Entertainment News

George Cosby poetically explores the varied fortunes of romance through a widescreen lens. Applying a modern pop elegance to this everlasting emotion enamoured an expanding fanbase with his debut EP ‘We Stand Alone’.  Its title track was B-listed at Radio 2, while further airplay for the project came from BBC Introducing, Jo Whiley at Radio 2 and Laura Whitmore at Radio 5. Now George celebrates Valentine’s Day by sharing ‘Lonely Heartbeats’, his first single of 2022.

A major new photographic exhibition, featuring 1,000’s of images of people from the Commonwealth who settled in Birmingham will open at the iconic Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square from Friday 18 March-Sunday 18 June 2022.

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Produced by Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage, ‘From City Of Empire To City Of Diversity: A Visual Journey,’ has been created from The Dyche Collection, one of the most important photographic collections within Birmingham Archives and acquired by Birmingham Central Library in 1990.

The National Theatre is to tour Evan Placey’s Jekyll & Hyde, a radical reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, to five state secondary schools across Wolverhampton in partnership with Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. The production will visit the following schools from 28th February 2022 including:

Grammy-nominated South African DJ, producer and songwriter Black Coffee ensured the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) Arena was the place to be with a sensational set that transported party-goers to Ibiza.

Black Coffee – real name Nkosinathi Innocent Sizwe Maphumulo – followed opening sets by Frederick Stone and Paul Svenson with a constant backbeat of synths and drums to compel the crowd to carry on dancing until the small hours of the morning.

A new series of free creative sessions created by and for young people will launch at Birmingham Hippodrome this month, with the first sessions taking place on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 February.

The Young Community Drop In Sessions have been developed by Birmingham Hippodrome’s Young Advocates. The Young Advocates programme launched in January 2021 with a group of young people aged 14-22 who are working with the Hippodrome to shape the future of the venue’s participation work for young people.

Global home textiles company Bedsure releases fun and engaging star sign videos for customers across the UK and US in time for Valentine’s Day.
 

2022 marks the first time Bedsure has created a Valentine’s Day videos for its customers. Inspired by the coziness of relationships, Bedsure’s Valentine’s Day video stories give customers a taste of different personalities through Star Signs.

The Grammy-nominated star Saweetie teams with R&B chart-topper H.E.R. for a breezy, sensual new single, ‘Closer’. The dance-infused track finds the duo serving up playful lines and seductive melodies, reaffirming Saweetie’s penchant for making hits that feel nostalgic, yet uniquely hers. Listen to ‘Closer’ on ICY/Warner Records HERE.

Ties between British and Indian musicians were boosted this week with a visit by four classical music superstars to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - who told the audience that ‘music has the power to change your life in a way you couldn’t even imagine’.

Tabla supremo Zakir Hussain, acclaimed singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan, leading flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, and legendary keyboardist and producer Louiz Banks met staff, students, diplomats, MPs and business leaders including the Indian Consul General of India Dr Shashank Vikram and Preet Kaur Gill MP at the world-renowned centre of music, based at Birmingham City University.

St. Croix is the place to be over President’s Day weekend with live music taking centre stage amidst a stellar line-up of top local and regional artistes.

“So long I ain’t see you,” crooned Division of Festivals Director Ian Turnbull as he announced that “Fête.Vibe.Soca” will be headlined by Trinidad and Tobago soca sensation Nadia Batson and her all-female band, well known for hit songs including “So Long” and “Catching Feelings”.

The Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show, returns to the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham later this month from 22 – 27 February 2022, with the largest start of season showcase of leisure vehicles in the country. Advance ticket sales for the show have rocketed, already exceeding previous years and set to hit over 100,000 this weekend.

In an effort to manage overcrowding, tickets for the event have been limited each day to help spread attendance across the week. Tuesday 22nd, Thursday 24th and Saturday 26th February are now fully sold out, but there is still limited availability for the rest of the week.

Viewers online can't seem to get enough of the popular series ‘Jamaicans to the World’, which recently surpassed a combined 3 million views on YouTube and Facebook. In the series, expatriate Jamaicans were asked; "What is it like to live ‘there’ as a Jamaican?” Posing that vital and timely question is Xavier Murphy, the founder of the Jamaicans.com platform, who launched the unique docu-series on YouTube and Facebook in 2021.

This year’s City of Wolverhampton Literature Festival drew crowds of more than 1,600 to the city. A total of 40 events took place across eight venues during the three-day festival, (open to Sunday, February 6).

Events included children’s storytelling, educational workshops, theatre and performance, literature, poetry reading, music and art talks. Further events associated with the literature festival will be taking place throughout 2022 and for more information about how to get involved in the 2023 festival please visit the contact us page at www.wolveslitfest.co.uk

Birmingham Rep are offering members of the public a chance to take a peek behind the scenes at the city’s only premiere producing theatre with a free Open Day on Saturday 26 February.

The full day of activities for all the family will take members of the public behind the scenes of Birmingham’s famous theatre, the only large-scale theatre in the city that builds all of its own productions on site from scratch, including huge sets and beautiful costumes.

A deep funk and soul singer, as one of the first Black women to get recognition for writing, arranging and producing her own albums, she influenced and pioneered music, song writing and fashion during her iconic time – and since.

Born in North Carolina, in the U.S., she was well known for her controversially sexual lyrics and performance style, and as having been Miles Davis’s second wife.

In the week that the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) new season opens in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Company today released further details of its 2022 activity including three new Shakespeare productions that speak directly to our world today, the launch of TikTok Tickets - a major new partnership with the global entertainment platform TikTok to inspire the next generation of theatre audiences wherever they live, plus details of how people can participate in 37 Plays: a nationwide search to write the stories of today co-created in partnership with the RSC’s network of 12 regional theatre partners, over 200 Associate Schools and freelance artists who together form the Royal Shakespeare Community.

An award-winning pianist will take to the stage later as part of a series of concerts at a Shropshire school. 

Wrekin College’s Sounds of the Future programme continues on Friday, February 11, with a special evening performance by Alexander Arenare, from nearby Sedgley in the Black Country. Launched at the start of the year by BBC music finalist Tom Hall, the ambitious ‘Sounds of the Future’ programme is the first major concert series to take place since the school built its new £2.5million music school.