Oxjam reaches the magic million for Oxfam

Throughout March, thousands of musicians will be taking part in Oxjam, the biggest music festival in the UK, taking over stages, back rooms and street corners to make music and raise money for Oxfam with gigs, DJ sets, busks and much more.

Oxjam is the festival with a difference: all the fundraising music events are put on by ordinary people – from large-scale festivals to local sponsored busks. Since the launch of Oxjam in 2006, more than 36,000 musicians have taken part in almost 3,000 Oxjam events nationwide.

The festival has raised more than £1 million for the charity since it was created in 2006: enough to buy 31,000 emergency shelters, safe water for 1.3 million people, or buy 40,000 goats.

Celebrities who have supported Oxjam since 2006 include Jarvis Cocker, Fatboy Slim, Hot Chip, The Kooks, Klaxons, Editors, Kasabian and Jamelia.

Events planned to take place across the country for March will include:

The Mad Music March of the North – musicians taking to the streets in cities across the north of England to celebrate Oxjam
Mamma-Mia and High School Musical sing-alongs in Dorset
A vampire-themed ball with a metal soundtrack in Maidenhead
A folk music pub crawl around the heart of Leighton Buzzard
Battle of the bands competitions in Bristol and Cardiff.
‘Charity shop rock’ in Northampton – clothes from Oxfam, music for Oxjam, money for Oxfam.

Ricky Wilson from Kaiser Chiefs, who headlined Xfm’s Winter Wonderland shows in December to raise £40,000 for Oxfam, said:

“Kaiser Chiefs are proud to be Oxjam supporters. It’s Oxfam’s way of raising vital funds for its overseas work. Oxjam’s about music fans picking up their instruments to help fight poverty, by getting involved on any level you’re helping a very worthwhile cause.”

To view the line-up for March and find out how to get involved with Oxjam around the UK, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam or call 0870 905 9060.