We are starting the new season with two wonderful dances in October featuring Climax Ceilidh Band and Blowzabella - a dronetastic experience!
On Sat 11th October we are back at Kennington Village Centre with Climax Ceilidh Band and caller Tina Morris. This groovy, high energy dance band has been making dance floors tremble at festivals and ceilidhs for nearly 20 years, and putting smiles on the faces and feet of dancers all over the country. They have evolved into a three-piece of driving rhythms from accordion and stomp box, the raw power of sax and bagpipes, and soaring solos of the guitars and mandolin. The Climax Ceilidh Band experience is truly outstanding. The line-up is Chris Walshaw (Folk Dance Remixed, Oscina) on sax and French bagpipes, Tom Evans (Midnight Patisserie and duo with Harriet Barton) on accordion and Bruce Knapp (MoltenAmba and Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain) on guitar and mandolin.
Tina Morris is a lively, friendly and inclusive caller with all the dances. She calls regularly for the Cotteswold Country Dance Band. Tina uses non-gendered calls.
On Fri 24th October, 7:30pm, there is an unmissable opportunity to hear folk legends Blowzabella on what is likely to be their last Oxford gig. They have announced that they will disband in 2028, their 50th anniversary year. This is part of a Long Goodbye Tour and it all happens in Oxford city centre at The Newman Room on St Aldates.
Blowzabella is a genuinely unique band that makes an inimitable, driving, drone-based wall-of-sound played with a fabulous sense of melody, rhythmic expertise and sheer feeling.
Andy Cutting – diatonic button accordion; Jo Freya – vocals, saxophone, clarinet; Paul James – vocals, bagpipes, saxophone; Benoit Michaud - hurdy-gurdy; David Shepherd – violin; Barn Stradling – bass guitar; Jon Swayne – bagpipes, saxophone.
They compose their own music which is influenced by English and European traditional folk music and song – a shared culture with ancient roots. Friends tell us that Blowzabella did the first ever Oxfolk dance in the early 1980s and we are delighted that they are back in Oxford - in association with Oxfolk Ceilidhs - to play for dancing with Jo and Dave calling the dances. Non-gendered calls will be used.
Many of their tunes are “standards” in the modern British/European folk repertoire and are played by people all over the world. Bands across Europe who experiment with folk music often cite Blowzabella as a major influence. Much loved and respected, there is no one else quite like them.
It's a dance but if you just want to come and listen you are very welcome. The event runs 8pm till about 11pm.
Tickets and full details for both events can be found at https://buytickets.at/oxfolkceilidhs