Oxjam Bedford Festival is a multi-venue music festival happening in Bedford on October 28th, raising money on behalf of Oxfam, who are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year - supporting some of the world’s poorest communities with water and farming solutions and building projects, as well as humanitarian aid. All proceeds go to Oxfam, and all of the bands and venues are giving their time for free. There will be a raffle and a Halloween themed fancy dress competition, as well as midnight jam session and afterparty at Esquires.
Festival headliners are local reggae / ska band ‘Easydread’, with a varied line up of local acts. Venues include – Bedford Esquires, the Three Cups, the Ent Shed and Club Vertex (formerly the Pad). Tickets are available online from wegottickets.com, and will soon available to purchase in person from Bedford Esquires, with more vendors to be announced soon. A multi-venue ticket is £10 adv / £12 OTD.
Bedford Esquires - Main Stage Headliner – Easydread – 10pm Easydread combine sounds drawn from a wide range of influences, from punk to rap, soul to ska. As they seamlessly blend powerful political imagery with sweet harmonies and heavy grooves Easydread will get you thinking as well as skanking. Since forming in 2013 Easydread have been busy playing festivals like One Love Reggae Festival, The Bulldog Bash, Skalloween, Equinox Festival (Headline), Alchemy Festival, Strawberry Fair main stage, Bedford River Festival main stage as well as supporting bands such as Kuenta I Tambu, The Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mr Woodnote, Dreadzone, Zion Train and Gentleman's Dub Club, Citizen Fish, Hackney Colliery Band & [spunge]
The Ent Shed Headliner - Marisa Jack and Davy – 3pm Marisa Jack & Davy are a folk trio from Bedfordshire. They perform traditional folk music in harmony, specialising in strange old British songs. In 2015 they started Mill Race Folk, atmospheric nights of beautiful acoustic folk concerts at Bromham Mill and The Place Theatre. The best folk musicians in the country have played there including Martin Carthy, Stick in Wheel and Wizz Jones. The trio host informal folk sessions in Bedford at The Basement at Bunyan. They’re encouraging folk musicians of all ages, cultures and backgrounds to perform a floor spot, so get in touch with them if you have folk songs you’d like to share.
The Three Cups Headliner – Gwinny "Full of beauty, sorrow and inspiration. Her thought provoking lyrics and emotional delivery show so much honesty, which is lacking from our everyday lives. Its refreshing to listen to someone who evidently comes from such a humble place of simply making music out of self expression that it is undoubtedly relatable and grounding. She has recently gained a large following around East Sussex which is completely deserved as she truly is the best around” - StrungOut Music "Gwinny performs a wide spectrum of self penned material and generally speaking, it is poetic in its construction. Her delivery style is downbeat, but naturally captivating"... “An artist who proves that emotion is best placed anywhere where innocence remains untouched” - Martin Stapleton 21 year old folk singer/songwriter is often compared to the like’s of Laura Marling, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake and Sandy Denny. She’s been writing songs since she can remember, it even being noted in her nursery school report that she used to go around making up songs! She was classically taught violin and taught herself guitar and piano, and moved on to playing violin with various folk bands. She recently played at The Great Escape Festival for New Music in Brighton as well as a small pop-up set at The Fringe Festival in Brighton.
Bedford Esquires - Holy Molys Headliner – Hulkenburg Bedford's favourite boy band Hulkenburg are a two-piece band from Bedford, UK. Their sound is based around excessive amounts of noise and distortion, layering highly strung vocals over meaty stoner-rock riffs. Following on from a couple of early releases, they have now put out the EP 'Socially Awkward Rock Songs' on Pale Blue Arrow, the band's own label.
Club Vertex (formerly the Pad) Headliner – Kerry Jo Hodgkin Kerry Jo Hodgkin is that rare thing - a truly versatile vocalist. She has a vocal range of nearly 4 octaves and a stylistic range that encompasses jazz, blues, soul, swing, pop, rock, musical theatre and classical. As a jazz vocalist, she is a 33 Jazz Records recording artiste, with appearances at Ronnie Scott’s and the National Theatre in London and Edinburgh’s multi-award winning Jazz Bar, amongst many others, to her credit. Her last jazz album “Table in the Corner” (2009) was produced by the award-winning Ian Shaw and features the cream of the UK jazz scene. In August 2017 Kerry is releasing two new albums, based on her hit Edinburgh Fringe jazz shows, “Cry Me A River: The Songs of Julie London” and “Jazz at the Movies.” Kerry is also a writer, a trained actress, a highly respected singing teacher and has a Masters Degree in Literature.
