9th November 2025

R and I visited the New Theatre in Oxford to watch Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. We arrived in plenty of time and eventually found a reasonable bar hidden away in the basement of the theatre, where we had a pre-show drink.

In the theatre, we had quite good seats with a great view. The show started with a 30-minute set from a solo artist called Luke Jackson. Then it was the interval; I’d ordered drinks from my seat, and they duly arrived at our seats!

Jools Holland and his huge band came on and performed miracles. Jools has a new drummer, Ed Richardson, who replaced Gilson Lavis. Gilson retired from the band last year, and sadly died on the 5th, four days before this show. The show featured a number of singers, including special guest Imelda May and resident singers Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall, and Sumudu Jayatilaka. Some great music with many solos.