Indie Oxford Festival: Lineup Announced for Our 10th Birthday Bash!

Posted March 4, 2025

Indie Oxford is turning ten and we’re throwing a huge birthday bash to celebrate! The Indie Oxford Festival is set to take over Tap Social Taproom on Saturday 22nd March 2025, bringing together incredible indie and artists for a full day of music, creativity and community vibes.

“This festival is a celebration of everything Indie Oxford stands for – community, creativit, and collaboration. Over the past decade, we’ve supported and championed Oxfordshire’s indie business scene and this event is my way of saying thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey. I can’t wait to party with you all!” – Rosie Jacobs, Co-Founder of Indie Oxford

Music Lineup: Celebrating Oxford’s Indie Sound

I’ve teamed up with awesome promoters and communities from across Oxfordshire to curate an epic lineup of grassroots talent from the county. Whether you’re into soulful R&B, indie-folk, or ravey DJ sets, we’ve got something for everyone.

Wood Festival collaboration

To kick off the day, Wood Festival are bringing some of their magic to the taproom starting with Elena Harris’ Singing Workshop at 12.30 pm, followed by Robin Bennett and Botley’s own Brickwork Lizards. The Wood Festival team will also be collaborating with east Oxford bookshop Caper to host a special kids creativity corner upstairs on the mezzanine throughout the afternoon.

“Wood Festival has always been about sustainability, community and incredible music, and we’re excited to be part of this milestone event and bring a little of Wood’s magic to the city for the day!” – Claire Bennett, Festival Manager of Wood Festival

Feral Voices Singing Workshop with Elena Harris

Elena Harris is a choir leader and outdoor educator. She leads the Feral Voices Community Choir and is passionate about connection—both to community and nature. She is excited to lead a singing workshop at the Indie Oxford Festival’s 10th Birthday Bash on behalf of Wood Festival and September Song. With a focus on connection, this workshop will explore harmony singing as a way to deepen our bond with each other and the natural world.

Robin Bennett

Robin Bennett is here both as one of the organisers of Wood Festival and a long-time participant in Oxford’s music scene. His band The Dreaming Spires are working towards the release of a new album, their third, later in 2025. Robin is part of the award winning UK Americana ‘supergroup’ Bennett Wilson Poole, who have released two albums, and has also written for solo projects and with collaborators like Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne.

Brickwork Lizards

Brickwork Lizards are a cinematic Arabic jazz ensemble based in Oxford. Their unique combination of pre-war, gin-joint jazz and traditional Middle Eastern music has been championed on BBC6 Music by Don Letts and Tom Robinson. The Lizards’ latest album ‘Haneen’ was described as “a joyful bound across time, soaking up lines, melodies, riffs and the atmosphere of a shellac scratchy tea dance one minute, a lavishly decorated, carpeted seraglio the next.”

Curated by Young Women’s Music Project and Divine Schism

From 4 pm Young Women’s Music Project (YWMP) and Divine Schism have curated an awesome afternoon lineup of emerging artists, bringing some of the most exciting local talent to the festival stage.

Young Women’s Music Project (YWMP)

YWMP provides an inclusive space for young women, trans and non-binary artists to create and perform music. They champion underrepresented voices in Oxford’s music scene and foster a supportive creative community.

“YWMP is all about creating space for young women, trans and non-binary artists to express themselves and this event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible talent in our community. It’s going to be an brilliant day of music and creativity.” – Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, Young Women’s Music Project

Divine Schism

Divine Schism is an independent promoter known for curating incredible DIY gigs in Oxford, showcasing the best alternative and underground artists.

“We’re really excited to be part of this festival. We love creating spaces where people can discover incredible independent artists and this event is the perfect way to bring together and celebrate music and community. Expect an amazing lineup of grassroots talent – we can’t wait!” – Aiden Canaday, Divine Schism

Amberant

Initially classically trained in piano, Amberant mixes quiet electronics, performance art and free improvisation to create a live show that she’s said is like “seeing a show at a dive bar in outer space”.

“I’m excited to play this festival because I love the independent Oxford music scene, I would probably have no desire to perform if I couldn’t go and see regular people perform and put on gigs that lived in the same spaces I did” – Amberant

Lord Bug

With the name Lord Bug, the Nottingham born and bred singer-songwriter Libby makes a nod to subverting gender norms and her queerness. Accordingly, her music explores themes around feminity and masculinity, growing up queer and catholic, as well as the textural landscape of her relationships with family, friends and lovers. All of this is wrapped up in her guitar playing and hypnotising melodies, or as musician Manmzèl puts it, ‘her soothing voice and soul-sprinkled indie songs”. Since moving away from home to Oxford for university, she hasn’t stopped writing and is continually inspired by female fronted artists such as Remi Wolf, Nilufer Yanya, Clairo, Billie Marten and Lianne La Havas.

Tongue

Oxford’s genre-defying Tongue bring an electrifying mix of post-punk and experimental sounds to the stage. Known for their raw energy and intense live performances, they’ve built a cult following with their unpredictable and immersive shows.

Widget

Queer funk punk darlings WIDGET are an east London supergroup comprised of members of Big Joanie, Junodef, all cats are beautiful and Oxford’s own Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani.

Sometimes nonsensical – often profound, their songs are heavily danceable and repeatedly listenable.

Wonky counterpoint guitar lines weave around each other over tightly locked funk grooves, reminiscent of The Slits, Talking Heads or ESG.

Their self-titled debut e.p. – out on Peach Records – is five tracks of self reflection and deprecation, niche throwbacks and hearty nods, subtle poetic flair and outright oddness. Uncle Buck, Flat Stanley, Myspace Tom, nothing is sacred for this peak millennial wildness in its final form.

ROSIE

Kicking off the evening entertainment from 8 pm, Indie Oxford’s own Rosie Jacobs will be taking to the decks playing her signature mix of dance floor DNB to get the party started.

Chris Barrance (Flow Records)

“It’s really exciting to be a part of the Indie Oxford Festival! Bringing our pop-up record store to the event means a chance to share our love for vinyl with a new crowd that appreciates independent music and culture. And I’m chuffed to have been asked to bring a bag of records to play as well – expect a bunch of high energy party pumpers from across the board. We will be celebrating 10 years of Indie Oxford in fine style!” – Chris Barrance, Owner at Flow Records

Bob E Demons resident DJ at Simple

“We’re buzzing to be part of the Indie Oxford Festival! Oxford’s independent scene has always been full of creativity and community spirit and this event is the perfect way to celebrate that. At Simple, we’ve been bringing people together on the dance floor for years, and we can’t wait to do the same at Tap Social – expect big tunes, great energy and a proper party. See you on the dance floor!” – Bob E Demons, resident DJ at Simple

Venue: Tap Social Taproom

“Tap Social is all about bringing people together through great beer, music and community events, so we’re thrilled to be hosting the Indie Oxford Festival. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase and celebrate the independent businesses and artists that make Oxford so special.” – Tess Taylor, Co-Founder of Tap Social

Get Your Tickets!

Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-decade celebration of Oxford’s indie scene. Grab your tickets now and be part of the party!

Date: Saturday, 22nd March 2025
Time: Noon – Midnight
Location: Tap Social Taproom, Oxford
Tickets: WeGotTickets

Spread the word, invite your friends and let’s celebrate 10 years of Indie Oxford in style.

Rosie Jacobs

I’m really passionate about Independent Oxford and supporting and promoting independent businesses in Oxfordshire. Indie businesses are the life blood of our towns, cities and communities, but they need support to survive and thrive. Creating a network that provides a space for indies to find peer support, knowledge and information is so important, and means businesses are far more likely to continue. Supporting indies means a stronger local economy and a closer, inclusive community for all.