FLUID is a brand new music festival that presents a weekend of new Queer sound and music by an extraordinary line-up of composers, experimental electronic musicians and hot new talent.
The festival takes place across five venues during the Birmingham Weekender and includes performances by Rolf Hind, Michael Wolters, Rebekah Ubuntu, Mx World, Henry McPherson & Inkeri Kallio, Daniel Versus the World, C N Lester, Tsinder Ash, fukc_boi and Yfat Sould Zisso.
Alongside the main stage performances in Digbeth FLUID offers two free events as part of the Weekender: a talk at Birmingham Town Hall and a chilled-out Sunday brunch at Eden Bar in the Gay Village.
The festival kicks off on Saturday at 2pm with ‘Fluid Conversation’ at Birmingham Town Hall when festival artists talk about their work.
It then moves to Minerva Works, Digbeth where you can hang for an afternoon of at Fluid Exchange with screenings curated by James Lawrence Slattery, activities with Unmuted and and live performances including the inimitable China Dethcrash.
The main stage performances start at 5pm and feature:
- International pianist and composer Rolf Hind leads a performance of ‘Gay Guerilla’, a rarely-heard piece by African-American composer Julius Eastman that requires 2 grand pianos and 4 pianists.
- Rising star Mx World previews their upcoming EP ‘Excavating’.
- Michael Wolters, Associate Professor in Composition at Birmingham Conservatoire and Paul Norman perform their recent collaborative work ‘Worries’.
- Multi-media artist and performer Rebekah Ubuntu presents new electronic works.
- Composer and performer Henry McPherson from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents newly devised work ‘Savage Parade’ with Finnish mezzo soprano Inkeri Kallio.
- Electronic composer Robin Buckley collaborates with internet saboteurs Repeator
- Singer and composer Yfat Soul Zisso performs a new vocal work ‘Violet to Vita’.
- The evening closes with special guests Matmos who will be beamed in live from their studio in Baltimore, USA.
We round off the weekend with Fluid Brunch, a chilled Sunday brunch featuring performances from Daniel Vs the World, C N Lester and a host of new talent in the marquee at Eden Bar in the Gay Village. Performances by Tsinder Ash, fuck_boi, Daniel Versus the World and CN Lester.
Fluid is a pilot for a new kind of festival that has been curated by Trevor Pitt, an artist and curator based in Birmingham, UK who hosts weekly radio show Sleeve Notes Session on Brum Radio, performs as TREVA and is currently writing an opera about about Ludgwig Wittgenstein’s relationship with David Pinsent.
Fluid Festival is supported by Sound and Music’s Composer-Curator programme, Birmingham Weekender and Arts Council England.
So, what does Queer sound like?
FLUID FESTIVAL
23 – 24 September
Saturday 23 September
2pm Birmingham Town Hall, Lower Bar
3pm – 11.30pm Minerva Works, Digbeth
Sunday 24 September
12pm – 3pm Eden Bar, Gay Village
For more information and tickets visit www.fluidfestival.org
Contact: Trevor Pitt trevor@podprojects.org 07870 292651