First published in March 1991, it was originally titled Curfew, and continued under that name until the end of 1994, when the main venues in Oxford - The Venue, the Jericho Tavern, and the Hollybush - closed down temporarily and there was little music scene to cover. Curfew had the earliest reviews and interviews with Radiohead and Supergrass. In July 1995, publication started anew as Nightshift, ahead of the opening of venues The Zodiac and The Point.
Content
Each month has a feature on one local artist or group, with their picture appearing on the front cover, and an interview inside. There are occasional exceptions to this format, for example the November 2010 issue featured a round up of the Metal scene, and July 2010 covered Truck Festival. The magazine includes local music news, new release, gig, and demo, reviews, and a gig guide for the month. Advertisements support the magazine's production and distribution. In the Demossection, editor Munro reviews demos sent by local musicians, with no pretence of being unbiased. The reviews are entirely based upon his opinions and preferences, but — despite sometimes harsh words for music deemed lacking — there is genuine constructive criticism, and many bands later submit improved demos. The best and worst entries in a month are put in Demo of the month and The Demo dumper, respectively. The instructions for submitting demos include the warning "If you can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo". The web site of the magazine features PDF downloads of the magazine since 2005, and a bulletin board for local musicians, fans, and promoters.
The Punt
From 1997 until 2016 Nightshift organised The Punt, an annual music event typically featuring around 20 unsigned Oxfordshire-based bands in five venues around Oxford. The Punt was originally conceived during the warm-up for Oxford Sound City in 1997. Among the acts that received early exposure after being picked to play at The Punt were Young Knives, Stornoway, Little Fish, Fixers and Elizabeth, the band featuring a teenage Yannis Phillipakis and Jack Bevan, later of Foals.
