Exeter is gearing up for a live music festival that will support the work of Oxfam, as LAURA POTTER explains
Get ready for the Oxjam Exeter Takeover 2015, which is about to make local reverberations and support projects around the world. Oxjam is a network of live music festivals across 50 cities and towns each year, supporting the work of the charity Oxfam.
Synthesising community music with the tackling of worldwide poverty, proceeds raised from Oxjam will go directly to fund Oxfam’s current projects.
That explains the multi-genre, multi-venue
extravaganza’s slogan: local music, global impact.
Current Oxfam projects include lobbying the government to combat poverty in the UK, supporting victims of the Nepalese earthquake and distributing aid to refugees in Syria.
The charity’s campaign focus this year is Women, Work and Water.
Since 2006, more than 5,100 Oxjam events across the UK have raised over £2.5 million for Oxfam. Oxjam is entirely run by music-fanatic volunteers.
Oxjam is the UK’s largest music festival and is based on the Camden Crawl festival model.
Oxjam Exeter Takeover will take place on Saturday 17 October between 12 noon and 2am, immersing the city in its local up-and-coming talent.
Each year, Oxjam gears itself to get bigger and better. In its ninth year, the takeover will be holding its main stage events at Exeter Castle.
Aside from the Castle’s courtyard, other events will be held at Timepiece, Old Timers as well as the recently reopened Hole In The Wall.
Expect unsigned bands, up-and-coming talent from the local area.
The music mix will include classical, rock, folk, blues, reggae, funk, eletronica, DJ sets and more.
Manager of the Oxjam Exeter Takeover 2015, Steve Byam says: “I have always believed that to effect real change for the better throughout the whole world, it’s up to each individual person to make the effort in their day-to-day lives.
“These small, individual efforts all come together to create life changing actions, which can really make the difference.
“Oxjam provides a chance to really create change throughout the whole world, to do it using the best of Exeter, from its best venues and spaces but most of all, with friends, family and the city community.
“By working together, we can create an Exeter Takeover which will resonate throughout the city and, more importantly, will help many others around the globe.”
Hole In The Wall and Timepiece co-owner, George Sloane is delighted to be involved.
He says: “It’s fantastic that this can be one of our first live music events this autumn, when the Hole in the Wall will be re-opened.”
However, music will not just be a night-time occurrence. Ensuring that parents and children aren’t missed off the agenda, there will be several daytime events taking place on October 17.
South West big jazz band The Locked Horns will be kicking the day off at noon. They describe themselves as a “20+ piece jazz orchestra looking to lock horns with music lovers!”
It’s also worth mentioning that Oxjam Exeter runs alongside the widely anticipated Festival of Rugby, which is taking place throughout the month of October.
So by day you can sip beer and catch the Rugby World Cup Games live on one of Exeter’s Castle’s plus-size television screens. By night you can be getting your groove on in Castle Street’s clubs.
Exeter Castle says: “Exeter Castle is thrilled to be able to help Oxjam Exeter this year. We have no doubt that such an event showcasing local talent and raising money for a great cause will fill the courtyard creating a fantastic festival atmosphere.”
Who to see?
The Oxjam Exeter Takeover 2015 features 50 bands at five venues.
The main bands confirmed are:
Locked Horns
Lionstar
One Man Boycott
The Mocking Birds
Token Joker
Cavemouth
Tobias Ben Jacob
More information can be found at oxjamexetertakeover.org.
