08/05/2026
A huge blow to the Oxford music scene - Nightshift Magazine has been guiding people to the best music in Oxford for more than 35 years, and have been a great supporter of The World's Music at Oxford. Thank you Nightshift, you will be missed!
Well, it would appear that the cat is out of the bag*. June's issue of Nightshift will be the last one. After 35 and a bit years, and as I near 60 and my knees finally give up what's left of the ghost, it's time to hang up the notepad** and pen and sail into a sunset filled with old Sisters of Mercy bootlegs.
I didn't want to make a big thing of it but my very dear friend Dave Holt decided there should be a final farewell event, which he's organised and only told me about when it was too late to say 'no'.
So, on Sunday 31st May there'll be a proper bunch of great local artists playing at The Bullingdon - Oxford musicians playing the songs of Oxford apparently. They won't tell me exactly which ones. What if I disapprove?***
Tickets are on sale now at https://wegottickets.com/f/20093 and all proceeds will go to the fantastic Causing A Scene community action group, who campaign for more local live music spaces.
So that's that. One more issue to come, which might well feature some mawkish sentimentality**** - still plenty of great gigs between then and now, kids!
* - I would never keep a cat in a bag. Martha and Troughton have free range of the Nightshift desk, which only partially accounts for the absolute state of it.
** - More an untidy scrumble of paper. Have you seen the price of notebooks?
*** - It's Oxford music, why would I not approve? Unless they all play a set of upbeat funky blues rock as some kind of huge practical joke at my expense, in which case damn their eyes! I disapprove.
***** - Just for a change, right?
