Thrilled to be hosting this incredible extended afternoon shindig at Tap Social on Sunday 5th July! We have five amazing acts to make this sunny July matinee show a beautiful time!
Headliners nathy sg are an indiepop supergroup made up of members of Martha/Onsind/Fortitude Valley/Tigercats/Supermilk/Honey Joy and probably loads more! Sunny and wry indiepop singalong tunes fronted by literally the nicest person in the world.
Jay Cavalier and the Band (aka Jay Cavalier Band) are an England-based “bedroom stadium rock” group, comprised of the absolute best musicians that band leader Jay Cavalier could persuade. Musically they’ve been compared to Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty. Project co-writer, today’s headliner, and self-appointed “scene legend” Nathy SG says JCB is “A welcome addition to the Nathan Stephens-Griffin Extended Universe”.
Junk Whale of course are Oxford rockers playing fuzzy emo tunes like the ones you liked when you were a teenager, but about being tired thirty-somethings. The band are back with a new EP full of fun and upbeat singalong bangers about mental illness, grief and friendship breakups.
z-x is Divine Schism’s Rich’s solo project. Very different vibes to his band Sinews - this is sad lofi electronic indie pop in the vein of Postal Service, Xiu Xiu, or Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.
paul. is a brand new Oxford band. Who’s in it? What do they sound like? Nobody knows - it’s an intriguing mystery that can only be solved by coming to see them!
This gig is at Oxford’s Tap Social, which is a beautiful, wheelchair accessible venue, and the show is open to all ages with under 14s accompanied by an adult.
New art and line-up news for our Oxford show with Real Farmer as Top Shortage and Asterix join the bill on Weds 10th June - we have a truly stellar night ahead at the Little Bully!
Dutch pals Real Farmer hit the road next month to tour their fantastic new record Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right which came out on 1st May through Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals! We love hosting them - their energetic blend of DIY punk, angular, gritty art-rock jangle is a joy to behold - last time they were in Oxford we all melted together in the Library! Check the new record out asap if you haven’t already!
Our label loves Top Shortage join us for their first hometown show since their debut EP came out in March, the mesmerising Contre Nature! Their swelling, atmospheric multi-lingual post punk has astonished us since we first saw them in 2024 - they are one of the most exciting bands in the UK and we’re lucky to have them in Oxford!
Asterix are an ace new grunge band from Oxford who we loved when they played in March - ‘a rough sound with experimental tones over a melancholy alt-rock backbone’ - get to it Oxford. One not to be missed!
All ages (under 14s with an adult) from 7pm on Weds 10th June! #oxford #divineschism #oxfordmusic #oxfordmusicscene
Delighted to be doing another Oh Community all dayer at London’s New River Studios on Sunday 28th June!
Got an amazing day of indie rock and punk for you, featuring the amazing Other Half from Norwich, Italy’s Hate Moss, Gravel from Leeds, Nottingham egg punk supergroup No Peeling, Birmingham’s Exotic Pets, Oxford/London/Kent’s Civil Villains, and local crews Achers, The Higher Line, Sverker Clern, and our pals Fuzzy Heart. What a day we’ll have!
Doing full price tickets for £18, and low income/under 18 options for £12 - these are no questions asked, if you need them, get them. Find these at the link in our bio. And get in touch at [email protected] if you’d like to come but can’t afford that - we don’t want to exclude anyone, and would much rather people were there and having a nice time than not.
FYI this show is all ages with under 18s accompanied by an adult, and the venue is wheelchair accessible.
London, hello! We have an incredible alt-punk rock bill for you as Real Farmer are joined by Rainham Sheds and Gross Misconduct at New River Studios on Weds 3rd June!
Dutch pals Real Farmer hit the road next month to tour their fantastic new record Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right which came out last week on 1st May through Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals! We love hosting them - their energetic blend of DIY punk, angular, gritty art-rock jangle is a joy to behold - last time they were in London we all melted together! Check the new record out asap if you haven’t already!
Rainham Sheds bring their all female post-punk maximum art-core chaos to the stage alongside the ace and discontented landfill punk of Gross Misconduct - hell, what a bill!
Doors 7:30pm and music soon after on Weds 3rd June at New River Studios - come join us in the pit! #divineschism #livemusic #realfarmer #rainhamsheds #grossmisconduct
Very exciting new show for July as we welcome La Sécurité to Oxford for the first time as they tour their incoming new record, Bingo! out via Bella Union in June! We saw them at End of the Road last year and were blown away! They hit town at Little Bully on Sun 26th July for an all ages (u14s with an adult) show - huge recommend!
Hailing from Montréal/Tiohtià:ke, La Sécurité is a collective whose art punk is equal parts: jumpy beats, off-kilter arrangements and minimalistic melodic hooks; run through an insomniac filter, the result of excessive exposure to the city’s neon lights. The music is all about living dangerously, perfectly agreeable to being blasted onto dancefloors; while the lyrics share the ethos of the Riot Grrrl movement, and celebrate the autonomization of women, friends (mean and nice) as well as benevolence.
Since coming together in the Spring of 2022, they have been invited to perform noteworthy events such as SXSW, End of the Road, The Great Escape, and Reeperbahn, also touring alongside The Go! Team (2024) and The Rapture (2025). Following the release of Polaris Music Prize 2024 long-listed debut Stay Safe!—as well as its joyous offspring Stay Safe! REMIXED—with Mothland, the five-piece offered singles “Detour” and “Ketchup”, setting the stage for a new influx of D.I.Y. sonic gems, this time also teaming up with Simon Raymonde’s seminal British imprint: Bella Union. Hence, the motley bunch continues to meander the fringes of punk, new wave and krautrock, mischievously flouting stylistic form every chance they get by way of sophomore long-player Bingo!, scheduled for release on June 12th, 2026 via Bella Union (World) and Mothland (Canada/United States).
On sale now yo! #divineschism #oxford #oxfordmusic #oxfordmusicscene
New show for you Oxford as we host ace psych-country outfit Frank Lloyd Wleft, local lo-fi slackers Spaceman and the Spaceband and wonky alt-pop duo The Unwashed Phenomnenon at the Library on Sat 13th June from 7:30pm!
Lloyd of Frank Lloyd Wleft name and fame has been living in Oxford this year, attending shows and soaking up the scene so and we’re stoked we can do a show together - will there be an Oxford-lilt to their country-infused poetic post-Americana jangles? Come find out!
What will the chameleons Spaceman and the Spaceband call themselves in June? Known to sometimes change their name for shows, they are an ever-evolving group of young Oxford musicians (feat. members of Tongue, Codia Y Môr & more) who were inspired by our screening of the Elephant 6 movie 18 months ago and borrowed my 25 year old 4-track recorder to kick off their slowfuzz journey.
The Unwashed Phenomenon also half study in Oxford and we’re excited to see their weird alt-pop songs in the wild of the Library basement.
18+ show from 7:30pm on Sat 13th June in the basement of the Library - come celebrate the scene! On sale in the skies above the clouds (bio) #divineschism #oxford #oxfordmusic #oxfordmusicscene
We’re back at Common Ground next Weds 6th May and are excited as hell for My New Band Believe and so are you as it’s sold out! There won’t be any tickets on the door but you could be in luck via the waiting list if anyone drops out.
Cameron Picton’s ace new project My New Band Believe are joined by another fresh new London act, PopStar who open the bill with one of their first shows outside the capital.
My New Band Believe, led by Cameron Picton, bassist and sometime frontman of black midi, with whom he practiced an explosive form of musical world-building, weaving complex storytelling through thrilling passages of controlled chaos play as a trio next week as they meet the music on its own terms, to reap the rewards of taking a flying leap into the dark. Picton leads his band so that each track forms, scatters and re-groups, the uplift of one song crashing head-long into the rush of another. Inspired by Bert Jansch’s hypnotic, hard-driving guitar, Judee Sill’s panoramic pop, and the terrifying possibility of dance music, My New Band Believe is both all-encompassing and constantly in flux.
See you there - doors 7:45pm, music soon after! #oxford #divineschism #oxfordmusicscene #mynewbandbelieve
Oh my, May is upon us!
We have 13 shows this month - 10 of them in Oxford and 3 in London!
Here’s the posters for 9 of the Oxford shows (1 of them is sold out) where you can still attend, buy an advanced ticket, rock up on the night (maybe) and fall in love with some new music and make some friends! A wonderful mix of interesting, alternative musical artists from all over the globe! Some are old friends and some will become new ones!
We love the music scene, we love the Oxford music scene, listening to new music being played in different venues and enjoying the rapport with everyone who attends - we have so many regulars coming to a lot of the shows and still at every show we meet new people who might be new to town, new to Divine Schism, new to it all and everyone is welcome!
Support the scene, the venues, their staff, form a band, strike a chord, be kind to everyone you meet - see you at a show? #divineschism #livemusic #oxford #oxfordmusicscene
All right got some lineup news and a new poster for you to feast your eyes on! Joining the magnificent Tulpa from Leeds on Saturday 30th May at New River Studios we’re delighted to say we’ll be hosting a range of noisy slacker indie poppers to round out this killer bill, in the form of Publicity Department, Illness, and Trapdoor! The 90s vibes will be strong!
Timings likely to be:
Doors: 7:00
Trapdoor: 7:30
Illness: 8:15
Publicity Department: 9
Tulpa: 9:45
Publicity Department is the solo project of Sean Brook, singer and primary songwriter from London’s alt-rock triers Brunch (“the lost middle ground of Los Campesinos! and Fugazi I didn’t know I’d always wanted”– For The Rabbits). Taking influence from his songwriting heroes David Gedge, Brian Wilson, John Cale and John Shuttleworth; Publicity Department was intended as an outlet for Brook’s pop sensibilities whilst retaining the fuzzed-out feel of 90s alt-rock.
Illness is a slacker math duo formed in Brighton two decades ago to belt out melodic electric guitar and drums instrumentals at high volume. The pair took a break after multiple UK and Europe tours and a 12” album but have now reformed in London and are still as chaotic and catchy as ever.
Trapdoor are a varied and experimental indie band with influences from XTC, Pere Ubu, Cardiacs, Wire, Kate Bush, Squeeze and The Fall, but mostly inspired by music and where it wants to lead. Their songs reference grumpy cheerleaders, crisps, flying ant day, TV shows, school discos, self-care and loving music.
Divine Schism and Strummer Room Records co-promo in Banbury as we host Lucy Leave as part of the celebrations for the release of their brand new album “Feelings Explorer I & II” - they play the Apothecary Tap on Fri 5th June with Family of Noise and Funsponge!
Lucy Leave are fast becoming one of Oxford’s most exciting underground exports. Fiercely independent and sonically adventurous, they’ve built a reputation for electrifying live shows “Feelings Explorer I & II” is their boldest statement yet — expansive, urgent, and unapologetically honest.
Joining them on the night are Family of Noise — purveyors of post-punk / alternative rock instrumental noise nuggets and firm advocates of “3” being the magic number.
Opening proceedings are Leamington duo Funsponge, who describe themselves as “young, angry, morally bankrupt.” Equal parts chaotic and captivating, they bring raw energy, biting attitude, and riffs that refuse to behave.
Three bands. One album celebration. A night of noise, nuance, and no holding back. Jump in and see you there! #divineschism #livemusic #oxfordmusicscene #banbury
Oh my, we’re taking over the Yard at Modern Art Oxford on Thurs 4th June for a special show to celebrate the release of Lucy Leave’s third album ‘Feelings Explorer I & II’ which came out via Divine Schism last month.
With this record, Lucy Leave have upped their game in all senses. In this special collaborative show at Modern Art Oxford, they invite listeners - their fans, their friends, intrigued strangers, all of us - to join them for an evening of exploring feelings together. We’ll be joined by Hannah Lou Larsen, Oxford’s Danish folk songwriter and storyteller extraordinaire who is riding on the wave of her latest ‘Peach Pine Ocean’ EP release.
Lucy Leave (joined by some friends) will be playing songs from their new record and welcoming the crowd to draw, talk, paint, and otherwise express themselves over the course of the evening.
A family-friendly, wheelchair-accessible show outside in the Yard at Modern Art Oxford from 6pm on Thurs 4th June - join us! #oxford #modernartoxford #divineschism #oxfordmusicscene
Poster and lineup news! Delighted to announce the opener for Civil Villains’ Oxford album launch! As well as the magnificent A-Tota-So from Nottingham we’ll have Oxford’s own EB! Fri 15th May at the Library!
EB’s spoken word electronic style has given way to something darker of late - channeling Peaches by way of Napalm Death, inspired no doubt by her awesome Altar club nights and love of all things metal. We can’t wait to see what noisy treats she has in store!
It’ll be a noisy and fun night, make sure you come and join us!
#oxfordmusic #oxfordgigs #livemusic #divineschism #diyshows
