Music

The burden of the face: Why are so many singers wearing masks?

We can all name at least one musician who has performed behind a balaclava, helmet, or hood. Whether to preserve anonymity, cultivate mystery, or construct an entirely new artistic identity, masking the face is common among those under the limelight.

Culture Leandro Landolina and Francesca Lamberti -

Beyond litter and emissions: The environmental costs of loud sound at music festivals

The music festivals of the summer have packed up and moved on. Stages and sound systems have been dismantled, litter cleared, and land reseeded.

Culture Leandro Landolina -

Why ‘No Bad Memories’ is my album of the year

I didn't expect how perfectly my personal happiness would fit an album so preoccupied with the sounds of old advertisements and obsolete electronics, filled with the relentless optimism of a world that believed the future could only get better.

Culture Willow Jopp -

CUSP’s Dan Stock on the memories behind ‘English Country’

On Friday, CUSP, a Milton Keynes-based indie rock band, released their debut album, English...

Culture Evelyn Shepphird -

Latest

The Magdalene Songs: Giving a singing voice to victims

★★★★★ Trigger warning: abuse Modern slavery, abuse, and human rights violations are not something you would usually expect to be tackled in an evening of classical...

Little Kitchen’s Christ Church concert is exactly what you need this Oxmas

Little Kitchen, an Oxford-based music collective, will be performing in Christchurch this Thursday. It's the perfect Oxmas treat.

The power of the playlist

"These ten precious songs ... will become a time capsule"

‘Like the edge of a knife’: Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk brings his ‘Continuous Music’ to Oxford

Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk took the stage in Magdalen College Chapel and the Holywell Music Room on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th November to...

Review: Hill and Harmer’s A Life in Song – the strange world of Lieder

"poetry told across language through performance and music"

What will the Schwarzman Centre mean for music at Oxford?

"Oxford as a cultural centre on a global scale"

A tale of two venues: Oxford’s musical legacies

Oxford is a city full of firsts – historical, personal, degree class, and musicological. Two of its music venues, separated by about 250 years...

Night School: Oxford’s after-hours curriculum

The first time I saw Nahom and Ethan, it wasn’t on a night out – it was an early morning. I was shuffling through...

Oxford Commas at the Fringe – Interview

The Oxford Commas are a contemporary gender-inclusive a capella group who had their Fringe debut this year. They kindly agreed to talk to Cherwell...

‘Aca-demic Weapons’ at the Fringe: Oxford Commas Review

★★★★☆ A capella groups from Oxford have long been favourites at the Edinburgh Fringe, with Out of the Blue, Oxford Gargoyles and Oxford Belles often...

St Anne’s goes All-Steinway: A purposeful and bold commitment to music

In a move that lives up to its motto of ‘Consulto et Audacter’ (purposefully and boldly), St Anne’s College has become the first in...

Highway Elegies: Living Bruce Springsteen’s ballads

A tantalising balance of folk, country, soul, and rock ’n’ roll, Bruce Springsteen is a master storyteller. His songs are ballads in the strictest...

Jacob Collier is on scintillating form at Love Supreme

Despite being a seven-time Grammy Award winner, it was only at the 2025 Love Supreme Festival in Glynde that Jacob Collier had his first...

In More, Pulp aren’t just trading on nostalgia – they’re fresh

In a year where many are talking about one Britpop band in particular – cough, cough, Oasis – the often-forgotten band of the same...

Bonding, identities, and connections through music

The feeling is both shared and unique to that moment

The cantatas of Bach with New Chamber Opera

Recently, students from the University of Oxford have blessed the city with several performances of cantatas by the great Johann Sebastian Bach. On Wednesday...