KNOCKING back a heady cocktail of blues, rockabilly and rhythm and blues, Boneyard Jukebox are the ultimate fun-time juke joint rock & roll band

The collective of Nick Kenny and his brother Simon, Dan Goddard, Richard Cooper and Paul Eros, are lifetime lovers of rock & roll with an impeccable musical pedigree in different bands, but came together for their new project with the aim of enlivening the local gig scene with a swagger and style straight out of the middle of the last century.

READ AGAIN: Underworld and Years & Years to play Wilderness Festival

“The aim is to entertain, get people dancing and play great rockin’ music!” says Simon – with help from the rest of the band.

He laughs: “There was a hole in the space time continuum from which we all fell, colliding together from different eras from the early to mid-20th century to form Boneyard Jukebox.”

Tonight the lads try out their licks on a crowd at the Crown and Thistle in Abingdon. And they are not anticipating any idle standing around.

Oxford Mail: Boneyard Jukebox

The audience will be treated to a slick, dynamic show by a bunch of musicians at the top of their game – with floor-filling performances by Nick on vocals and guitar, Simon on stand up double bass, Dan on drums and ‘voodoo rhythm’, Richard on saxaphone, and Paul on trumpet

The set consists of covers from early to mid 20th century America, with tunes from the likes of Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley, Wynonie Harris and Johnny Burnette among others.

“It’s like a live jukebox,” says Simon. “Sadly those guys are in the graveyard now, hence ‘Boneyard Jukebox’. But we don’t think this music should be confined to the grave; it’s such an exciting sound, especially played live by a great band.”

And who is the music aimed at?

“I think it will appeal to anyone who likes their music live, and slightly rumbustious!” the band agree.

Oxford Mail: The Long Insiders.

Simon, Dan and Nick previously had Oxford dancing with their band The Long Insiders

And where did the idea come from? “Nothing more clever than ‘let’s form a band that plays this kind of music, because we like it and we think audiences will love it’, say Simon, Nick and Dan – who are best known for their stylish previous Oxford band The Long Insiders.

“We also wanted to do it with a bit of an edge so it doesn’t come over like some awful West End version of the ‘50s!” they add. “This music should not be sanitised – it never was, and that’s why it sounds so exciting.”

And they all bring something different to the party. “Like I said, we all collided together after falling through a hole in the space time continuum, so we all bring different ideas from different times,” says Simon.

READ MORE: Uplifting indie rockers White Lies hit town with the year's best album so far

“Nick, Dan and I from ‘50s rockabilly, Richard from late ‘40s rhythm and blues, and Paul brings ‘30s-’40s blues and jazz.”

They are in love with the era. But if they had to pick a perfect time, it would be the 1950s.

“I think we could all settle on about 1952 between us,” they say. “It was a brilliant time in music. There was rock & roll, but it hadn’t been called that yet, it was called rhythm and blues. The music was wild, it wasn’t trying not to offend, and it was incredibly direct.”

So what should we do to get in the mood for a Boneyard Jukebox gig?

They laugh again and agree: “Put on some loud rock& roll, grease your hair and put on some dancing shoes and maybe have a tipple of your favourite loosener!”

  • Boneyard Jukebox play the back room of the Crown and Thistle in Abingdon tonight (Friday, March 18). Tickets are £10 on the door or £7.50 from wegottickets.com
  • Doors are at 7.30pm with the first of two sets starting at 8.30pm.
  • There will be a DJ set before and between sets, and cool films of the era projected during the shows.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok

Got a story for us? Send us your news and pictures here

List an event for free on our website here