Our City of Stories
Launched in 2023, in partnership with University Music and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Our City of Stories is a programme of music, performance and spoken word that showcases the breadth of creative talent across Birmingham, forging links between the University and the city of Birmingham’s diverse cultural communities.
Since its inception, the programme has featured a variety of performers and artists, from hip hop, rap and bhangra, to jazz, soul, gospel and folk.
An introduction to Our City of Stories
Our City of Stories has invited guest artists from across the city to perform on campus to tell their own stories and those of their communities, including renowned storyteller Pyn Stockman, Haitian folk musician Germa Adan, musician Alvin Davis, and Jazz Saxophonist Xhosa Cole.
As part of Our City of Stories the University partnered with Birmingham Poet Laureate (2020-2022) Casey Bailey to deliver Voices of the City was a programme of rap, soul, hip hop, jazz and bhangra music by amazing artists and performers from across Birmingham, marking the first time that hip hop and rap was performed in the University’s magnificent Elgar Concert Hall.
Our City of Stories continues as a dynamic programme of events hosted on campus and beyond. Please search for events using the ‘music’ and ‘performance’ search terms.