Hello folks,
Thank you to all who came to our first rehearsal last week — it was great to see so many new faces! Another action-packed week lies ahead for all those OUCB-inclined.
Rehearsal: change of venue
As ever, we have rehearsal on Tuesday night from 8–10pm. This time (and only this time), however, we will be in Wadham College. There should be a member of the band near-ish the door to help you get to the room; otherwise, ask the friendly porters in the lodge for directions. Keep an eye on your emails and the Facebook group chat (reply to this email if you aren’t in it) for any last minute changes of plan. After rehearsal we will, of course, saunter down to the Royal Blenheim for our customary session until closing.
New folder
As teased at last week’s rehearsal, we now officially have a new folder, which you can access here (now including alto and bass versions). We’ve ordered 40 printed and ring-bound copies of the treble folder, which will arrive in time for our rehearsal in third week. You can either print out your own copy now or wait until then and pay a mere £5 for this fancier version. They’ll be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis at rehearsal, so make sure to come along!
Public Ceilidh!
Public Ceilidh is almost upon us! It will be on Monday of Third Week and tickets are already available on our website. It’s a great opportunity to drag all your friends along and watch them embarrass themselves while they all think about how exceptionally cool you are for being in a band. Since we’re the ones hosting it, the whole thing is very chill — any and all skill levels are more the welcome for dancers and players alike.
Public Ceilidh is also a great opportunity for new people to try their hand at calling and leading the dances themselves. If you’ve ever wanted to shout commands into a microphone and watch an entire hall of people follow your lead, now is your chance! Those interested should talk to our Gigs Officer, Eva (details here), or indicate on the gig sign-up sheet (below) that they’d like to give it a shot.
A surfeit of gigs
The fun doesn’t end there, as we have no fewer than three gigs coming up in the next two weeks, including Public Ceilidh. As a reminder, gigs are open to anyone and you do not have to be mic’d if you don’t want to be! Playing un-amplified at gigs is a great way to build confidence and get a decent idea of how our gigs work in practice.
I was also reminded this week that we have a publicly-accessible upcoming Gigs Calendar so you can see a little further ahead than what I mention in each week’s emails. The link to that calendar is here.
Details and sign-up form for the gigs:
LMH Ceilidh (24/10/2025)
Location: Talbot Hall, Lady Margaret Hall, Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6QA
Set-up: 18:00–19:00
Ceilidh: 19:00–22:00
Pack-up: 22:00–22:30
Sign up hereSouth Oxford Women’s Institute Ceilidh (25/10/2025)
Location: South Oxford Community Centre, Lake St, Oxford OX1 4RP
Set-up: 18:30–19:30
Ceilidh: 19:30–22:30
Pack-up: 22:30–23:00
Sign up herePublic Ceilidh (27/10/2025)
Location: Jesus College Digital Hub, Market Street, OX1 3EF (opposite Wagamama)
Set-up: 18:00–19:00
Ceilidh: 19:00–21:30
Pack-up: 21:30–22:00
Sign up here
Tune of the Week
Birlin in Brittany, the fourth tune in the Java Reels set by Ross Kennedy and Archie McAllister. The whole album is an absolute banger.
Session Round-up
Like the OUCB gigs calendar linked above, there’s also an Oxford Folk Sessions calendar, maintained by semi-mythical OUCB alumnus Calum Beck. The link to that calendar is here.
Sunday (today!): English+ at the Lamb and Flag, 4:30pm
Sunday (also today!): Irish+ at the Half Moon, 8pm
Monday: American/Old Time at the Star, 8pm
Friday: Irish at the Isis Farmhouse, 8pm
Friday: Scottish at the White Hart, 8pm
See you on Tuesday,
Finn
