stringed instruments – banjo, fiddle, double bass etc – and a bagful of joint-jumping tunes, these boys sure know how to get a party started.



Putting both stomp and skank into gypsy- flavoured tunes from the Balkans and beyond, it’s difficult – nay, impossible – for your limbs to remain stationary when you’re within earshot of them in full flight. Five showmen with a touch of the circus about them, the fact that they’ve often played with a knowing wink shouldn’t obscure their impeccable technique, virtuoso-standard ability that raises the roof in every place they perform.



Formed 10 years ago at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, they have performed extensively across the UK and Europe playing all sorts of venues from music clubs to theatres and from free street carnivals to major festivals like Beautiful Days, Glastonbury and Womad to name a few. The five members bring a variety of musical backgrounds to the band which adds to the unique flavour of the sound. Violinist Aaron Catlow has been touring most of his life with various acts including medieval troubadours Peascod and Irish revellers, Mad Dog Mcrea. Flautist Adrian Sykes played for many years in a folk electronica group Elephant Talk and has produced music for theatre and dance. Drummer, Jon Blakeley's passion lies in Afro beat and Latin and he plays with Bristol super group No Go Stop.



Guitarist Kit Hawes performed in Bristol's Invisible Circus House Band and is an outstanding solo folk performer, and bassist John Short has a background of rock and jazz and tours the world with Fado performer Claudia Aurora. There are many influences within the band but what unites them is a passion for creating fantastic music that is not only great to listen to, but is also an energetic and entertaining experience when seen live

If a combination of Madness, Taraf de Haidouks and Hot Club jazz ticks your boxes, here’s your new favourite band. If you’ve seen them before then you know there will be mayhem, a lot of laughs and some great music.



‘A completely top night out.’ - Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2



‘The musicianship is tight and intense’ – Songlines



‘High octane stuff...Would liven any party and keep the floor full’ – fRoots Magzine



Art Theefe



Art Theefe are a three piece band from Oxford.



Built around the songs of singer and guitarist, Matt Sage (“A great artist” – Gilles Peterson; “Seriously gorgeous sounds” – Mike Scott, The Waterboys), along with Little Brother Eli’s Josh Rigal on bass, and New York sessionaire Joel Bassuk on drums.



Formed in 2013 around a shared desire to create timeless music for these times, the band share a heritage with many of rock, soul, folk and country’s most illustrious artists: classic song writing, soulful performances, and real musicianship.



Theirs is a reassuringly familiar and yet refreshingly modern brand of rock n roll music: a quintessential trio of bass, drums and guitar, but one which also belies a rare versatility.



You might discern hints of Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan or Dylan. Tom Waits, Van Morrison or The Stones at their peak. Good artists copy, great artists steal. Art Theefe. It’s all in the mix, and yet this sound is all their own.



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When his former school band mates went on to form Faithless in the mid 90s, Matt Sage left his home town of London, moved on to boat on the Oxford Canal and founded Oxford’s now-legendary performance space, The Catweazle Club (“Magical” – Radio 4; “An essential cultural interlude” – The GUARDIAN).



He has always placed great value on the sacred qualities of music, over the ubiquitous commercialism and competition so prevalent in our culture, and was determined to create a space in which music could be shared in a more vulnerable and inspired way.



Over the past 20+ years, The Catweazle Club has established a unique and enduring creative community - locally, nationally and internationally - and has provided a platform for literally thousands of musicians, song writers, singers, poets, story tellers and performance artists of every imaginable hue. In Oxford alone, in addition to innumerable local heroes, both Stornoway and Foals held their very first performances at Catweazle.



While drawing huge rewards from having been at the axis of such a vibrant scene for well over two decades, Sage still uses the Club to keep his own game razor sharp. A relentlessly prolific creator, his songs have been played on Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 and as both a solo artist and song writing mentor, he has appeared at festivals throughout the world, including Glastonbury, WOMAD, Secret Garden Party, Bestival, etc etc.



With Art Theefe’s debut album very nearly in the can, and the next one already written and ready to record he has, he says, fields of songs.



Art Theefe release their debut single in June 2016

http://www.art-theefe.com



18+ / 7pm

http://bit.ly/SheelanagigOxford