"I think the goth scene in Brum needs a good kick up the arse!"
In just over a months time the first ever Midlands Goth Festival will take place in Birmingham featuring a line-up of varied UK goth, electro and industrial bands. Inkubus Sukkubus headline while Salvation, Zeitgeist Zero, Mechanical Cabaret and T-Lab are to support. Vince Ripper and local Djs will begin the Dark Disco when the live music has concluded and during the day there are plans to have a Dark Market with local alternative traders and even a gothic cinema. Dark Heart Events are behind the festival and they have given Dominion Magazine a little behind the scenes info as well as two tickets to give away. Details at the end of the article.
"A 'delectable gentleman' asked himself… ‘Why isn’t there a gothic festival in Birmingham?’ and from that little question and an addiction to social media grew the group which became known as "Dark Heart Events", and out of that, the first Midlands Goth Festival (MGF) plans.
The group all believe the Goth scene in Birmingham has been crying out for something more established for a few years, and putting on MGF is our attempt to bring it back and make as good as it was - to provide a resurgence of Birmingham as an "Alternative City" again.
The festival isn't just for those who live on a "dark side", but a gathering for "everyone" to look and experience something more than there preconceptions and enjoy themselves in sight, sound and mind. Birmingham is well known for embracing its multicultural and diverse community, so, along with it's central location, was possibly the best choice to hold our first major event."
DM: What do you think of the goth scene in and around Birmingham at the moment?
"To quote one of our team : "I think the goth scene in Brum needs a good kick up the arse!" - and hopefully that is what we are doing!
Don't get us wrong, there are some excellent nights out there in Birmingham currently (Zombie Club, or the Eddies based gigs and event nights such as The Dungeon room, Club Tron & Dystopia), and periodic University GothSoc evenings, but there seems to be little else, in what is supposed to be the second city of the country!
Since the closure of the Toreador and Mercat pubs, and sad burning down of the original Edwards No.8 (Eddies) club, it does seem to have become more fragmented. A lot of the "back in the day" crowd have "grown up" and started going out less due to family or financial commitments - and there seems to be less of an influx of new faces on the scene, from university students to people moving to the region. Many have whispered that we need "something", but nothing ever seemed to happen. Until now.
Hopefully with our events we will give Midlanders a new place on the Goth map!"
All 9 of the Dark Heart Events team have been involved in the Goth Scene for some time, and want to put something back in!
DM: Why did you pick the bands you have on the line-up?
"Ultimately because we like them! We approached (and were approached by) lots of bands and genuinely found it really hard to choose. A lot of the team know members of several bands (which definitely helped with initial contacts) - and there were so many great groups who were interested.
With the number of bands to choose from we had enough to put on several nights, featuring different sub genres. But, ultimately, as we're self financing bunch of volunteers, we have to start small and build - so we eventually went for a line up of bands that we all like and thought would work well together.
The longer term plan is to have more than one night, more than one room, and more bands! But for now, £15 (if you buy in advance) gets you 6 bands, 6 top DJs, and (not counting the Dark Market in the daytime) 9 hours of entertainment. At £2.50 a band or £1.66
We're still looking for volunteers to help out at the festival, so please get in touch."
Competition: Is now closed!!!
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