Well, 2016 has been quite a year. We’ve left the EU, Trump is set to become president of America, and we’ve lost what seems like a never-ending list of treasured celebrities, such as David Bowie, George Michael, Lemmy, Prince, Carrie Fisher, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Frank Sinatra Jr and Merle Haggard.
But what has 2016 held in store for Birmingham? We’re going to take a look at some of the most important moments in Birmingham music during the last 12 months. From album releases to the biggest gigs, it’s certainly been an eventful year for Birmingham.
New Releases
We’ve had quite the mix of new releases in Birmingham this year. January saw us get a new Black Sabbath release in the wake of their global, career-ending tour – “The End EP”. Whilst the tour has yet to reach the UK, the EP has been leaked online since its release at the start of 2016, featuring four new songs and four live songs, giving us that last fix of metal before the band wrap things up at the Genting Arena in February 2017.
Lady Leshurr gave us a new EP featuring all five of her ‘Queen’s Speech’ freestyles on one handy disc. With ‘Queen’s Speech 4’ going viral and racking up an impressive 36 million views on Youtube. The E.P. was met with critical acclaim, being praised for her biting wit and vocals.
JAWS finally released their second full length album, “Simplicity”, towards the end of the year. With a more mature and focused sound from a band that are still testing the waters of identity, the album is a brilliant slice of well-written dream pop, proudly flying the flag for the original B-Town bands.
Speaking of B-Town, second wave band Pleasure House released not only new EP “Show Your Colours”, but two new standalone singles in the form of ‘Dreaming Slowly’ and ‘Save Me’. Whilst the “Show Your Colours” EP stays true to the band’s B-Town roots, ‘Dreaming Slowly’ takes the band down a more rock-y route, and ‘Save Me’ introduces a much more autotune-infused electronic element to the band’s music.
Beatboxing guitar man Ed Geater gave us TWO smashing EPs through his Soundcloud this year – “Barriers” and “The Unseen”. Geater has a big future; his combination of beatboxing, singing and strong production is not only accessible, it’s interesting and has an edge that we don’t usually get from acoustic musicians.
Local rockabilly outfit Harry and the Howlers have been putting out new songs all year through their Soundcloud, with the latest being ‘Devil in a Push Up Bra’ – a stomping, sassy and catchy tune that sounds like it came in a time machine from the Wild West. You can catch them live at The Night Owl this February and see what all the fuss is about!
Finally, Laura Mvula released her long-awaited sophomore album, “The Dreaming Room”. The album has been met with universal acclaim, and features famous faces Nile Rogers and Wretch 32. ‘Overcome’ – featuring Nile Rogers – did particularly well, with the artistic music video garnering over 1 million views.
Of course, we’ve only really scratched the surface of brilliant music coming out of Birmingham this year. We’ve always had a bit of a cultural melting pot reputation when it comes to music – whether we’re creating heavy metal, championing the reggae revival, storming London with B-Town or housing a female-led emergence of artists making waves, there’s always something going on. It’s up to you to get out there and listen for it! Meanwhile we’ve compiled the best new bits to come out of Birmingham into a handy playlist for you all! Enjoy!
Live Music
2016 has seen Birmingham continue to show undying support to the live music industry. With a huge amount of music venues hosting all sorts of music, the live scene has continued to grow. Venues such as The Hare and Hounds, The Flapper, Scruffy Murphy’s, O2 Institute, The Genting Arena, The Rainbow and The Sunflower Lounge have played host to a huge amount of international, national and local acts, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Limp Bizkit, Babymetal, The Human League, Super Furry Animals, Turnover, Alien Ant Farm, Cancer Bats, Motionless in White, Massive Attack, Black Stone Cherry, Hozier, Rat Boy, Bugzy Malone, Slipknot, Runrig, Everything Everything, 21 Pilots, Black Peaks, Milk Teeth, Wet Wet Wet, Youth Club, BREEZE, Lady Leshurr, The 1975, Adele, a-Ha, Hans Zimmer, Transviolet, Barry Manilow, ZZ Top, Justin Bieber, Brawlers, The Sherlocks, Black Honey, Less Than Jake, Super Hans and many, many more. Our city’s live scene has never been more active.
Music for Young People
As a city, Birmingham has always fostered the next generation of musicians, and 2016 has only furthered this notion. With the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Metropolitan and Birmingham City University all teaching a myriad of music courses, as well as the Birmingham Conservatoire, we’ve never really had issues. But, in 2017 we definitely won’t with the introduction of a new BIMM college in Digbeth! With courses focusing on performance, business and writing, the new BIMM looks set to produce the next generation of Brummie musicians.
We Pushed Things for-Wards!
Well, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs right if we didn’t mention our own achievements this year. Not only did we successfully launch for-Wards, we announced our first wave of composers, we started our community outreach, we successfully hit our Pledge target AND we hosted a brilliant and successful Christmas fundraiser! We’d say we’ve had a pretty good year, and in 2017 we’re going to continue moving things for-Wards.
