Birmingham Beer Festival Pays Tribute to Black Sabbath

Thursday: New for 2012 and in conjunction with Jane Peyton from The School of Booze we have 4 beer tasting workshops throughout the day. The focus will be on LocAle and Brewster beer.  The new Project Venus brew from Waen brewery will be exclusively sampled in these sessions. There will be a limited number of places kept available on the day so arrive early if you’re interested and ask at the membership stall; priority will be reserved for new Camra members joining on the day. 

Thursday’s headline act, The Trevor Burton Band, is fronted by a living legend from one of the formative bands of the 60s called The Move. Trevor’s contemporaries, friends and musical allegiances were Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Steve Winwood. Not only that but pick up the Jimi Hendrix Experience LP ‘Axis: Bold as Love’ and you’ll find Trevor in the vocal credits. It’s a real honour to have him closing the first night of the beer festival and shows how much musical heritage Birmingham has within its boundaries. 

Friday: Brum Beer Fest pays tribute to one of the greatest Birmingham bands and highlights the legacy of the West Midlands as the birth of metal. So we’ve decided to dedicate the whole day to Black Sabbath. We’ll be offering a prize for the best Ozzy outfit of the day and you’ll be in with a chance to have your prize handed to you from none other than Jim Simpson, Sabbath’s original band manager in the late 60s. Jim will be at the festival on Friday evening to share some of his stories and introduce the headline act.  

Local brewers have come up trumps with some great beers made just for Birmingham Fest inspired by our Sabbath day - look out for  Two Towers 'Tipple of Doom', Bird's 'Ozzymandias', Kinver 'Black Rammoth Stout', Morton's 'Sabbra Cadabra', Revolutions ' Paranoid Porter' & 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', Stringers 'Release the Bats', Quart 'Paralenoid' & Moorhouse 'Broomstick Bitter'. 

As we like to support up and coming local bands, Friday afternoon opens up with Suzi & the Backbeats, a female fronted blues, soul and funk group. Expect a healthy dose of classic covers and original material from this young band. 

Friday early evening sees Birmingham’s premier folk cabaret band The Dirty old Folkers on entertaining duties. They’ve also promised to channel the spirit of Ozzy and will no doubt pull a Sabbath cover out of the bag in their very own folk style.  On a mission to free folk music from its stuffy confines, The Dirty old Folkers manage to tread the fine line between serious musicianship, political protest and humour effortlessly. 

Premier Sabbath/Ozzy tribute band No Rest for the Wicked will be closing Friday night proceedings. Once these guys hit the stage that’s it for the night; so expect a full throttle celebration of Ozzy and Sabbath sounds to bring the night to a close. 

Saturday:  Mods & Sods take the stage early afternoon and channel bands such as The Who, The Jam and The Kinks. A popular Mod band round Birmingham these guys know how to bring the authentic sounds from the era and deliver with their own musical style. 

Early evening sees a shift to ska with The Damnbusters . Think 2 Tone bands like Madness and The Specials, with a nod to the original Jamaican ska sounds. So dust off your trilby hat and get ready to rocksteady. 

To close the festival are Moseley heroes Andy Bennett (rhythm guitar) and Dan Sealey (bass) from Ocean Colour Scene. Reminding us Birmingham sons can deliver classic crafted rock hooks influenced by the likes of Love, The Velvet Underground, The Stone Roses and Fairport Convention.  Hopefully we’ll still have beer left as the lads bring the festival to its penultimate finale!

With thanks to Cannock Hire PA for looking after the sound: www.cannocksoundhire.co.uk

Line Up Overview 

All music held upstairs at venue unless otherwise stated

Thursday

12, 13:30, 15:00 & 17:30: Beer Tasting Sessions:  Presented by Jane Peyton, Principal of the School of Booze (downstairs – info @ Membership stand)

8.30pm: The Trevor Burton Band

Friday

Birmingham Beer Festival pays tribute to Black Sabbath & Ozzy Osbourne: Fancy dress competition (prize for best Ozzy outfit)
14:00: Suzi & The Backbeats
19:00: The Dirty Old Folkers
20:45: No Rest for the Wicked (Black Sabbath/Ozzy tribute)

Saturday

14:00: Mods & Sods
18:30: The Damnbusters
20:30: Andy Bennett & Dan Sealey (Ocean Colour Scene)