Bringing the festival experience to people at home through online gigs
Festivals across the West Midlands are currently unable to welcome back visitors with many major cultural events and outdoor festivals such as Birmingham Pride, Download Festival and Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell Jazz Festival in 2020 either cancelled or postponed, causing an unprecedented impact to culture across the region.
While Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the sector, artists and organisers across the region have been busy finding innovative new ways of bringing the festival experience to people at home with live online performances and artist interviews, digital workshops and even beer deliveries.
Sofasonic Festival
From July 17 to 19
The team behind Supersonic Festival, hailed the “UK’s best small festival” by The Guardian in 2019, are bringing a weekend of online events today, tomorrow and Sunday.
The line-up includes a new Kids Gig (live stream) with one-man-band extravaganza ICHI, an immersive meditation and yoga from Do.omyoga (Kamellia Sara) and bingo hosted by hosted by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs.
These events are Pay As You Feel, with 25 per cent of all proceeds being donated to The Trussell Trust, which supports a nationwide network of food banks.
Simmer Lock-down Festival
From July 18 to 19
Simmer Down Festival this year comes to your living rooms, as a free live stream via YouTube Live and Facebook Live tomorrow and Sunday.
Usually held in the beautiful surroundings of Handsworth Park, Simmer Down is a family music and arts festival, which celebrates Birmingham’s rich cultural diversity by paying tribute to the centrality of reggae and other musical genres that have contributed to Birmingham as an international city of culture.
This year’s line-up has artists, DJs and poets from across the globe as well as the best local talent, including sets from Make It Happen Dance Company, Freetown Collective and Rhythms Del Torro.
Erica Love, director of Culture Central, said: “As a sector, the arts has always found new and creative ways to bring its work to audiences and Covid-19 has demonstrated this resilience through the many digital opportunities we’ve seen from our arts and culture organisations to bring their work online during lockdown.
“These festivals are a great example of this fantastic work and I am looking forward to walking through their virtual doors.”
You can find more details about these festivals and the other great activities taking place virtually across the West Midlands via makeitwm.com
The purpose of the West Midlands Culture Response Unit (WMCRU) is to work together to ensure the visibility, viability and recovery of the arts and cultural sector in the West Midlands.
The unit is a partnership response established through discussion with the West Midlands Combined Authority, the region’s local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), regional independents, National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) from across the region, Arts Council England and further stakeholders and funders.
