Dig deep to save jazz and blues festival

ORGANISERS of this year’s Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival have made an urgent call for extra funding after revealing they had so far only raised nearly a third of their target.

The 10-day festival planned for this summer has been backed by Sandwell Council, the Musicians’ Union and a US music TV station, and with money raised in a crowdfunding appeal, the funding to date stands at £12,705.

But Jim Simpson, whose Big Bear Music company has organised the annual festival for the last four decades, said this is only around 32.5 per cent of the £40,000 needed to cover basic costs.

The 42nd Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival will include 170-plus performances from Friday, July 24 to Sunday, August 2, with more than 160 of them free admission across 98 venues.

Mr Simpson said: “We are determined to not let anyone down – so come hell or high water, the 42nd Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival will be waving the flag for jazz, blues and all the associated music.

“We want to send a huge ‘thank you’ to our sponsors Sandwell Council, the Musicians’ Union and Rockefellas TV. We are also grateful to dozens of individuals who have dug deep to show their love of jazz and blues through our crowdfunding appeal.

“We feel so lucky to have such committed support, and donations ranging from £5 to £200 have already topped £1,500. Every single extra pound we can raise will be crucial to help us break even.

“Yet despite the support we’ve received, we have to admit that things are not looking too good on the funding front. And so today we are urgently calling on any organisation or individual who is able to contribute to do so again this year.

“It is only through the support of live music fans that we can continue delivering this iconic event. Any support, no matter how big or small, makes a massive impact.”

Sandwell Council is the largest funder of the festival, with at least 26 live and free performances in the borough’s libraries, art galleries, pubs and visitor centres.

Councillor Michael Cooper, cabinet member for Customer Services and Neighbourhoods at Sandwell Council, said: “I hope everyone enjoys the festival. With artists from all over the UK, as well as musicians from much further afield, this year’s festival will offer top quality entertainment for Sandwell residents.

“The festival will also be bringing visitors into Sandwell, helping to support our local businesses and build a sense of pride in the places where we live and work.”

There are well over 60 other bands performing at the festival from throughout the UK as well as from France, the USA, Estonia, Japan and Venezuela.

Donations can be made to the jazz festival’s crowdfunder here https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/birmigham-jazz-and-blues-festival-2026#.

Funds are also being raised via easyfundraising.co.uk, a platform which allows shops and businesses to donate a small amount to the festival whenever the public makes online purchases. Email admin@bigbearmusic.com for more information.

Or to become an ‘in kind’ partner to the festival, contact Tim Jennings on 0121 454 7020 or at tim@bigbearmusic.com

Big Bear Music Group has been based in Birmingham since 1968. Its operations include Big Bear Records, probably the UK’s longest established independent record company, which is at the forefront of jazz, swing and blues, with more than 100 album releases.

Since 1985, Big Bear Music has organised the annual Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival, Europe’s biggest free admission jazz party every July, bringing international bands to venues across the West Midlands. Big Bear Music also operates Henry’s Blueshouse, Birmingham’s home of the blues since 1968, with weekly gigs at Snobs Bar on Broad Street. Henry’s Blueshouse blog and weekly Bluesletter features interesting stories, music and video from the past, present and future of blues.

Big Bear Music is also an agency for artists, booking a wide variety of acts for public events and private functions. It represents touring bands including King Pleasure & The Biscuit Boys, Tipitina and Lady Sings the the Blues and more.

Since 1987, Big Bear Music has published The Jazz Rag, a bi-monthly, nationally distributed magazine of news, which was winner of the 2023 Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best UK Jazz Publication.

Big Bear Music has a rich photography archive stretching back to the early 1960s, featuring some of the most illustrious names in rock and roll, jazz and blues.