Folk

  • IRREGULAR FOLK CHRISTMAS PARTY
  • The Cellar, Oxford on Sunday, 3-9pm
  • Tickets from £3 wegottickets.com

The dynamic and imaginative Vez Hoper has pulled together a humdinger of a Yuletide get-together.

The line-up features Alphabet Backwards, Jess Hall, Jess and Ness, Nairobi, Steph West, Empty White Circles, My Crooked Teeth and a few surprises.

And that’s not all. She says: “As a bit of a change from carols we’ve challenged artists to include a re-working of a Christmas hit. So imagine Slade’s Merry Christmas sung in a way that no longer grates, or drifting in to a dreamy version of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Unmissable.

Pop

  • STOOSHE
  • O2 Academy Oxford on Sunday
  • Tickets: £12 from ticketweb.co.uk

Pop three-piece Stooshe are the next big thing in the world of girl bands.

In an industry stifled by boys, these sassy young ladies have set out to reclaim the crown. Like their heroes Destiny’s Child, TLC and the Spice Girls, the distinctly un-ladlylike trio of Karis Andersen, Alex Buggs and Courtney Rumbold have already racked up a pair of top five singles. If you need any further reason to like them, they even turned down Simon Cowell.

Girl power comes to the O2 Academy on Sunday.

Indie-rock

  • ELECTRIC SIX
  • O2 Academy Oxford, Tonight (Friday)
  • Tickets: £14.06 inc fees from ticketweb.co.uk

Best-known for their sing-along tributes to the hazards of electrical installations (Danger! High Voltage) and the charms of visiting homosexual watering holes (Gay Bar), Detroit band Electric Six are consummate entertainers with a great ear for a beat. Combining elements of garage rock, punk and disco, their songs are funny, tongue in cheek and elicit a lively audience participation. Dick Valentine and his band of dance commanders have released nine albums and a live LP. This gig is part of the Mid-westerners’ 10th anniversary tour and sees them performing album Fire in its entirety.

Blues

  • FAMOUS MONDAY BLUES CHRISTMAS PARTY
  • Jericho Tavern
  • Monday
  • Tickets: £12 from wegottickets.com

Music promoter ‘Silver’ Phil Guy Davis celebrates his weekly blues night’s first Christmas at the Jericho Tavern with possibly his best festive party so far.

Philip has a bill featuring Blue Bishops, Adina Smallwood, Laurence Jones, Claire Johnson, Dave Sugarbeet, Jules & Lorna, and Leburn, plus one other young artist — Jedson Davis — his grandson.