Celebrating the music of Joni Mitchell, Hejira featuring Jana Varga on vocals are appearing for this year’s Wickham Festival on Friday 31 July.
“The UK’s best and most convincing take on Joni Mitchell”
The Guardian
Hejira is a project that has rapidly blossomed from an initial ‘one-off gig’ into a highly successful touring band, set up to celebrate the music of Joni Mitchell. In particular, the band performs the masterpiece works that Mitchell captured on her albums, ‘Court and Spark’ through to ‘Wild Things Run Fast’. Hejira comprises 7 highly experienced, world-class musicians whose primary concern is to serve the music.
Within three years, Hejira have clocked up 130 + shows, including many prestigious venues and festivals; they will be performing 40-50 shows in 2026 including theatres and festivals in America, this July.
Hejira have produced several high-quality videos which have now been viewed approximately 1.5 million times! Their rendition of ‘Help Me’ was cited by the internationally renowned critic and musicologist Ted Gioia as one of his ‘Favourite Videos on Youtube’.
The band comprises:
Jana Varga ~ vocals & guitar
Ollie Weston ~ tenor & soprano saxophones
Chris Eldred ~ keyboards
Pete Oxley ~ guitar
Dave Jones ~ bass
Rick Finlay ~ drums
Marc Cecil ~ percussion
“I was mesmerized by this interpretation of the great music of the legendary Joni Mitchell with illustrious band led by Pete Oxley”
John Etheridge (UK’s primary guitar player [Soft Machine; Andy Summers; Stephane Grappelli etc.)
“Anyone who loves Joni will find these performances entrancing”
Lynne Truss (best-selling author and broadcaster)











