"Jazz and Blues Festival Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Coventry Building society arena"
Photo credit: Merlin Daleman
England’s longest-established jazz and blues festival is expanding into Coventry for the first time in its 40-year history.
Jazz and blues artists will be performing at Coventry Building Society Arena as the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival expands in its milestone year.
The free event will be held on Saturday 27 July as part of a 10-day festival which will see more than 86 bands perform across 116 venues in the West Midlands.
Coventry Building Society Arena will host nine different bands and musicians, with a variety of spaces set to be utilised throughout the venue, and the event will also feature a beer festival.
The Coventry Jazz, Blues & Beer Festival is expected to attract visitors from across Coventry and Warwickshire, and will also feature workshops, talks and masterclasses for fans of jazz and blues.
You’re Never Alone with a UK will be hosting informal workshops for ukulele players of all abilities, with Julian Cockshott of Ukulele Rocks providing tips and advice to ukelele enthusiasts of all ages and all levels of ability.
There will be an opportunity to learn the basics of lindy hop and swing dancing with Ben, Serana and company in ‘The Swing Era’ dance workshop, with the instructors helping to equip visitors with the basic dance techniques to dance away to music at the rest of the festival.
Artists performing on the day will include Sunjay, a Derby-born multi award-winning guitarist and singer. Sunjay has been nominated for a British Blues Award and supported many Blues great, including Steeleye Span, John Renbourn and Albert Lee.
The Warren James Skiffle Group will be performing the hits of skiffle stars such as Lonnie Donegan and Tommy Steele.
Chickenbone John, known as the Godfather of the Cigar Box Guitar, is also on the line-up, bringing the authentic sound of the blues to the festival.
The Shufflepack, led by harmonica player Stuart Maxwell, will take festival-goers back to 1950s Chicago, with a touch of the 1940s influence thrown in.
Jamie Thyer & The Worried Men, who have clocked up more than 4,000 gigs over the last 30 years, are also set to feature at the Coventry event.
Jump, Jive and Wail have consistently demonstrated their live performance credentials at vintage events, festivals, dancehalls and jazz clubs for the last 20 years. They will be performing a live set combining boogie woogie piano, honking sax, exuberant harmonica and three-part vocal harmonies.
And finally, ‘Back On The Road’, which comprises well-known musicians Tony O’Brien, Richard Fedeski, Ray Sweeney, Bill Jefferson and Stevie Barr, will perform a range of classic rock, pop and blues covers.
The festival is being organised by Big Bear Music, one of the UK’s longest running independent record labels and booking agencies.
Paul Michael, Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena, said: “This is an event with a fantastic pedigree and we are delighted to be working with Big Bear Music to expand it to Coventry for the first time.
“The best thing is that this event allows people from Coventry and Warwickshire to enjoy the magic of jazz of blues for free, with no entry fee.
“The festival has been a huge success across the Midlands for four decades and we’re looking forward to building on those foundations here in Coventry.”
Jim Simpson, of Big Bear Music, said: “Coventry is a musically-important city with a very distinctive heritage. To continue to present such an important and nationally significant jazz and blues festival, so close to Coventry, without involving this city, would simply be wrong.
“It is a pleasure to work with the management team at Coventry Building Society Arena. Everything fell so easily into place and it’s going to be a fun, entertaining and memorable day.”
Coventry Jazz, Blues & Beer Festival will be held at Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday 27 July.
For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/Birminghamjazzfestival/
Photo credit: Merlin Daleman