OXJAM

Various venues, Swansea, Sun 25 Oct

Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim and Editors were amongst the host of household names that played out of a converted Oxfam shop in London to launch the charity’s month long festival on the 28 Sep. Volunteers have been running Oxjam every year since 2006 and have attracted over 750,000 people to almost 3000 events so far.

This year’s festival highlight occurs on Sunday 25 Oct, with 20 cities playing host to over 2000 musicians. Swansea’s leg sees a diverse frenzy of local acts take to the stage. There is a chance to relax at an acoustic afternoon at Moloko before more lively acts compete at Walkabout in a battle of the bands headlined by veteran rockers Hurricane Joe (formerly known as The Blims). The party then stretches well into the night with bands playing Sin City and Cookie Monsta DJing at Sigma.

Not only are the events on offer diverse and exciting but the money raised from them will contribute to a noble cause. This year Oxjam will be ‘helping poor people deal with the devastating effects of climate change’ and many of those attending will be continuing the trend from the summer’s festivals by painting their faces blue as part of a massive visual statement to urge the UK government to take more decisive environmental action. So, if you love music and want to end poverty, this is the place to be, with a day and night of acts that should leave you with a feeling of goodwill strong enough to repel any hangover.

Info: Oxjam site and Facebook group / 0300 200 1255 (JW)