The nomadic Sunday Xpress event is proud to announce that it has found new accommodation at Centrala. Now in its 11th year, the Xpress is known for its loyal support of underground music and spoken word in the Midlands, and has also been praised for its diverse programming of its booked acts, from traditional folk to power electronics to some of the best indie bands that Birmingham has to offer.
Never afraid to challenge and entertain at the same time, a full day at the Xpress basically covers two (or more) gigs in one. An open mic/showcase event is what the event built its name on, and starts proceedings at 5 until half 7. Ish. Contact us via here for a chance to come on, or at least rock up EARLY on the day. Then after a brief break (or a film, or interpretive dance) we have the bands…
This month our event will be even more of a celebration as usual, as it’s our lovely mate Anna Higgins’ big 5-0. Our compere Big Bren’s big sister, we couldn’t do the event without her. She’s the genial host, the glue, the great mate who runs around all the other gigs in the area spreading the word and creating the buzz. She wears amazing clothes too.
So we’ve decided to throw her a big bash. Your headliners will be Citizen X, fronted by our old mate Louis Campbell, containing ex-members of Midlands ska/reggae fusion royalty like The International Beat, Dubrokkaz and the Heels. Their sound is all of the best alternative 80s bands you read about in the papers. a bit of Roxy here, a bit of Cabaret Voltaire and 23 Skidoo there, Pigbag, Two-Tone, UB40, A Certain Ratio…all wrapped up with conscious hip-hop and toasting – well worth it, should be massive in a few years to come.
Plus! We have rising stars Tom and Jimmy returning featuring the lyrical (is that right/is that what they say) talents of very handsome rising star Tom McCann. Tom and Jimmy have been a mainstay of the Xpress since 2013, and always gets the audience on side – he now has two (2!) events in South Birmingham (Spoken Trend in King’s Norton and Live at the Roadhouse with Tom and Jimmy ) and also is headlining this month’s Stirchley Speaks event at the wonderful P Cafe.
Finally we have the long awaited return of Xpress favourites Derrick D and the Backbones. Derrick D performs rap battles in space with his band who operate psychedelic juju voodoo on the audience. The lyrics, music and performance bend your mind and take you on a wonderous trip…highly recommended.
Your compere as always is the Yardley Bard, Big Brendan Higgins, the unofficial poet laureate of Birmingham since 2000 when he’s not out “shopping shopping shopping.” We have Spotify and ITunes playlists stuck through the PA too (!) and a range of projections via YouTube to rest your eyes on from Jim Bowen to Jan Svankmajer. And it’s all for nothing. If you’ve not been down to the Sunday Xpress before, make it this one. And then all of the others.
Facebook link – Sunday Xpress – Our Anna’s Birthday Spectacular
Sunday Xpress March 19