OxJam Brixton 2011

It’s OxJam Brixton today. The festival is taking over four venues – The Windmill, Dog Star, Plan B and Upstairs at The Ritzy – with up to 30 acts including drum ‘n’ bass DJs Logistics, the Work It! DJ team and the BAC Beatbox Academy with performance poet MC Angel.

They aim to raise £6000 for Oxfam with the money from the tickets, costing £10 each for a day pass. Here’s what you can see for a tenner:
PLAN B (6pm-Midnight)

Nu:tone B2B Logistics ft. SP:MC
Ayah Marar
Drop/ Dead
Somethink Sounds
DJ Strago

THE DOGSTAR (3pm – Midnight)

Work It! DJs
The Stow
Wara
The Great Malarkey
Electrixcity
Vibeadeliks
Jack Leon Colton
Hejira
Colomboloco
BAC Beatbox Academy ft. Deanna Rogers and Paul Cree

THE WINDMILL (3pm-11pm)

Kay Suzuki
Beaty Heart
Lo-Fi
Spectre Spector
A Sweet Niche
Soccer 96
Stinger
Little Big Noise
Zoe Konez
Mercy Alexander

UPSTAIRS AT THE RITZY (7pm-11pm)

Russell Swallow & The Wolf
I Am A Pilot
Jon Nickoll
Grace Banks
We Are Goose
Tim Lacy

Brixton Bank Holiday Weekend

Saturday:

A perfect, active start to the weekend – get your fingernails dirty at the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses (tip from @BrixtonBugle).

And then, if a month of rioting, rain and recession have got too much for you, lose yourself in the 1990s at The Windmill’s first annual ‘Retrospectacular‘. Bands will be performing their favourite albums from the year 1991 only (next year it’ll be 1992). That means covers of both Nirvana and Madonna…  The Windmill, Brixton, 4pm onwards, £5

Sunday:

John Brown and Friends are performing live folk music by Brockwell Hall in Brockwell Park from 2-6pm (tip from @Emmanusquelle). Or spend the day out west at Notting Hill Carnival (Sunday is usually the quieter day to go) and then come back to Brixton all fired up for the Deadly Rhythm Carnival After Party at Plan B. David Rodigan is heading the bill. Plan B Brixton, 10pm onwards, £10 

Monday:

There are four showings of Almodovar’s ‘The Skin I Live In‘ at The Ritzy today – try to catch one. And you could even grab a quick pint afterwards at the newly refurbished Trinity Arms (tip from @loveiseveryone).

The Brixton Week Ahead

Monday 23: It’s a folk and country night at The Windmill tonight with a line-up that includes Frontier Ruckus from Michigan and Deer Park. £7 advance tickets, The Windmill

Tuesday 24: The Cimarron Festival is a festival celebrating the legacy of African culture in Latin America and tonight at Ritzy Upstairs, they are holding a workshop in Afro-Columbian singing, known as ‘cumbia’. It will be followed by a performance from the Latin American Community Choir. All levels welcome, 7pm, Ritzy Upstairs.

Wednesday 25: A solo exhibition by British artist George Shaw opens at the South London Gallery – ‘The Sly and Unseen Day‘ features his semi-realist paintings of the estate in Coventry where he grew up. Free, South London Gallery.

Thursday 26: Try out the new Thai restaurant, Kaosan, in Granville Arcade. Recently reviewed in The Observer and reviewed here by the Happiness Project London blog.

The Brixton Week Ahead

A brass band welcomed the first swimmers of the season at the Lido

 

Saturday 2: The Windmill is hosting electro-pop band Bearsuit, while Upstairs at the Ritzy has BBC 1Xtra’s DJ Edu playing ‘old skool beats’ for Back and Forth (A Night of Pure Old Skool).

Sunday 3: Take advantage of free swimming at The Lido this weekend – but will not paying offset the cold? Brrr. To warm up, there’s free jazz in the evening at The White Horse.

Wednesday 6: This looks like lots of fun – a night of entertainment at The Dogstar with Heart and Lung Unit. There’ll be storytelling, comedy and live music from contributors such as Brixton novelist Alex Wheatle, singer-songwriter Marc Picton and comedian Chris Dangerfield. All for only £3. You can read a review of the last event here.

Friday 8: It’s Faithless‘ last ever concert and they’ve chosen Brixton Academy for the final goodbye. The gig is even going to be broadcast live at cinemas across the UK, although not at the Ritzy.

Saturday 9: Help the dedicated ‘Friends of Brixton Windmill‘ plant the herb garden at the Windmill, 10.30am-12.30pm, in time for the re-opening of the windmill on 2 May. No experience needed and equipment provided. Read their wonderful blog here.

Every Saturday, Plan B holds the Community night as a platform for ‘innovative house, techno, disco and other forms of electronics’. Tonight it’s the Residents Party, dedicated to those who have a long-term association with South London. Headlining are Foolish Felix and rising Camberwell star Kid Who?. And you can get on a £3 guestlist if you email brixton@planbgroup.co.uk with a list of names and the subject ‘Brixton Blog guestlist’.

The Brixton Week Ahead

Tuesday: Fun, silly, even cringeworthy – it’s the Open Mic night at Upstairs at The Ritzy. Sign-up is at 7pm and performances kick off at 7.30pm. If that’s too much for you, there are a bunch of good films on at the moment – ‘The King’s Speech’, ‘127 Hours’, ‘Of Gods and Men’.

Wednesday: Cute alt-pop band Silvers are from Brixton and they’ve been busy recording their first album in an underground studio in Atlantic Rd. You can see the fruits of their labour at the EP launch at The Windmill, 8pm. Listen here to hear them first.

Thursday: Sports time. For the stressed among you, there’s Hatha Yoga at 12pm at Brixton Rec. Or for something a little more hardcore, try Power Pump at 6pm. Both for all levels, so no excuses. See here for the programme.

Friday: Brixton Jamm has a massive line-up tonight – Jehst is headlining the event which includes 12 Tone Bass Band and DJ Chef.