Come you folk musicians all, the final ‘Searchlight’ event until the next Folk Weekend: Oxford will be on the evening of Saturday 14 October at St Luke’s Church, Canning Crescent, Oxford.
If this isn’t ringing any bells for you, this event is sort of an open mic night that I’m hosting with my ‘FWO Artistic Director of Local Artists’ hat on*. And it’s basically a way of allowing me (and any other festival organisers who might be interested) to see any local folk artists that we might otherwise be unaware of.
We (speaking with the festival hat on**) feel that it’s an important function of a folk festival to make sure that local artists get a chance to perform, as this can be a crucial stepping stone in helping them to have a gigging career on the folk circuit.
How folkie do you need to be? We’re not super-strict on it (although the Searchlight events are always unplugged). How local do you need to be? We’re not super-strict on that either (although you do need some kind of Oxford connection, or at least to live not too far away).
Is that you? Am I describing you, and what you do?
If so, it would be lovely to see you there.
* Not a literal hat.
** Still not a literal hat. Not like the Bastard Session hat. That is a literal hat.