The first solo gig with a home crowd, lots of whom seemed to be personal friends - what nicer atmosphere for a chilly Wednesday night? As I joined unlikely folk legend John Spiers and his friends I wondered to myself if he'd be able to fill a big church with just him and a squeezebox.

Well, first thing to note is that he brought a veritable smorgasbord of squeezable instruments and swapped between them at each tune - using them on stage makes them tax deductible apparently. And John and his collection of instruments and tunes kept us all rapt for nearly two hours.

Swinging from traditional tunes to commissions and compositions John gave us all the stories and histories, whilst playing an instrument that looks a lot like patting your head and rubbing your tummy (or maybe writing the Iliad in morse code on your head and knitting on your tummy).

The kind of performer who smiles broadly when he gets to the fun bit of the jig, Spiers is as charismatic as he is obviously talented. If he missed a note I certainly didn't notice.

This gig was a fundraiser for Folk Weekend Oxford happening all over the city in April, where Spiers will be performing again. If you like your tunes cheerful and your musicians accomplished I can't think of a better recommendation.