Having been going to at least one of the two annual Moseley Festivals pretty much every year for the past 14, I was yet again fortunate enough to find myself at the end of summer Moseley Folk & Arts Festival 2025, this time for the Sunday with my brother.
I have always maintained that the Moseley Festivals are my favourites, from the perspective of how intimate, safe and friendly they feel to how they seem to be able to continue to attract some pretty big names in the UK (and sometimes international) music scene, and this latest experience was no different.
From that magical moment we walked down through the alleyway and it all opened up in front of us (which always gives me a buzz), I was immediately transported once again to my happy place.
In recent years the event seems to have become even better organised with such a great variety of drink and street food offerings, and the vibe, as always, was happy, friendly and chilled.
As always it was great to be exposed to music we perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily have discovered (something the Moseley Festival programmers are incredibly adept at).
Having bought ourselves drinks, we had the customary wander round to orientate ourselves and then found ourselves drifting between some amazing music from the likes of Dear Lily, Cerys Hafana, Muireann Bradley, Amelia Coburn, Lisa O’Neill, Independent Country (with their on-trend country interpretations of classic pop and rock songs), Fisherman’s Friends bringing some Cornish sea shanty action and Cut A Shine kicking off the Ceilidh before the Kurdish/Syrian sounds of Mohammad Syfkhan.
As always it was great to be exposed to music we perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily have discovered (something the Moseley Festival programmers are incredibly adept at). Great to see Chris Hawkins from BBC Radio 6 Music compering and conducting a Q&A session with Doves too!
On then to the ‘Speakers Corner’ tent, where we listened to a brilliant and very funny set from Henry Normal performing poetry interspersed with some great stand up, and later on Scott Bennett (both of whom we were lucky enough to meet, and each very humble and friendly). All in all we had a lovely afternoon chilling, drinking and absorbing the eclectic, laid back world of this unique festival along with spotting some incredible outfits, not to mention some delicious street food from one of the many stalls.
One lasting impression for me is how much love everyone has for this amazing Festival, which well and truly punches above its weight, and in this I include not just the audience, but also the performers.
And so to the headliners. I have never seen Mercury Rev nor Doves live before, and the former did not disappoint, with more of their songs embedded in my consciousness over the years than I realised (all of which I love). Following Mercury Rev (no easy task), I was surprised to see Doves scheduled for a 90 minute set, and I can tell you now, they proved beyond doubt that they have the material and skill to fill this slot effortlessly. Their musicianship was outstandingly good, and they clearly eat, sleep and breathe performing live. The cherry on the cake for me – after wondering how on earth they could top classics such as The Cedar Room and Here it Comes amongst many others – was when for their finale they actually played the incredible Sub Sub (their initial incarnation many years ago) dance classic ‘Space Face’, to the biggest cheer you could ever imagine. What an epic way to end this amazing weekend!
One lasting impression for me is how much love everyone has for this amazing Festival, which well and truly punches above its weight, and in this I include not just the audience, but also the performers. It has truly become a national treasure in this space and yet again proved the perfect end to the summer. As we always seem to do, we left at the end having made new friends and drifted away in a crowd of like-minded, smiling people with the happy glow that only this Festival can create.
I literally can’t wait to see who the team have planned for next year for this, the greatest little Festival in the World (in my humble opinion anyway), and look forward to seeing you there.
Words by Ken Byng for Grapevine Birmingham