It’s great to see The Flyover Show becoming a regular item on the city’s events calendar. The third Flyover Show will take place under the Hockley Flyover on 29 May 2010. Details are still coming but it’d worth saving the date now.
The Facebook event has some info:
For the first time this show explores the specific theme of black female identity. The headline artists, include current Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle, Eska Mtungwazi and Bridgette Amafoh, all successful and highly original creatives, achieving widespread recognition without compromising their art or femininity.
There’ll also be the usual vignettes, poetry, dance and graffiti all corralled together by award winning saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch.
I found this summary of Artsfest 2008 over at CLUB:
- Friday is funny light show and parade day
- Saturday is fireworks day
- Sunday is Kerrangfest day with the Levellers
Which is pretty good but, although the official programme’s not out yet, I’ve been having a bit of a rummage about to see what’s on.
Friday
I’ve already mentioned Light Night. One of the buildings to be illuminated is the Town Hall which will be hosting a free event from 8pm on the Friday featuring Manga, Soweto Kinch, The Sub Ensemble and Maylight.
Also on Friday there’s the free Reggae Rockz Festival 2008 from 8pm to 11pm in Centenary Square. Unfortunately on the Facebook event page the organisers spend all their time bleating about a lack of promotion from Artsfest and don’t get round to telling us much about what they’l be doing. The Beat are playing, that much is sure. The Reggae Rockz website manages to be even less informative. Ah well.
Saturday
It looks like Dholfest 2008 is the biggie here – an attempt to break the world record for the most dhol players in one place (currently 314 players in Sandwell in 1999). They’re aiming for 500 this time. This one will be held in Victoria and Centenary Squares.
Meanwhile, the Custard Factory will be hosting a day of hip hop with Mylz from Heducation and Madman the Greatest down to perform.
Sunday
Sunday is Kerrangfest day with This Beautiful Thief and The Levellers the only bands I’ve spotted so far.
Across the weekend
Spaghetti Gazetti has info about the weekend’s poetry performances.
This year the ShortCuts film programme will be extended slightly, with “a more relaxed, experimental programme of films made by local and international film makers” on the Sunday and a set of fims programmed in conjunction with Deaffest across the weekend. There’s more about those in this post from the Artsfest blog.
There’s much more to come and I’ll let you know when I see a full programme lying around the internet somewhere.
Soweto Kinch‘s slightly-delayed third album ‘B19: Part 2 Basement Fables’ is due out shortly and, in readiness, the award-winning saxophonist/MC/producer is off on a short tour to showcase the new material. The tour starts at the Town Hall on Friday 25 July.
The twist is that
Young people aged under 21 from the northwest Birmingham postcode areas of B8, B18, B19, B20 and B21 can collect 2 free tickets per person by quoting ‘Soweto Ticket Offer’ at the Town Hall Box Office. The offer is subject to availability, to secure tickets reserve in advance on 0121 780 3333.
For everyone else, ticket prices are £12.50.
The Birmingham Post Power 50 (tremble at their might!) has just been announced. With last year’s list having an impressive showing from the arts world, interest at CiB could almost have been described as ‘mild’.
Ok, so it’s easy to be cynical about these things (and it’s open season on the Birmingham Post site – all the winners’ profiles are commentable), but there’s little sense in detracting from the recognition given to the following folks who work hard on the city’s arts & culture scene.
So, from CiB (hating the game, not the playa since 2007) hearty congrats go to:
While I’m at it, the Birmingham meeja luminaries who would like to thank their friends, family, deity of choice, etc and so on are:
The big list of movers and shakers is on the Birmingham Post website which, like I say, they’ve made an effort to do all nice so you can comment on how brilliant and deserving everyone is.
But feel free to vent your spleen in the comments here if you feel the need.
