voby Oxjam Takeover Manger, Jonny Farrow
The local music scene is looked on with great pride by many in Bedford, and rightly so. Despite the fact that no massive bands have come from the town, which has given a boost to some towns, (Don Broco are getting big, but are not superstars…yet) it has a vibrant and varied scene the likes of which I’ve never seen in any other place I’ve lived. I’ve been backed up on this opinion countless times, and it was with great pride I looked on a lot of the local bands of the town on Saturday 18th October. This is because this was the day that the Oxjam Takeover came back to Bedford, and these bands were giving up their time for free to play a show raising money on behalf of Oxfam.
This year it was slightly smaller than in previous years, for various reasons, but this is mainly a sign of how large it was in 2013. Starting at midday in St Cuthberts Hall with a delightfully charming acoustic performance by Marisa Straccia, and ending in the early hours of Sunday morning with a jam session featuring Mat Roberts and his large stable of musical friends, there was a lot of music packed in between, featuring performances from some of the local talent we all should be so proud of.
For those that don’t know me, I’m John/Jonny and I was Takeover Manager in 2014. I didn’t see everyone, as I was constantly between venues, and this are some of my thoughts on what glimpses of acts I did see.
My day started with Marisa in St Cuthberts Hall, and then the next artist I saw was Chris Hepworth when he opened in Dannys Bar, quickly followed by Samantha Hughes. Chris is an acoustic singer-songwriter, who I saw a couple of times, whilst Sam Hughes in an acoustic performer of songs from the 1950s and 60s. The next band I saw was a complete departure, being Henry & The Bleeders. H&TB are a psychobilly band, providing a modern and heavier twist on the rock and roll sound of 1950s America, complete with double bass player, which I always like to see.
Kastaphor were in The Bear and provided a funky section to the day in the high street pub, whilst my friend raved about Hand, Josh Johnson & Amy Mason who started the day in The Bear. The next time I was in the Bear was for The Tendons, with the local legends headlining the venue with their tight punk sound and NSFW lyrics. After here, I was back over to St Cuthberts Hall where I was able to some of the always wonderful Jonny Mudd.
One of the regrets I have is the amount of bands I was so enthusiastic to see, but missed, such as Brass Knuckles (formerly The Bell End Brass Ensemble), The Darling Mundaring, The Ouse Valley Singles Club, Paul Hegley Band, Feedback Aftermath, Michael Green, Ashley Falls and The Reformers, to name a mere few. This was always to be the case, and it gives me a reason to keep heading out to catch these bands. Back over in Esquires, Sunsinger were beautiful, Healyum & The Metatrons were very impressive, Robed In Desire were brooding, dark and awesome whilst Olivia Rose’s country show was great.
Up on the Main Stage, Silver Tongue Bandoliers were maybe the highlight of my day, whilst Doghouse Roses & Tequilla Mockingbird get better every time I see them. The main stage was headlined by the fantastic The Whybirds, whilst I got a chance to check out one of my favourite local bands headlining Holy Molys in Fishwife’s Broadside. Paul In The Hat & Cicero Buck were beautiful over in St Cuthberts whilst May Contain Nuts were last on in Dannys Bar, but the night was not even near over in this corner of Esquires, as Mat Roberts et al and the famous jam were only just getting ready to start.
I know I am not an unbiased view, but the artists on show really were at the top of their game, and I believe that people who missed us this year missed a hell of a show. We’ll keep trying to keep you informed of any gigs going on at our twitter page, but we just want to finish by saying a huge thank you to everyone who helped us this year. Everything we raise goes direct to Oxfam, and I can’t say thanks enough to anyone who turned up, donated, photographed, volunteered or got involved with our social media pages, amongst everything else. It’s at times like this I am proud of the little town we live in and thankful I moved back to Bedford in my late 20s. Being able to see bands like Sunsinger, Henry & The Bleeders, Kastaphor and Silver Tongue Bandoliers, amongst countless others, is something we should be championing and long may it continue!
If you enjoyed the Takeover, or missed the show but would like to donate towards Oxfam’s life-saving work, you still can by texting JAM0054 to 70066.
