Xhosa Cole is to host a new festival at The Edge in Digbeth this weekend!
Performers include:
Mark Sanders, Vanley Burke, Chris Radford, Germa Adan, Millicent James, Azizi Cole, Juice Aleem, Two Man ting.
Join the team for a journey through music that goes beyond sound. Diasporic Tales woven across a rich tapestry of Black and African creative expression. Walk into a flow that will be guided by and through THE EDGE.
A two day festival curated by Birmingham’s own Xhosa Cole and Friction Arts celebrating African and Black Diasporic Culture and Arts. An immersive journey through live musical and dance performances, short films, Installations, food and folkloric storytelling.
Winner of the 2018 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year, Xhosa Cole is an embodiment of the success of numerous community arts programmes in Birmingham including the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Jazzlines Ensemble and Birmingham Music Service. Having grown up in Handsworth and first played the Tenor at Andy Hamilton’s Ladywood Community Music School, he’s now among a long legacy of Birmingham Saxophonists including Soweto Kinch and Shabaka Hutchings.
Xhosa has performed twice at the BBC Proms, Composed music for the Ripieno Players, a Birmingham Based String Orchestra, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album ‘Love and Compromise’, completed a 22 date UK tour, all along side his studies as a scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Xhosa Also received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ in 2019 and Jazz FM ‘Breakthrough act of the year’.