1. Miriam Jones

Miriam Jones is a Canadian songwriter living in Oxford and I reckon she’s amazing, so I asked her to be my first guest on the Café Sessions. She played us two songs and we chatted about songwriting, capos, the Oxford scene and the warming qualities of different sock types.

After a couple of years in Oxford, Miriam has exhausted the possibilities of the Jericho Tavern. Now she plays most of her gigs in London, and puts lots of stuff on the internet. Last year she released a series of monthly recordings, the Solitary Songs, which are stunning. Her new album, Fire-lives is out December 2010.

We talked about how it's difficult to even get a gig if you can't be loud or bring fifty drunken students through the door. But then we cheered up a bit, brought out the ukulele and finished the session with a cheeky version of Miriam's song Fancy Free.