Here’s what’s happening for Bunkfest at The Cat.
Friday 4th September
Pure Fluke
More than another ukulele band. Pure Fluke are getting BunkFest started at The Cat with brilliant tunes, big personality and plenty of feel-good energy.
Grab a pint, find your spot and join us as we officially kick off BunkFest at The Cat.
Let the weekend begin.
The Publicans
Next up, meet The Publicans. A self-described 10-legged Irish beast bringing a mighty mix of folk, country, blues, Americana, gospel and sea shanties to The Cat.
Expect foot-stomping roots music, Irish spirit, big tunes and plenty of craic as BunkFest rolls on.
Grab a pint, get comfortable — although we can't promise you'll stay seated.
Five Publicans. Ten legs. One hell of a session.
Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald is a man of 100 bands and 1000 songs. He has released over 40 albums of self composed material!
Just for Bunkfest, he had assembled an all-star line-up to play a mix of his Rock n Roll, Ska, Rhythm n Blues, Rockabilly, Surf etc...
Joining Baldie for are various band member pals - Pete Scoundrel (Thee Cybermen/Kneejerks) on bass, Johnny Temptation (9 Ton Peanuts/Ripcurls/ Estimators) on sax and Ravi Low-Beer (MFC Chicken/Barrence Whitfield/Swell Maps) on drums.
Not to be missed. Wear your dancing shoes!
Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald
Saturday 5th September
Matthew Beasley
Saturday afternoon begins with something of an enigma. Matthew Beesley is a singer-songwriter, an acoustic guitar in hand…
No big biography. No lengthy introduction. Just a musician, his songs and on a great Saturday afternoon at The Cat. Sometimes that’s exactly how live music should be discovered.
Come down, grab a pint and find out with us.
Matthew Beesley. The mystery starts Saturday.
The Unoriginal Smerkins
Next up on Saturday are The Unoriginal Smerkins… another band we know just enough about to know we want them at The Cat.
Think guitars, fiddles and a gloriously folky mix of roots, country and shanties.
They’ve even got Glastonbury 2019 on the CV, so they clearly know their way around a festival. Folky. Shanty. Slightly mysterious.
Very BunkFest.
Maz Manzini
Next up is Maz Manzini… singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist and a genuine maestro with six strings to hand.
With his album Nightingales and a talent for letting great songwriting do the talking, expect brilliant musicianship, soulful acoustic sounds and a performance made for a BunkFest Saturday at The Cat.
One man. One guitar. Plenty of magic.
Guitarist, violinist and looping maestro creating a sound that has to be heard to be properly understood.
Using guitar, violin and a loop machine, Ben builds layer upon layer of music live in front of you, creating an incredible blend of folk, rhythm and electrifying acoustic sound that feels like an entire band coming from one man.
One musician. Multiple layers. A sound unlike anything else.
Ben Smith
Cold Harbour
Cold Harbour bring a little taste of Nashville to Wallingford with smooth country sounds, great three part vocal harmonies and guitars made for a Saturday night.
Think roots music, country anthems and that unmistakable Tennessee whiskey kind of smooth... the sort of music that wouldn't sound out of place coming from a honky-tonk on Broadway.
Country soul and definitely Nashville vibes.
Bonnie & The Barstuds
Bonnie & The Barstuds bring their brilliant blend of country, blues, acoustic guitars and seriously good vocals to The Cat.
Raw, soulful and packed with character, they’ve got the kind of sound that feels like it belongs somewhere between a backstreet American bar and a late-night festival stage.
Country. Blues. Soul. And a little bit of magic.
Sunday 6th September
Kicking off the final day of BunkFest, Greg Mayston’s Folk, Blues & Americana bring the sounds of bluegrass, country and roots music to The Cat.
Think rich harmonies, brilliant voices, guitars, ukuleles and the kind of warm, authentic sound that fans of Noah Kahan will feel instantly at home with.
Bluegrass. Country. Harmonies. Sunday pints.
The perfect soundtrack to ease us into one last day of BunkFest.
Greg Mayston's Folk, Blues and Americana
Fraser Morgan
Sunday steps up a gear with Fraser Morgan. A rapidly rising folk-punk singer-songwriter with more than 1,000 live shows already under his belt.
Think Billy Bragg meets Frank Turner and The Levellers… passionate, energetic, unpredictable and brilliantly chaotic.His viral track “Call Me Mate” has racked up almost 10 million views, while BBC Introducing named him One To Watch, followed by a huge 26-festival summer including Latitude, Boomtown and Bearded Theory.
Folk-punk. Full throttle. Fraser Morgan.
Sunday at The Cat just got loud.
Jody Wyatt
Wallingford’s own Jody Wyatt. A familiar face, acoustic guitarist and true BunkFest stalwart.
Armed with a guitar, a great voice and a set packed with folk favourites and classic anthems, Jody knows exactly how to get a Wallingford crowd singing along.
Local musician. Local festival. Local pub.
This is what BunkFest is all about.
Thomas Heppell
Thomas Heppell… one of the most exciting rising names on the UK blues scene and a Top 5 nominee across three UK Blues Awards categories.
Described as the epitome of modern blues, Thomas combines brilliant vocals, acoustic guitar and seriously impressive slide playing with a sound that takes the blues somewhere fresh.
Emerging. Acoustic. Contemporary. And definitely one to watch who is a star on the rise.
Cruel Folk
Cruel Folk is the combination of Sean and Paul Holden, emerging from the wilds of Darkest Norfolk with decades of live music behind them.
Rooted in the English folk tradition, they blend traditional and contemporary material with their own original historical ballads, bringing forgotten stories and characters vividly back to life.
Expect dark tales, rich storytelling, bouzouki, guitar and seriously accomplished musicianship from two performers who know exactly how to hold a room.
Dark. Traditional. Atmospheric. Proper folk. The perfect penultimate chapter of BunkFest at The Cat.
The Coverbuoys
And who better to bring BunkFest at The Cat home than The Coverbuoys. An Oxfordshire duo with 1,000+ gigs behind them and absolutely no intention of finishing the weekend quietly.
Expect a huge mix of rock, pop, blues, country and crowd-pleasing anthems, delivered with big energy, great musicianship and plenty of reasons to sing along.
Three days. A lot of bands. Even more pints. One final party.
The Coverbuoys are closing BunkFest at The Cat. Let’s make it a big one.
