In a world of bland, corporate pop, earnest singer-songwriters, and sound-alike indie rock it makes a refreshing change to be confronted with a festival bill on which hardly anyone was familiar.

But then that is the beauty of Irregular Folks Summer Sessions – the annual micro festival laid on by promoter, music-lover and all-round lovely human being, Vez Hoper.

Until now the event has been nomadic, switching venues each year – Vez and her crew dragging their Bedouin tent around from pub garden to meadow like a restless tribe of musical gypsies.

It seems to have found its natural home though at TOAD – The Oxford Artisan Distillery. The cluster of low rise brick buildings at the top of South Park providing a scenic – if less rustic – setting for a weekend of quirky culture.

Saturday was music day while Sunday was billed as a “lazy cinema” session. Both, however, stuck to Irregular Folks’ core message of laying on unusual and thought-provoking entertainment of the type you are most unlikely to encounter at any other festival this summer.

In terms of music that included Bas Jan, who rounded off the night (though did not necessarily ‘headline’ there being equal billing). This all-female three-piece served up an engaging if sometimes discordant melange of guitar, fiddle, bass, electronics and off-kilter vocals, delivering fun, quirky lyrics.

Completely different was Bellatrix – who performed a solo set of multi-layered brilliance, using just her voice, double bass and loop machine. Imagine Bjork beatboxing while throwing in virtuoso licks on a bass and you might get the idea. Like much else here, it defies genre. ‘Alt’-alt-jazz-rock-hip-hop maybe? Nah! As I said... this enthralling artist plays fast and loose with the very notion of classification. Brilliant.

There were familiar Oxford faces though – Jon Ouin from Stornoway and Despicable Zee – aka Zahra Tehrani – providing lo-fi loveliness. Also up was Nick Cope – a man these days better known for his family shows than for his indie-rock god days in The Candyskins, back in the 90s.

His songs are written with children in mind, but are brilliant too in front of a tent of adults at this resolutely kid-free fest. It shouldn’t work, but it does – brilliantly... a bit like the festival itself.

TIM HUGHES