Bossaphonik Presents Sheelanagig + The Balkan Wanderers

Name: Bossaphonik Presents Sheelanagig + The Balkan Wanderers
Start: 2025-11-21T20:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-11-22T01:30:00+00:00
Location: Cowley Workers Social Club, OX4 3LZ Oxford, United Kingdom

Schedule

Fri, 21 Nov, 2025 at 08:00 pm to Sat, 22 Nov, 2025 at 01:30 am

UTC+00:00

Location

Cowley Workers Social Club, OX4 3LZ Oxford, United Kingdom | Oxford, EN

It’s the time of year to embrace a new season and here at Bossaphonik it’s also a chance to enjoy a somewhat different musical flavour to the evening. There’s a unique double bill of bands on the menu with a theme of European folk dance music as we look forward with relish to Sheelanagig and The Balkan Wanderers.
Sheelanagig have been whipping up a storm of foot-stomping, roof-raising, high-energy live folk, for nigh on twenty years. With an arsenal of fiddle, soaring flute, pounding drums, rhythmic guitar, deep double bass and a sprinkle of fairy dust they spin melodies that have set feet flying all across the globe. Their shows are a heady mix of raucous dance medleys and thoughtfully crafted original pieces feverishly brimming with fire, flair and finesse. Floors tremble and windows rattle in their presence; these rapturous minstrels are not to be missed! Drawing deep from a bountiful well of European folk traditions, from medieval melodies to modern grooves, from baroque to folk-rock, Sheelanagig’s irresistible alchemy makes it impossible to stand still. Their infectious energy and mischievous stage craft are matched only by their impeccable musicianship- delighting festival crowds and intimate venues alike. Now, in 2025, they mark twenty years of tuneful trickery with the release of “St Congar’s Walking Stick”— heralding a new dawn for Sheelanagig. In this thrilling new chapter one feels the clout of twenty years' experience, bolstered and ignited by the drive of a daring new frontier in UK folk.
"What a joy… a good night out guaranteed" Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
"The musicianship is tight and intense" Songlines Magazine
Check out a full Sheelanagig performance at Shrewsbury Folk Festival:

Check out Sheelanagig performing at Bossaphonik at The Cellar way back in 2011!

Opening the live proceedings this evening are one of the most renowned world music collectives to have hailed from Oxford, playing for the very first time at Bossaphonik - The Balkan Wanderers. Originally formed back in 2014, the band draw their inspiration from Balkan and related artists including Goran Bregovic, Saban Bajramovic and Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra along with Balkan punk/ska pioneers such as Gogol Bordello, Mano Negra and Dubioza Kolektiv.
The band have developed a rich original repertoire of superb upbeat East-meets-West material, often containing a mixture of languages and styles performed alongside traditional Eastern-European folk songs in their own unique way. Massively popular on the Oxford local scene, they have played at most local venues and festivals such as Cornbury, Common People, All Tamara’s Parties and The Oxford Punt and have also ventured afar to festivals such as Boomtown, Hoomstock Festival in Croatia and London’s Jamboree venue. They reformed in 2022 following a haitus since 2018 with new material and some new band members including the addition of accordionist Lisa Harker to become a 6 piece. Now sounding stronger and more accomplished than ever, Bossaphonik is delighted to host another top local act onto our stage, showcasing global dance-oriented sounds coming from the talent inherent to Oxford!
“This level of energy and fun is exactly what’s needed…” Nightshift Magazine
“The musical equivalent of a fiery shot of absinthe” Tim Hughes, Oxford Mail
Check out the band performing their version of “Talk Dirty” at Common People Festival:

Check out the band performing an original tune “Lost at Sea” at The Harcourt Arms earlier this year:

Following on from the live music as ever is a Bossaphonik club session with resident DJ Dan Ofer & DJ Badger treating the dancefloor til 1:30am to the sounds of…
Jazz Funk * Afrobeat * Highlife * Afro Jazz * Brazilica * Latin Jazz * Cumbia * Global Hip Hop * Balkan Beats * Middle Eastern Delights * Soul Jazz * Electro Swing * Global Grooves Galore * Nu Jazz Bizniz!
Friday 21st November
Bossaphonik Presents Sheelanagig + The Balkan Wanderers + Bossaphonik DJs
Cowley Workers Social Club, Between Towns Road. OX4 3LZ (Near Templars Square Shopping Centre. Regular buses 1 and 5 from City Centre go up Cowley Road and back til 2:55am. Stopping opposite the venue)
8pm – 1:30am
Live music starts at 9:30pm
**Greater savings on advance tickets**
£14 + £1.40 booking fee advance / £16 student ID on door / £19 door
Hope to see you there!