Our story

Oxford is a great city. It’s small, but there’s always something going on. So, a lot of musicians here know each other. We cross over in different bands and orchestras. It makes for a pretty incredible musical melting pot.

Back in 2007 there was some lottery funding floating around and one of our founders, Simon, decided that it was time for Oxford to have something new in the musical mix. He’d carried the vision of an Oxford-based street band in his head for some time, so this felt like the moment! He invited a good friend of his, Tim Hill, the baritone sax player for Somerset-based Tongues of Fire, to come and help get the project off the ground. They put out a message looking for keen brass, wind and percussionists to come together to form a new sound on the streets of the city.

Flyers went up. The word got out. And the idea for Horns of Plenty started to take shape.

On the day of Cowley Road Carnival that year, about 30 of us all gathered in a circle on Cowley Road. Tim came up to lead us and brought some of his Tongues of Fire compadrés. We played organically, simple street music, with incredible solos laid over the top. The response from the crowd that day was amazing. The buzz was infectious.

And so, we decided we couldn’t stop there! We found a rehearsal space in East Oxford Community Centre. We found a name. We found our style and started building a repertoire of street sounds that we and our audiences loved.

We started out playing schools fetes and street parties. We played Cowley Road Carnival and Oxford Pride. We played May Morning. We played anywhere and everywhere.

And we still do. Now, you’ll find us at Truck Festival, at street music gatherings around Europe and even marauding around the centre of Oxford on occasion. But we have stayed close to our roots. We’re a community band, built by the community and brining music to our community.

Over the years we’ve grown from this spontaneous beginning into something special. We’re a group of about 35 now, boasting everything from the soprano sax, right up at the top of the register, all the way through to the sousaphone, pumping out the bassline. We’ve got players from all walks of life and all over the globe.

But wherever you find us, you ‘ll see smiling faces, tapping toes and plenty of happiness!