Oxjam came back for its fifth year in Leeds this weekend – bringing with it another day packed full of incredible music. For only £2 a venue, or £10 for a wristband with access to all 5 venues, you could see 30 plus bands and over 12 hours of live music! As I’m a huge live music fan, I knew Oxjam would be right up my street, and with all the money raised going straight back to Oxfam, what’s not to love?

The venues this year included: Santiago Bar, The Domino, Northern Guitars, Slocken and The Old Red Bus Station. Each venue welcomed a super relaxed mood heralding a lovely open, chilled atmosphere, which even allowed me to chat with a range of artists after their set. Although five unique venues can seem like a lot of travel, but it’s honestly so easy to get around the city on foot and you could even download the Oxjam app to stay updated with set times and locations.

Northern Guitars

Northern Guitars was a great venue. A easy to find venue with a good bar and comfy sofas is a blessing. On arrival Multinut Butter, a group comprised of students who go to Leeds College of Music, took stage bringing with them a really cool psychedelic sound almost reminiscent of Tame Impala. Remaining relaxed throughout their set, the band’s fun music perfectly suited the venue.

 

Old Red Bus Station

The infamous Old Red Bus Station is pretty cool venue which really worked well for Oxjam. Taking the stage were Young Cub from Keighley, bringing cool synth pop to the dark room. Following their set I managed to catch up with the band who revealed that they are due to have new music out before Christmas, so I would keep an eye out! Next to bless the stage were Globes, bringing with them some acoustic vibes which paired perfectly with the stunning voice of the lead singer. All together, what I really appreciated this venue for was the huge variety of music which provided a little bit of something for everyone.

Santiago Bar

The Santiago bar is a really great spot. It’s got awesome décor combining posters and artwork to creating the perfect atmosphere for The Omega Era, who were definitely were placed as my favourite band of the day. Through their Alt-Rock tunes, joking with the audience and overall charismatic presence on stage they managed to get the whole crowd moving. The best song of the night was ‘Hurricane’.

Overall, Oxjam as amazing. Only going to three venues still filled my day with a range of new and local artists. You could tell through the enthusiasm of all the staff and volunteers that they too really cared about the event and the charity which was being supported.I’ve been lucky enough to go to a lot of great gigs across Leeds and Oxjam is now definitely up there on my list on Leeds must do’s!

Olivia Woollam