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!