DO NOT PUT UPRiffs nights at The Compton Swan

Pub announces January acts

THE Compton Swan has a variety of gigs coming up in January. Well known Oxford-based singer/songwriter Nikki Loy, who has previously appeared at the pub's riffs night will be playing her own show on January 4.

Loy has been working recently with numerous bands and being involved in all sorts of different musical projects including writing and performing for a well known Saatchi & Saatchi ad campaign.

She continues to work as a professional singer and songwriter performing regularly around Oxford and London, having previously sung alongside the likes of Phil Robson and John Coghlan and other musicians some of whom Loy is still working with on new band projects. She is now focussed on getting the third collection of songs together and ready for recording.

Alan Garmonsway plays on Wednesday, January 18.

Riffs regulars will already have heard the sound of Garmonsway as he is a regular Wednesday night performer and he played at the beer and music festival in September.

Garmonsway writes in many styles and records them playing guitars, keyboards, drums, bass and vocals. Over the past few years he has written, recorded and produced a number of albums of original songs and instrumentals.

As well as writing and recording, he enjoys playing live and has played in both rock and folk bands, performing in Europe and North America. Currently he plays solo sets of originals and favourite covers, using keyboard and 12-string guitar.

Anglo-Swedish alternative acoustic trio We Ghosts will play on Wednesday, January 25.

The band formed in 2004 and have played hundreds of gigs a year ever since. Originally a duo, English singer/ songwriter/guitarist John Christopher and Swedish singer Jenny Jonasson, in 2006, English singer/guitarist Frank Jack joined them and they have been playing together ever since, mainly touring Sweden and the UK, with their blend of vocal harmony plus punchy, rolling acoustic guitar rhythms.

The successful 2009 launch and promotional tour of the album Things That Go Bump in the Night resulted in the live album Walking Through Walls, released in 2010 and a new studio album is to be expected to be released shortly.