Your Hatters Hostel

…………Plenty of events going on in Birmingham this weekend!

Fancy some Football? Then don’t miss one of the football events of the year – part one of this season’s Second City Derby between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on Sunday! If you can’t get a ticket it is still worth watching it in Brum: there are many city centre pubs that will show the game and where you can soak up that special atmosphere. Ask us and we’ll point you in the right direction!

… Culture? Explore some history during the English Heritage Open Days weekend in the Jewellery Quarter. Plenty to discover in all the historic buildings and sites around the Hatters!

… Music? Our O2 Academy is celebrating the opening of their brand new venue with gigs of some of Birminghams best known acts, starting tonight (Thursday) with The Editors. Klick here for more information.

… Beer? Whether you’re into Real Ale or just want to experience a typical English beer festival and sample a great selection of ales, don’t miss the Birmingham Beer Festival at Aston Student Guild. A free vintage bus service to the festival leaves every 30 minutes from Colmore Row, a 5 minutes walk from the Hatters.

………………….… and the ArtsFest 2009

The biggest event of the weekend and one that certainly includes something for everyone is undoubtetly the ArtsFest, the UK’s biggest free arts festival!

Get ready for a weekend full of music, dance, theatre, street art and much more in places all around the city. A lot of the action is going on around Centenary Square, where you can see various musicians performing all weekend. One of the highlights there is Sunday’s KerrangFest with many local acts and headlined by Athlete and Reverend and the Makers.

There are plenty more bands playing indoors and outdoors all around Birmingham throughout the weekend. It is not all about music though and the is so much more to discover over the next few days! Pick up a program for the best overview of what’s going on or have a look at the website.

Good news for live music fans from near and far: Birmingham is getting a brand new O2 Academy!

In a few days time the old venue is closing down for good and a new bigger and better one will open its doors on September 10th for live music, live music and more live music … not to forget the plenty of club nights!

And is there any better way to celebrate a live music venue in Birmingham than with a selection of great Brummie musicians?

The opening weekend will see four of Birmingham’s most popular bands headlining four successive evenings at the new venue!

Thu, 10/09 – The Editors

The big weekend kicks off with The Editors, supported by Bombay Bicycle Club and The Northwestern. In the wake of their new album ‘In This Light And On This Evening’ the sold out gig in their hometown is The Editors’ first non-festival show in 2009.

Fri, 11/09 – The Twang

The second day is set to be a big big party with no less than 10 bands playing across 3 rooms, headlined by our Jewellery Quarter-neighbours The Twang! They have just released their new album, named after that wonderful part of or wonderful town which we (Hatters) are based in! Rehearsing and writing songs in this creativity-sparking area and hanging out in the pub round the corner, they love “our” part of Birmingham as much as we do. Their Academy gig has been sold out for a while, but maybe you’ll pop into them when you hang out around the Hatters?

Sat, 12/09- The Streets

On the Saturday Mike Skinner aka The Streets will add a bit of rap to all the rock music and entertain the crowd with material from his new album ‘Everything Is Borrowed’ plus hopefully plenty of old classics.

Sun, 13/09 – Ocean Colour Scene

Last but not least Moseley boys Ocean Colour Scene will rock the Academy’s stage together with The Moon. OCS were the first band to headline the old Academy on its opening day 9 years ago and are looking forward to being part of this fresh launch too. They’re playing another special gig a few days earlier (Wednesday the 9th), an accoustic set in Selfridges! Tickets for that are only availbale through a competition – see here for the details. And if you’re not lucky enough: Join the Hatters crew for the gig at the new Academy!

Kate Perry visits Birmingham this August taking to the stage at the O2 Academy

The 24 year old L.A-based singer-songwriter’s sassy confidence and feisty confessional songs have helped her conquer the world’s charts and airwaves and also our hearts.

Rescheduled from earlier in the year, Katy Perry’s sold-out UK Summer Tour hits Birmingham on August 25th.

We’re offering all Kate Perry fans £5 saving off their booking when they present their ticket at check-in here at The Hatters

This five piece from Kansas City have been an influential force on the emo/punk scenes and come to the UK to celebrate the 10th Anniversary Edition of their critically acclaimed album ‘Something To Write Home About’.

They play the O2 Academy on Monday 17th August and tickets start at £12. Click here for more info!

Since we’re such big Get up Kids fans here in Hatters we’re offering beds for £8 on the night when you present your ticket at reception.

So that’s a Gig, Bed & Light breakfast for £20. Not bad at all these days in the current economic whatever…

And if that’s not enough there’s a bar 2 minutes from the hostel serving £1 pound drinks ’til 2am and hosted by Kerrang DJs…