Ashmolean LiveFriday: There's nowt so queer (and fun) as folk at the museum

Among the Egyptian statues, Roman heads, ancient pottery and priceless paintings, will be scores of artists all dedicated to traditional English roots music – with a heavy local accent.

As part of its contribution to Oxford’s Light Nights events, Britain’s oldest public museum is going all folkie. That means morris dancing in the forecourt, jigs and a ceilidh in the cafe, fiddling among the Chinese paintings, and mumming all over the galleries.

The event is the latest in its monthly series of LiveFriday events, which have this year seen the museum taken over for nights themed on everything from fashion and photography to the work of our sister paper The Oxford Times. Tomorrow’s event has been co-curated by the team behind the Oxford Folk Weekend, which took place at venues across the city in April. It features music and crafts originating from and performed by people from Oxford and the county.

Lullabies: Jackie Oates

Among the highlights will be a set by Summertown singer-songwriter Jackie Oates, country-rock and folk band Swindlestock, singer-songwriters Olly Wills from The Epstein and Tamara Parsons-Baker, Ragdoll, The Black Feathers, glam-folk artist James Bell, Boldwood and Steph West. There will also be a performance by jazzy-folk artists Will Pound and Henry Webster.

Beyond music, there will be craft workshops, demonstrations in rag rug making in the Mughal India gallery, yarn bombing and puppetry in front of the museum, and a talk on the traditional ‘green man’ figure by artist, musicologist and folk historian Tim Healey.

The evening will culminate in a mass sing-along of Christmas music in the atrium.

“It promises to be a great LiveFriday celebrating Oxford’s rich folk history with a strong line-up of events for all interests,” says the Ashmolean’s Sarah Mayhew-Craddock, who has co-curated the event.

“There will be musical appearances by Swindlestock, Olly Wills from The Epstein, Tamara Parsons-Baker, Ragdoll, The Black Feathers and glam-folk artist James Bell, Jackie Oates and Steph West who will showcase the best of traditional folk while UnderConstruction Theatre will bring alive folklore with traditional mummer plays.

“We’re hoping people will come and participate as part of the city’s Light Night celebrations and discover something new, something folky and something worth sharing with friends at the Ashmolean.

Sawing: The Oxford Fiddle Group

“We also want people to come along and warm their cockles, and voice boxes, in the museum’s bars ready for the grand finale of Christmas carol singing in the atrium, which will be a wonderful, inclusive way to wrap up a year of LiveFridays that have seen the Ashmolean’s doors flung open to the public and its gallery spaces energised with endless interpretations inspired by the museum’s magnificent collection.”

Singer and fiddle player Cat Kelly, from Eynsham, is festival director of Folk Weekend Oxford. She said: “Oxford has got a strong folk scene and folk tradition and we wanted to have an event that showcases the local folk scene. It will show where it has come from, traditionally, to where it is going.

“It’s going to be a really great night. Loads of people are involved and it will be interesting to see the variety of what is being played.”

She adds: “People tend to have preconceptions about it being for ‘beardy-weirdy’ people in socks and sandals, but there is tons of stuff that will open people’s minds as well as allowing them to join in. And it is all about music from around here and people from around here.

“Folk is something you can take and make your own. It doesn’t have any boundaries and everyone can enjoy it – from my six-year-old daughter to people in their 80s and 90s having a knees-up at a ceilidh. It brings people together.”

What to see....

• Swindlestock: Named after the 1355 St Scholastica Day riot, between Town and Gown, which began in the Swindlestock Tavern, singer-songwriter Dava Waterhouse and guitarist Garry Richardson present a slimmed down version of their band, better known for lively country-rock. They play raw and evocative rural roots music inspired by the Trans-Atlantic folk tradition.
• Steven Adams: The former lead singer of the Broken Family Band, now plays solo and with his new band The Singing Adams. He plays a combination of alternative country, country-rock, new wave, and indie-rock.
• Olly Wills: The frontman of Binsey-based country-rock band The Epstein will play stripped-down versions of the band’s tender and deliciously heartfelt songs.
• Tamara Parsons-Baker: Self-taught guitarist and singer-songwriter plays songs immersed in witty observation, wry humour and a varying and engaging musical style.
• Ragdoll: Dream-folk outfit Lewis Newcombe and Rachel Ruscombe-King deliver a beautiful line in pastoral roots music with touches of country, rock and jazz.
• The Black Feathers: Combining English, Irish and American traditions, they captivate with close bluegrass harmonies.
• Boldwood: An exciting live band who take inspiration from little-known publications and hand-written manuscripts, with startling effect.
• Will Pound and Henry Webster: Pound is a respected harmonica player who featured on last year’s Christmas number one single for Hillsborough. He performs with award-winning fiddle player Henry Webster.
• Steph West: Harp player, singer and composer, Steph’s music is grounded in the traditional music of Britain and Ireland.
• Jackie Oates: At the forefront of the new generation of English folk artists, Jackie has a phenomenal voice, shown at its best when singing songs from her repertoire of historic lullabies.
• James Bell: With songs about jealous lovers, devious doctors, lethal mermaids and transvestite highwaywomen, James’s music revisits recurrent themes in English folk. His songs include new discoveries taken from the Bodleian archives, some which have not been performed for 100 years. There will as well be reworkings of some well known folk songs and tunes.
• Nick Tingay: Solo artist, and sometime member of Water Pageant, occupies a space between folk and alternative music.
• Oxford Fiddle Group: The collective perform tunes with a strong local emphasis. Songs vary from foot-tapping reels to catchy hornpipes and marches, and slow airs and laments. Listen out for the title track of their latest album Beyond the Spires.

* LiveFriday takes place at the Ashmolean Museum tomorrow, from 7-10.30pm. Entry is free.