Bicester’s new indoor rock festival will really get young music fans pumped for a musically marvellous summer, reports MATT AYRES

For music-loving teenagers, the end of the school year doesn’t just mean six weeks of freedom – it also promises the arrival of some seriously awesome summer gigs.

From multi-stage festivals to local village hall shows, there’s always plenty of musical entertainment to enjoy in Oxfordshire when the days are long, but rock fans in Bicester have been decidedly proactive by bringing their favourite acts right to their doorsteps.

Yardfest is an indoor music festival organised by young people, for young people. Taking place tomorrow evening at the Courtyard, its impressive line-up features some of the best alternative music talent in the UK.

At the top of the bill, popular Farnham four-piece Canterbury are joined by Derby’s LostAlone and Oxfordshire’s very own Evarose, an all-girl pop rock band from Banbury who have amassed over 10,000 likes on Facebook, had their music videos featured on TV and toured the UK supporting the likes of Mallory Knox and Don Broco.

Guitarist Imogen Leslie explains how the band came to exist. “Our drummer Robyn and I have been in bands together since we were young teenagers – nothing very serious at the time. “Robyn knew our singer Dannika from school, and I met our bass player Connie during sixth form. Of all the line-ups we had, this was the one that ended up lasting and becoming a bit more serious.”

Having played venues around the country with her band for countless different promoters, Imogen is thrilled to recognise the independent spirit of young music promoters in the area.

“It’s really important that people are putting on shows themselves,” she enthuses. “It’s a hard time for smaller bands to get noticed, so it’s really great that local music fans are making an effort to support live music and the bands that they love.”

Such shows are fundamental in transforming bedroom bands into the bands tacked on bedroom walls (Evarose already have their own popular line of merchandise, including t-shirts and posters). Becoming a respected name on the live music map helps to win over new fans and build towards achieving even greater dreams. “For Evarose, this amounts to heading out on their first headline jaunt around the UK, a feat that would never have been possible without previous successful gigs in cities from Southampton to Manchester.

“It is scary,” admits Imogen, “but really exciting! “We’ve done a lot of support tours recently, and this is the next step. We’re excited to go back to all the places we’ve been when we were supporting other bands and play at the top of the bill.”

New bands seeking similar levels of success, heed Imogen’s sound advice: “Keep going! If you’re really serious about music, be completely committed to it and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t do it – anyone willing to work hard enough is bound to see the results!”