Tim Hughes looks ahead to this weekend's feast of acoustic music, dancing and fun - the Folk Weekend: Oxford

Oxford Folk Weekend is more than just another festival... it is an invasion.

Instead of being confined to a few venues or stuck behind a big old fence, this community-based gathering of the acoustically-minded takes place slap bang in the middle of the city... and is impossible to ignore.

Morris dancers clash sticks and tankards in streets and squares, children get to grips with unusual instruments or dance along in museum galleries and everywhere the sounds of fiddle, flute, guitar and drum draws the faithful into churches, pubs and meeting rooms.

Since it emerged, five years ago, stepping in to fill the void left by the defunct Oxford Folk Festival, the folk weekend has continually upped its game. And while it still offers a platform to local and up-and-coming artists, it also plays host to some of the genre's biggest names.

This year they include Martin Carthy, widely regarded as one of the country’s finest singers and interpreters of traditional music, who was warded the MBE in 1998 for services to English music.

He is joined by Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, performing as a duo; singer-songwriter Emily Portman and her trio; close-harmony threesome Coope, Boyes and Simpson, who return with more close-harmony singing about war, peace and travel; harpist Rachel Newton; Hannah James; Geordie duo Megson; The Simon Care Trio, Tobias Ben Jacob & Lukas Drinkwater; and Count Drachma, featuring Oli and Rob Steadman of Cowley folk-pop band Stornoway.

Other Oxfordshire artists include Molly Evans, Ollie King, Tom Blackburn, Ben Avison, Small & Gold, Irwing-Brown-Acty, The Skeptics, Kismet, and those (landlocked) masters of the sea shanty - Short Drag Roger.

Festival headquarters this year moves away from the Old Fire Station to the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Centre in St Ebbe’s.

Music also takes place in the larger Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, the intimate St Columba’s Church in Alfred Street, the Ashmolean Museum lecture theatre, Pitt Rivers Museum and glorious Italianate St Barnabas Church in Jericho, which hosts the ever-popular Ceilidhs.

Al-fresco music and dancing will fill the streets, with Morris dancing in front of the museums, at Blackwell’s, outside The Bear pub and Frideswide Square.

The fun gets underway tomorrow, with an event on the piazza in front of the Ashmolean.

"I'm really pleased with the venues and the line-up," says Festival Director Cat Kelly.

"There are some really exciting names and lots of interesting new acts too."

Asked for her personal recommendations she said: "I am completely obsessed by husband and wife duo Megson at the moment. I think they are brilliant. It's a mixture of traditional and original and really honest. They strike a chord and you can relate to it."

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Double time: Megson

She also advised folk-lovers to catch headliner Martin Carthy. "He has been such a pioneer in everything he's done over so many years," she said. "His music is incredible. The range and breadth of material he has produced is phenomenal. And although he hasn't crossed over into the mainstream like bands such as Bellowhead, he is widely respected as a leader of the folk revival."

Another big name is a capella trio Coope, Boyes and Simpson. "They are phenomenal," says Cat.

"Their voices blend together in an extraordinary way and their use them as an instrument. It's incredible.

"They sing protest songs which are poignant, hard-hitting and bring a tear to the eye, then the next minute are singing about beer. It's tremendous fun."

Also unmissable is Count Drachma, with the Steadman brothers playing folk songs from Africa, Ireland and Appalachia in the Zulu Xhosa and Maskandi style of their native South Africa.

"We like to include something unexpected and play around with things – so it will be interesting to see how they fit in with the vibe of the festival. They certainly sound amazing."

One of the more unusual artists is Hannah James - a traditional clog dancer who accompanies herself in a show she calls JigDoll.

"She is a one-woman show," says Cat. "She uses technology to build up layers of sound based around her singing, playing and dancing. She dances either in traditional wooden clogs or bear feet and creates a live percussion through recording and looping.

"It is based on the folk musicians of old who would perform on the road on their own.

"But like everything we have on our bill, it shows folk music is a living breathing tradition. The building blocks remain the same but it keeps on growing and changing. It is honest and based in the real world."

Folk Weekend: Oxford runs from April 15-17. Weekend season tickets are £62 (£57 concessions), day season tickets start at £28. Tickets for individual events are also available.

Go to folkweekendoxford.co.uk