The Catweazle Club

05/11/2025

Magical, sold-out session at Cafe Kino in Bristol tonight, with friends old and new. Next up, Dec 3rd 🙏🚀💥

05/11/2025

Getting ready for lift off

05/11/2025

#2 tonight, I suspect a stormer….

04/11/2025

Tomorrow night, folks, we do it all again...Tix selling fast: https://hdfst.uk/e136998, performers FREE, sign-up 7pm

03/11/2025

Does anyone know of any Sufi/Qawwali singers in Bristol? Please message me if so..

29/10/2025

Bristol launch at Cafe Kino was beyond beautiful. Hugely inspiring night. Next Wednesday, Nov 5th, we're at it again. Bring the fire, bring the works... x Matt

28/10/2025

Ah yes, it seems like we’re now a part of Oxford history. That poster certainly is, as we were dismissed from that venue a year ago, still without explanation. Ditto the most recent one. A sign of the times, it seems. Undeterred: the body may die, but the spirit lives on!

It’s been an amazing ride, these past 30 years, and it ain’t over yet. Happy to be a part of this project, and hope to be back together with everyone in Oxford soon. No session in November, currently, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted. Bristol Catweazle, meanwhile, is rocking off the hinges, so that’s good (1st Weds at Cafe Kino) x Matt

“In the snug of the Vicky Arms in Jericho, tiny room, we took it over on a Tuesday night in October, it was lovely Autumn vibes”🍂

🎤As part of ‘Our Oxford: 50 Years, 50 Stories’, we got to speak with Matt Sage about how he founded The Catweazle Club - Oxford’s unplugged listening and performance space - in 1994.

Coming to Oxford from London’s music scene, Matt told us about how he started up the Catweazle Club because he couldn’t find what he was looking for: “There was an open-mic performance night there with no PA that we used to go to religiously every week, and it was just an incredible scene and a place of great fermenting.

"And when I got to Oxford, I immediately set to look for that because I knew how nurturing that was for me and I didn't know anybody in Oxford I just got here and said, ‘Where's that thing?’ and I looked as hard as I could for about three weeks, and I didn't find it so I started it.”

The Catweazle Club has laid down roots in many venues over the years, breathing a unique cultural and collective experience into many of Oxford’s nooks and crannies.

You can catch Matt’s oral history as part of the ‘Our Oxford’ exhibition in Gallery 1 at the Museum, on display until 3 January 2026 🌈🧵💚

[Image description: A past poster for the Catweazle Club, featuring an upwards shot of a seated man playing a stringed instrument. He is sat in front of a glitzy green curtain. The poster promises 'music...poetry...song' and features information about the time, date and venue, plus quotes from reviews from BBC Radio 4 and The Times.]

15/10/2025

Up The Irish! ☘️

Ireland’s “Basic Income for the Arts” will provide 2,000 creatives with a steady weekly payment of €325 starting in 2026.

The initiative follows a successful three-year pilot and aims to give artists greater stability to focus on their craft.

A recent cost-benefit analysis by Ireland’s Department of Culture found that for every €1 invested in the Basic Income for the Arts scheme, society gained €1.39 in return.

This reflects both economic and wellbeing benefits from the program.

Applications for the new phase will open next year, expanding access to musicians, writers, and performers across the country. 🎶💶🇮🇪

04/10/2025

30/09/2025

Kicking off our brand new session in Bristol tomorrow night at Cafe Kino, followed by our 31st Birthday celebrations in Oxford on Thursday. Who’s in?! 🚀🌈
Sign up 7pm, doors 7.30 🙏

24/09/2025

One week to go before kicking off our brand new monthly session in Bristol on Wednesday, October 1st, at Cafe Kino, and celebrating our 31st Birthday the following night at The Slow & Steady in Oxford. Anyone up for the double?

Please spread the word, and hope to see you! x Matt

https://www.facebook.com/events/802959408799068

16/07/2025

Best Beloveds,
Tomorrow will be our last session of the season until September...
See you there, or elsewhere.
x Matt