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Birmingham Festival 23 kicks off this July, providing 10 days of free events to mark the one-year anniversary of the city hosting the Commonwealth Games. Looking back to last summer is one thing, but organisers also see the festival as a way of showcasing Birmingham’s cultural offering. The opening event will set that agenda nicely - as What’s On discovers...
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the Commonwealth Games turned the spotlight on Birmingham, and the city responded by hosting a fabulous sporting spectacle as well as the wonderful Birmingham 2022 Festival of events.
The Games were always meant to leave a lasting legacy, and not just in terms of sporting involvement, encouragement and infrastructure. The six-month Birmingham Festival, commissioned and supported by the city council and - according to an independent report - attended by nearly 2.5 million people, is something organisers hope has whetted the city’s appetite for the arts. The aim is to develop a new international festival for the city and region.
There are plenty of reasons to do so - the report also revealed that the festival brought more than £10million into the region’s economy, with 96 per cent of festival event attendees rating their experience either good or excellent. Eight out of 10 residents of the region said it had improved their perception of where they live.
Raidene Carter, the festival’s creative director, was delighted with the event’s impact: “It showed the true power of bringing arts & culture together with a major sporting event, making the cultural festival and the sporting festival greater than the sum of their parts.”
The success has prompted the creation of Birmingham Festival 23, a 10-day event - mirroring the dates of last year’s Commonwealth Games - that will bring a range of live music and performance, creative and participatory activities, as well as big-screen content, to Centenary Square.
Designed to be an opportunity for audiences, artists, local communities and volunteers to come together to watch, listen, relax, dance and play, the event will not only look back at last year’s wonderful summer but also forward into the future - as Raidene explains: “We only look back to move forward, like the mythical West African Sankofa Bird (or a ‘push-me, pull-you’ if that’s more your kind of thing).
“Whilst this year’s festival will pay homage to the Games, it will do so by creating another quality platform for homegrown talent, giving more space to showcase our creative communities, and by inviting new voices to take centre stage.”
Friday 28 July will see the festival’s opening event set the scene. While it will acknowledge the success of last year - and the people who made it a success - there’s a definite eye on the future too.
“We think Birmingham deserves a massive pat on the back for what we all achieved last year,” Raidene continues, “and we want everyone who comes along to remember that they played some part and should feel an enormous sense of pride.
The show will be entertaining and rouse positive emotions. By re-looking at some of the highlights of last year, but through a new cultural lens, we hope to recreate some of that big ‘summer of 2022’ atmosphere, relive some of the memories and, importantly, show just how creative the Games were.”
The event will see house DJ Echo Juliet and BBC Asian Network’s Bobby Friction building excitement on the square ahead of the show, which will be hosted by BBC presenter Ayo Akinwolere and DJ & Radio 1Xtra presenter Kaylee Golding.
Initial entertainment will be provided by Birmingham 2022’s mascot, Perry, Bhangra group the Dhol Blasters, and a host of medal-winning athletes from last year’s Games, who will form a parade prior to a performance by Birmingham Conservatoire-trained mezzo-soprano Samantha Oxborough, who sang the national anthem at the 2022 Opening Ceremony.
The final part of the evening is due to take place on the fountain area of Centenary Square in front of the festival stage, when Ayo and Kaylee will introduce speeches and interview guests before a live-music finale courtesy of Birmingham Music Archive.
The music show will feature an eclectic mix of local talent and draw heavily from last year’s On Record album - a specially commissioned 11-track ‘sonic love letter’ to Birmingham which has had more than 100 million digital listens in 233 countries around the world, as well as an equally incredible 2.5 million live streams during the Games.
Artists who appeared on the album and are set to perform at the festival’s opening event include singer, dancer & multi-instrumentalist Bambi Bains, Urban Music Award winner SANITY, and the night’s headline act, Friendly Fire Band.
Jez Collins of Birmingham Music Archive said: “We called the On Record album ‘A Sonic Love Letter To Birmingham’ but we’ve tweaked that a little this year so it’s a Sonic ‘Live’ Letter instead! People can come and hear the music, see some of the bands who were on the record and really get the festival up and running with a bit of a party vibe.
“I’m so excited to be part of the team programming the opening night. Last summer was so joyous, and I was so proud that On Record helped to soundtrack the Games. To hear the songs in the stadium and at the live sites was magic, but this event promises something we didn’t manage to make possible last year, with three On Record artists performing live together for the first time.”
Reliving the glory days of last summer while creating something that could become a regular fixture is what the event is all about, says Jez.
“I think there’s a real desire and aspiration not to let last year be forgotten, and I hope Birmingham Festival 23 is the start of something that will become an annual event which will grow, get bigger and change. We won’t always be celebrating or looking back at the Commonwealth Games; we want to use the festival as a springboard.
“For me, it’s gonna be 10 days of brilliant arts & culture in the city, and the sort of excitement that’s hard to quantify but you could feel it walking round Birmingham last year. There was a real buzz, a real happiness and a real sense of pride and excitement, so I’m hoping these 10 days will be like that. And the opening night is going to be really special.”
The opening event takes place in Birmingham’s Centenary Square on Friday 28 July and kicks off Birmingham Festival 23, which runs until Sunday 6 August - birminghamfestival23.co.uk
MEET THE STARS
The opening event on Friday 28 July will see a host of artists and special guests come together to bring a party atmosphere to Centenary Square. Here’s our guide to who’s who...
The opening event of any festival is key to setting the tone and getting people fired up for what’s to come, and organisers of Birmingham Festival 23 hope their first night will do just that. It’ll certainly get things off to a lively start, with a variety of musical acts set to get people dancing and moving about at the all-standing event (although there’s an accessible viewing platform for those who need it). Accessibility has been one of the primary interests of festival organisers, and the event will also be BSL interpreted and audio described.
Picking highlights of the evening’s entertainment is no easy task. When we asked Jez Collins of Birmingham Music Archive, who helped organise the musical finale, who to look out for, his response was “All of it!” Thanks a lot, Jez!
When pushed, he did admit the opening set from DJs Echo Juliet and Bobby Friction was something he was particularly excited about.
“It’s a very special DJ collaboration to kick off the night,” he said. “It’s something that hasn’t been done before, as far as I’m aware, so people should definitely come down and listen to that.
“For our bit on the night, we’ve got Bambi Bains, SANITY and Friendly Fire Band, who were all on the On Record album, are all amazing performers and have all gone on to bigger things. Not long after On Record last year, Bambi was playing Glastonbury, for example.
“I’m confident audiences who come down will experience some great music that crosses different genres. There’s a bit of Asian-Bhangra pop & soul with Bambi, there’s SANITY, whose sound is going from rap to jazzy funk & soul, and then we’ve got Friendly Fire Band, who are the party group of all groups and will end the night on a real high.
“I’m really looking forward to watching the very last bit of their performance - as the crowd disperses, they’ll go out with a little bit of a skank, dancing and celebrating into the night. I know I’m biased, but I’d say all of those.”
As well as the finale featuring the On Record acts, the event will also include performances by a number of other stars from last year. Among them are Bhangra group the Dhol Blasters, Samantha Oxborough - who performed the national anthem at the 2022 Opening Ceremony - The Choir With No Name - who were part of the Wondrous Stories event that opened last year’s festival - and community BSL choir Music In Motion, who responded to the festival’s Made In Brum open call and should provide a musical moment for everyone to join in with.
All the performers are aiming to get the festival party started in their own unique way, and none more so than the Friendly Fire Band, who are looking forward to rolling out It’s A Brum Ting, which they recorded for On Record. The song has since become an anthem for the city.
“We knew it was a catchy song, but we had no idea that Brummies would take it so much to their hearts,” says the band’s guitarist, Robin Giorno. “To hear it sung back at us is amazing! And it’s not just popular in Birmingham - it’s part of our set and always gets a great reaction wherever we’re playing. We can’t wait to play it on the opening night of Birmingham Festival 23 and get the whole crowd singing along. What a way to start 10 days of fun in Brum!”
Singer, model & dancer Bambi learned bhangra dancing, won talent shows and mastered a variety of musical instruments while still at school in Birmingham. Her debut single, Chakkar, was released in 2017. Follow-ups Retro Rarri and Duniya have earned her global acclaim, while bilingual tune Khavaal mixes her Punjabi heritage with a strong R&B vibe.
Mainstays of Birmingham’s reggae scene, these international musicians have been exciting festival crowds for years, their fusion of traditional roots, dancehall and one-drop rhythms creating a suitably ‘fiery’ brand of party music. Their anthemic It’s A Brum Ting became the soundtrack to the summer of 2022 and was used by the BBC for its Commonwealth Games broadcast music.
Dhol Blasters are the world’s first, oldest and biggest dhol outfit, created and managed by Bhangra music pioneer and godfather Gurcharan Jit Mall, aka King G Mall. The band have been spreading their infectious brand of Dhol music and performing around the world for more than 55 years.
DJ, television & radio presenter Bobby is one of the faces of the BBC Asian Network, as well as a documenter and historian of Asian music culture. He’s won multiple Sony Radio Academy awards, was a regular DJ at the Custard Factory’s legendary Shaanti club and is a recognised specialist in desi beats. When he hits the decks, be prepared to dance!
Formerly known as Lady Sanity, the Erdington-born rapper gained international acclaim for her captivating performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Australia. The urban musician has since expanded her musical palette to incorporate elements of jazz, funk & soul. Her highly anticipated debut album is due out next month.
The artist formerly known as Emily Jones is a classically trained musician who fell in love with electronic music and became a DJ & producer. She has a club residency in London but can also be found behind the decks at Hockley Social Club, where her DJ sets often become a journey through deep, percussive, organic and soulful house sounds.
A graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the mezzo-soprano singer has seen her career take off since she sang the national anthem at the Opening Ceremony of last year’s Commonwealth Games. As well as performing in a number of operas, she’s also appeared on TV’s Antiques Road Trip!
THE CHOIR WITH NO NAME
Six choirs across the country go under this banner. All are run with the aim of building bonds and communities with homeless and marginalised people. Founded on the premise that singing makes you feel good, they meet once a week for a cuppa, a catch-up and 90 minutes of gung-ho singing, after which they enjoy a well-earned meal cooked by volunteers!
MUSIC IN MOTION
This choir of deaf, hearing-impaired and hearing people promote British Sign Language (BSL), bring music to deaf people and raise deaf awareness. They use BSL and Signed English to interpret the lyrics of popular songs and perform them all over the country to enthusiastic response!