Sol Samba
Sol Samba, May Morning 2017 (video Tim Healey)
Formed in the summer of 1999, Sol Samba is a vibrant Brazilian percussion and dance group based in Oxford. One of the loudest and most eye-catching of the troupes appearing on May Morning, the band is nonetheless easy to miss. That is because, being louder than everyone else, Sol Samba waits for the morris to get well up the High Street before they begin drumming.
The band assembles in Longwall Street, at the corner with the High Street. Around 6.15am, Sol Samba proceeds up the High and stays there so as not to overwhelm events elsewhere in the city centre.
For more information visit www.solsamba.co.uk
The Horns on the High, May Morning 2022 (video Tim He3aley)
Horns of Plenty
An Oxford community street band, Horns of Plenty is a twelve-to-twenty-piece outfit which regularly appears in the High Street on May Morning, presenting their lively mix of township jazz, New Orleans, Afrobeat, soul, reggae and Balkan music.
The band was formed in 2007 for East Oxford’s Cowley Road Carnival and features all manner of brass, saxophones, clarinets and percussion.
Visit www.hornsofplenty.co.uk
The Horns, May Morning 2016 (video Tim Healey)
Highland Dancing
Dancing in the street, May Morning 2016 (video Tim Healey)
Highland dancing can be seen around 6-7.30 am in Radcliffe Square, just outside All Souls. It is organised by the Oxford University Scottish Dance Society. Visit www.ousds.web.ox.ac.uk
Pipe Major Roger Huth consults his notes, May Morning 2016 (photo Tim Healey)
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