Words by Ed King
On Thursday 26th October, the Birmingham based ska/reggae collective, Kioko, perform a special home town show at the O2 Academy – with support from Ed Geater and Kofi Stone. 
Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £9 (+ booking fee) – as presented by DHP Family. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.
Birmingham reggae… not often you see those two words throw together these days, at least not unless Basil Gabbidon and friends are about to swagger on stage (and Gaw’d love ‘em when they do). But now this moniker can introduce a younger, leaner, smarter looking ensemble, as Kioko have been clawing their way across festival sites and music industry desks since their debut True What They Say EP back in 2014. And the seven piece have accumulated a fair amount of excitement too, bringing a fervent live show to pretty much every stage they grace… even if they do end up shouting the wrong town name to the crowd.
Picked up by BBC Introducing, Kioko have played respectable festivals including Glastonbury, Kendal Calling and Reading. But their support sets that have held some significant impact too – opening for luminaries including Dub Pistols, Lee Scratch Perry and The Wailers. So if they’re looking to build a portfolio of endorsement from the golden era of reggae, there’s only a few more until they get the complete set.
But Thursday 26th October is their show, with support from some more homespun talent in the form of hip hop producer and emcee Kofi Stone, and the one-man-six-string beat machine that is Ed Geater. And after chewing a diary for a few hours, we’ve landed on ‘STONKING’ as the line up’s official description.
Coming to the 600 capacity room at the O2 Academy, this is a big gig in more ways than one. But the momentum of love and support has been building behind it so we’re fingers crossed for a sell out – the heavens know the line up deserves one. So if you want to guarantee your place to see Kioko headline their homecoming, you might not want to not drag your ticket buying heels for to long.
‘Tired of Lying’ – Kioko
Kioko come to the O2 Academy on Thursday 26th October, with support from Ed Geater and Kofie Stone – as presented by DHP Family. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.
For more on Kioko, visit www.soundcloud.com/kiokomusicuk
For more on Ed Geater, visit www.edgeater.co.uk
For more on Kofi Stone, visit www.soundcloud.com/kofistone
For more from DHP Family, including all tours and venues, visit www.dhpfamily.com
For more from the O2 Academy, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham
