Birmingham, Sandwell & Westside Jazz Festival

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THE SHOW GOES ON! THE JAZZ FESTIVAL RIDES AGAIN!

The 36th annual Birmingham, Sandwell & Westside Jazz Festival will take place, not in July, as originally scheduled, but from Friday 16th to Sunday 25th October.

With 36 events it won’t be the usual Jazz and Blues extravaganza our audiences have grown accustomed to but there will some of UK’s finest musicians alongside our local talent - and even the bawdy, good time blues of The Jim Dandies from Bassano del Grappa, in Italy.

As well as straight–ahead performances there will be a record session, Jazz film show and shows will be streamed live from West Bromwich Central Library, Wednesbury Library and from deep in The Chilterns, which can be viewed live, as they happen in the comfort of the Brasshouse and the Bulls Head in front of a decent pint of Brummagem beer.

All venues, musicians and festival staff will be strictly adhering to government Covid19 ruling and singers will have a Perspex screen between them and the audience.

Festival Director Jim Simpson said “this is the third time this year we have constructed the festival. The July event, with more than 200 programmes planned, was floored by the virus. We then delivered a 10 day Virtual Festival over the dates originally planned for the annual event, and here we are with what promises to be a most welcome celebration of some great music. We’ve encountered a bunch of delays and diversions but we’re going to press ahead fully in the expectation of a great event in an unexpected October heatwave until circumstances tells us we can’t. 

It’s what we do!”

The full festival programme has now been released online at www.birminghamjazzfestival.com 
 

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Location: Multiple venues

Running since 1985, Birmingham, Sandwell & Westside Jazz Festival is England’s longest-established jazz and blues festival and one of Europe’s biggest free jazz parties.

The festival presents more than 150 performances alongside workshops, talks, exhibitions and masterclasses, and almost all of it is free to attend. Performances take place in shopping centres, streets and squares, bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels, art galleries, markets, libraries, parks, railway stations, canal boats, and sometimes even on buses and trains!

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From Friday 16^th July, every day until Sunday 1^st August this region will once again become the centre of jazz and blues interest with 136 performances, 129 of them free admission, featuring 203 musicians in 52 bands appearing in 63 venues throughout Birmingham, Sandwell, Sutton Coldfield and Solihull as well as shows in Dudley and Redditch.

The 37^th Birmingham, Sandwell & Westside Jazz Festival features Dixieland, Bebop, Modern Jazz, Swing, Rhythm & Blues – and there’s more.

Everyone, experienced or not, is invited to attend the Jitterbug and Charleston dance lessons, Ukulele and Harmonica Workshops, to join the Festival Sketch Crawl or to get involved in the photography – and that’s all free as well.

 

Date	Time	Venue	Activity
Sat 17th July	12:00	The Bulls Head	Sketcher’s Meet-up
Mon 19th July	17:00	The Bulls Head	Photographer’s Meet-up
Tues 20th July	14:00	The Arcadian	Strictly Jitterbug
Tues 20th July	16:00	The Bulls Head	Cigar Box Guitar Workshop
Sat 24th July	12:00	Caffe Nero, Brindleyplace	Strictly Jitterbug
Tues 27th July	15:00	The Bulls Head	Blues Harmonica Workshop
Sun 1st August	12:00	Caffe Nero, Brindleyplace	You’re Never Alone With A Uke
Sun 1st August	15:00	Velvet Music Rooms	You’re Never Alone With A Uke

 

Performances will pop up in pubs, cafes, museums, libraries, hotels, public squares, markets, parks, shopping centres, restaurants – just about everywhere.

Bands and music lovers from throughout the UK will join local fans for the UK’s biggest and best free jazz party.

The printed free festival programme is available from all festival venues as well as from The Festival Information Centre at The Bulls Head on Bishopsgate Street, off Broad Street in Birmingham – or by contacting the festival office by telephone on 0121 454 7020 or by email admin@bigbearmusic.com