It's been running since 2006 and involves musicians and singers the length and breadth of the country (www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam). The first Oxjam event in Leighton Buzzard was a ceilidh featuring the band Stömp, plus four local bands in support. Held at the Raven Theatre, Cedars Upper School in October 2007 it raised over £850. The success of this evening prompted the organisers to put together the
Leighton Buzzard Oxjam music festival in March 2009. A total of £3,348 was raised from 20 different events ranging from a mobile folk session visiting the town’s pubs, to a rock bands’ night. There were open rehearsals of brass bands and concert bands, jazz , rock and classical concerts, a variety of music performed in the open air at the town’s Market Cross, and much, much more. The second LB Oxjam festival was held in March 2010 with a programme of 23 events including a Jazz Club featuring some of the UK’s foremost jazz musicians. There was something for everyone: indie, rock, folk, metal, jazz, classical, big-band, brass, choral, and all presented by local musicians and groups in the town’s venues. The total handed over to Oxfam at the end of the 2010 festival was £4595.82
In 2011 the third festival was again held during March and this time there were 31 events including an Oxjam bands night and open-air music at the Market Cross. A CD featuring 19 tracks by local musicians and groups was specially recorded for sale during the festival and this is still available by contacting [email protected]. Copies of the follow-up CDs from 2014 and 2018 are also available. Single CDs cost £2, but all three can be purchased for £5 (plus postage). Further festivals were held in March of each year until 2018 and the total raised for Oxfam over this period exceeded £50,000. However, the pressure and amount of work involved in putting-on the festival became too much for the organisers, so no further festivals have been held since - although there have been a number of one-off events. If anyone would like to take on the task of running future festivals, please get in touch and I will give you all the advice and help that I can. Contact Edmund Flach via Facebook, or better email: [email protected]
