Words by Olly MacNamee / Pics courtesy of Mostly Jazz Festival
Running from 10-12th July, Mostly Jazz , Funk & Soul Festival returns to Moseley Park in Birmingham. Advance purchase/adult day tickets are priced at £49, with a full weekend pass costing £94.
Concessions are available for families and children – for further event info, click here
**At the time of writing Saturday 11th July is already sold out, and it’s likely Friday will go the same way soon. You may want to take that into account as you read through this preview.
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Moseley’s hummus eating, salad tossing denizens could be in for a shock at this year’s Mostly Jazz & Soul Festival, as Public Enemy, still rap’s most politically ferocious and relevant group some 25 years or so on, descend onto the peaceful suburban tranquility of Moseley Park – for the opening night headline set on Friday 10th July.
Public Enemy replace the previously announced Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, but I doubt anyone will be too upset, considering the quality of their replacements; maybe just the neighbours. And with a back catalogue as long as Flavour Flav’s arrest record, they will no doubt bring the noise and then some.
Also along for the ride are fun-loving rap outfit The Pharcyde, Soul-Jazz artist Gregory Porter, the fabulous and fun brass band ensemble The Hackney Colliery Band (who’s Prodigy Medley is a good indication of what they’re all about) and a man who represents every genre in event’s the title, Roy Ayers.
There are some local talents too, such as Free School – who are launching their new single, ‘Love Calling’, a week before at the Hare & Hounds. Mental note, the Hare & Hounds will be hosting a number of after show parties across the festival weekend – starting with The Nextmen on July 10th.
Doing double duty will be the ever-popular Craig Charles, spinning the wheels of steel both at the festival on the Saturday (possibly the reason for the sell-out, one imagines) and then carrying on the party at the Moseley Dance Centre with a Northern Soul all-nighter.
Alongside this pretty remarkable lineup is a plethora of stalls and vendors – selling the usual festival fair, as well as providing plenty for the kids to do. Watch out for the Kids’ Jazz Workshop on Sunday 12th July hosted by trumpet player Matt Gough; ideal for 3-8 year-olds.
For a festival that only started in 2010, Mostly Jazz has cemented itself onto the city’s summer calendar – attracting a lot of both home grown attention and that from further afield. In a nutshell, it’s likely to sell out.
So what are you waiting for? If you don’t believe the hype, you may well miss out. You haven’t been warned.
Mostly Jazz, Soul & Funk 2015 – official trailer
Mostly Jazz Festival 2015 will be held on Moseley Park, Birmingham, from 10-12th June.
For more about the Mostly Jazz Festival, including full line up and programme details, online tickets & directions, visit http://mostlyjazz.co.uk/