I Luv Live Birmingham

Birmingham can be somewhat of a bitter sweet city for some. Having lived here my whole life bar the odd few months here and there, it’s a city that you can easily grow tired for the simple reason that it’s small, there are no night busses and depending on what you’re into once you’ve been in one crowd you’ve pretty much been in them all.

So when I heard that I Luv Love was coming to Birmingham without a second thought I knew I’d be going but rolled my eyes at the thought of the Birmingham crowd.

Not that I’m trying to slag off my hometown or anything, but again depending on what music you’re into because I can’t speak for all genres, Birmingham can be a hard ass crowd to crack, I don’t know why but we/they just are.

On the night of the event I expected to see so many people that I knew but to my surprise I didn’t. It was a crowd of music lovers who were there for the talent leaving no room for negative vibes.

The talent selection was pure quality and the events team did a fantastic job, everything ran smoothly and with the right amount of everything. Hosted by Capital fm’s Sacha Brooks with DJ Triple SSS on the decks there was no pro-longed waiting around, the tech team were sharp and on point and the venue had a great ambience.  

I arrived just in time to see one of my favourite Brum town Hip Hop artists RTKAL take the stage with Metamore and MadFlow. As always RTKALS performance was full of energy good vibes.

It had been a while since I had seen RTKAL and Meta on stage together, but it was obvious that the magic between them is still there.

Performing his new track ‘My BeatBangs’ RT and his band went in creating and infectious energy throughout the crowd flying the flag for real Birmingham talent.

 

 

 

Next up was Arlissa, on our way into the venue two of my friends were asking who Arlissa was. I innocently said “is she that chick that has the song out with Nas” and they laughed, yes they laughed at me and said “No Sara”, so I was like.. ok maybe it’s not her then, but before performing her last track of her set she introduced the song and said “this is a song that I did with Nas, called ‘Hard to LoveSomebody’” (who’s laughing now ladies).

Arlissa’s sound was not what I expected at all, it was quite folky which is really an alternative sound to what this Brum crowd are used to, specifically at those type of events and it seemed that Arlissa had been give the 411 on the Birmingham crowd as she practically asked us to go easy on her, but to her surprise she got a great reception from the crowd, but why wouldn’t she? She has an amazing voice and unique sound and seemed like a total sweetie. Her performance was a great introduction to her sound and I am intrigued to hear more.

As Sacha Brooks likes to call them “Birmingham’s Answer to K-ci and Jojo” DT and Candy took the stage and reminded me of why I fell in love with them some years back. The Brothers have been singing on and off for a good couple years and have done more than a few rounds on the Birmingham scene. Their voices are BEAUUUUUTIFUL but yet I and so many others can’t help but wonder why they haven’t been snapped up yet? Seriously, they open their mouths and it’s like been thrown back into the 90’s where REAL R&B lived.

Growing up I was a massive Usher fan, yep it was serious, I used to carry a picture of him in my purse and everything… probably because I had nothing else to put in there as I was like 10 or 11 years old. So when DT and Candy performed a cover of Usher’s ‘Superstar’ I was in heaven, these boys really know how to compliment each other vocally.

Although I was a bit sceptical about seeing the boys perform as I’ve been frustrated with them in the past for not excelling, I was glad that I held my spot front and centre and I only hope that this time round this is it for the brothers and they make their mark on the UK music scene.

The line up finale of tshe night was Roxxxan, the cheeky pint sized Grime artist from Birmingham.

                         

Bursting with energy and ready to perform, the slot that had been given to the artist clearly just was not enough as she was ready to go hard all night for her city and her Back Pack Gang. 

Kicking off with 'Too F%@**?!Facety' Roxxxan constantly gave much love, gratitude and respect to B-Town and her fellow artists, giving the intimate crowd a homecoming show and a snippet of exactly why she got singed and is moving on to big things whilst proudly waving the flag for her home town.

 

Before the night came to an end there was the open Mic competition which had some pretty interesting competitors. There was the usual who by now I would’ve thought had realised that singing or rapping is just not their calling in life, but no they’re still on dis ting…….haaarrrrdddd mate! (Too hard if you ask me). But then we were blessed with some fresh faces, familiar faces and talented faces which made standing at the front a lot easier as I didn’t have to endure those awkward moments when you feel embarrassed for the person on stage and have nowhere else to look but at them … on stage.

After a long list of competitors it came down to two, my mate Allysa Rochelle,  Oi Oi!!! and Bee Nice. Us ladies screamed with all our might for Allysa to win but our delicate feminine voices were drowned by the deep masculine chants for Bee Nice that sounded like they came from the base of their souls from the days of Saprtacus. Que pena.  

 

Overall I Luv Live was a great way to spend and Wednesday night and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what the event has to offer next month.

Love Sara (A little lady who really and actually loves Live Music!). Mwah. xxx