After their hugely successful & well received début slot at this years Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival we are pleased to announce that Young Pilgrims will be headlining H&H on 26th September as part of the THSH Jazzlines Series.

The modern day marching band combine a vibrant compositional style of rootsy jazz mixed with brass heavy instrumentation making them a thoroughly exhilarating act to watch. Band leader, Richard Foote, recently spoke to THSH about how the band came together, the choosing of their name & the eclectic mix of music that have influenced them . You can read the full interview here and check out their single ‘Anstey’s Zen Place’ below:

https://soundcloud.com/thshbirmingham/ansteys-zen-place-richard

In support are Horse House, Tom Ford’s realization of the inspirational pre-swing and bebop musics with Ford on guitar and banjo, Sam Watts on accordion and melodica and Mike Fletcher on alto sax and flute.

Advanced £8 tickets are now on sale, you can grab yours here.

We are delighted to announce that Jam Hott will be bringing DJ Maseo (De La Soul) to H&H Saturday 17th August

Producer / DJ / part-time MC, Vincent Mason a.k.a Maseo a.k.a Plug 3 from iconic Hip-Hop group De La Soul is one of the busiest and most respected party rocking DJs around. In recent years Maseo has been working on his “DJ-Conductor” concept album and can currently be seen in the award-winning “Beats Rhymes & Life” A Tribe Called Quest documentary keeping the peace between the stars of the movie.

Don’t miss your opportunity to catch one of Hip-Hops greats in the intimate surroundings of our 250 capacity venue. It’s set to be one hell of party. To get hold of your advanced tickets just click here. We’ll see you on the dance floor.

After their triumphant show at The Rainbow in May, Birmingham Promoters are very excited to be welcoming SKATERS back to Birmingham, this time to the Hare & Hounds.

SKATERS formed in late 2011 after singer Michael Cummings and Noah Rubin (The Dead Trees, Adam Green, Little Joy) spent a year trading demos back and forth from Los Angeles to London with guitarist Joshua Hubbard(The Paddingtons, Dirty Pretty Things).

The three met in the middle to record an EP in a Manhattan loft, and never left the city. The result is a smart, dynamic punk band drawing inspiration from obscure genres and cultures. And, a live band featuring a growing cast of young energetic musicians of the Boston and NYC music scenes.

“Skaters know just how to encapsulate that classic lo-fi garage pop sound that many can only hope to achieve.” – Indie Shuffle
“Bursts with sharp, well-defined riffs and smooth, charismatic vocals.” – Lost at E Minor

Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

SKATERS PLAY HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON SUN 1ST SEPTEMBER 2013. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Check out the video for title track ‘Schemers’ below:

http://youtu.be/6tA3ddJSrNw

It was a century ago when I first saw Akron/Family perform, in the tiny back room of a bar in Brooklyn that held perhaps 20 people. Cables and extension cords laced through their legs, they proffered a sort of delicate, improvisational experimentalism, laced with occasional rock grooves, but most extraordinarily, often punctuated with beautiful 4 part harmonies…Absolutely thrilling, stunning, and great fun, too.

Much time has passed, and we find them rocking (still rocking) but now in a skittering kaleidoscope. The shards of music styles and influences flung through the speakers from all directions, congealing for a second, then just as quickly dissolving into something new and unexpected. They’re amphetamine crazed jugglers of sound and texture, but there’s always those vocals, rooting the thing in a deep and satisfying place. A conflation of orchestrated Jazz, Prog Psych, R&B and devotional mantras.

“Organic and jubilant, it successfully weaves psych, world, rock, and folk traditions into something new and endlessly compelling.” – Pichfork

Akron/Family Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

AKRON FAMILY PLAY HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON MON 22ND JULY, WITH SUPPORT FROM JUNEAU BROTHERS & M. GEDDES GENGRAS. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Check out the video for ‘Until The Morning’ below:

http://youtu.be/Bs6HoaSu7I4

Balkanic Eruption return for their Summer Blowout with plans to make you feel like you are in the deepest, hottest part of the Balkans, chomping on a watermelon while your sexy little hips wiggle to and fro. Tonight see’s them going all Klezmer-tronic as they welcome these Leeds based maestros  Tantz to Hare and Hounds.

Their style is hypnotic and irresistible- a special kind of electro-Klezmer, they deliver a hard hitting blend of Eastern European folk and broken beats which I challenge you not to wiggle to, check them out on bandcamp here.

After the live act you can expect a selection of Balkan beats and Gypsy goodness resident DJs Uncle Zitty, Will Itsasecret until the early hours. It all kicks of at 9pm with advanced £5 tickets available here.

1EYE are back with their exciting new Reggae sound and playing live tomorrow night at Hare and Hounds.

Taking influence from the likes of John Holt, Ken Boothe and The Heptones, their eagerly awaited second album ‘Worries & Trouble’ is guaranteed to rock the dance-floor! The exciting new Reggae show with its sweet sounds and skanking licks will take you back to a classic Kingston vibe. Check out the video for their single ‘Mr Bailiff’ below:

http://youtu.be/Fm1Jv284DZQ

 You can still get hold of advanced tickets right here, with a limited amount of £5 early bird tickets still available. Support on the night comes from Tempting Rose and all kicks off at 9pm.

Tomorrow night Mississippi born, Nashville based, The Weeks will headline the Hare and Hounds.

 The Indie rock five-piece have recently signed to Kings of Leon’s ‘Serpent & Snakes’ record label. They come to the Hare and Hounds for their first UK headline tour in support of the new album ‘Dear Bo Jackson’. Check out the video for their single ‘Brother in the Night@ below:

http://youtu.be/0Azpm7_hjqM

 Their blend of 1960’s soul, roots rock and Americana has seen them labelled with the “ones to watch” status, so make sure you take the opportunity to catch them in the intimate settings of the Hare & Hounds before they get big. Support on the night comes from China Rats. You can get your advanced £6 tickets here.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday 9th July, Ex streets front man and vocalist Kevin Mark Trail returns to headline the H&H.

Kevin will be performing an intimate set of songs from his new acoustic EP, Live at Revolver Studios, as well as a number of songs spanning his career, unplugged.

While working on Huia Hamon’s album in New Zealand at Revolver Studios, Trail paused, sat at the grand piano and pressed record. The EP was mixed and mastered in New Zealand at Kog Studios by Chris Chetland. Over the past few years Kevin has travelled back and forth to New Zealand developing a relationship with its music, land and people. An evening of stories, songs and sounds, from the soul of a troubadour, a storyteller.

Check out his video for the single ‘Hope Star’ below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWTQz_MSkOY

It all kicks off at 7:30 pm tomorrow night with support coming from Indigo + Kae. Make sure you grab your advanced £7 tickets right here.

Tomorrow sees the start of this year’s Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul festival. The entire Friday line-up has been curated by the Leftfoot team and we’ve spoken to a few of the bands playing to find out exactly what you can expect come tomorrow afternoon. Today is the turn of Antelope who’ll be playing the second stage alongside Yes King, Stubborn Heart & Greg Bird & Enterprize.

– To start could you just tell us a little bit about the band?

Antelope are an 8 piece band blending different styles of dance music with jazz. We boast a massive 4 piece horn section, loads of bass and some really soulful vocals.

– What can the audience expect to see from you at the Mostly Jazz this year, have you got anything special planned?

We want to challenge people’s perception of what jazz is. Swing music from the 20’s onwards was party music: we want to get people dancing to jazz again.

–Is this your first time playing Mostly Jazz? What are your expectations?

This is my first time playing here, although a few other band members have played here before. Personally, I don’t know what to expect, but I’m definitely looking forward to it!

– Have you ever played or been to a Leftfoot show before? If so any particular highlights for you?

We’ve played around the Birmingham circuit for the last year, and have covered a lot of the venues. We always enjoy Freestyle at the Bull’s Head, and want to play at the Hare and Hounds as soon as
possible!

– What have you got coming up for the rest of 2013, anything excited planned?

We’ve got gigs all over the summer, all around the country. The next one is at The Cellar for Bossaphoniks in Oxford. We’re all especially excited to be playing on the Sunday of Boomtown. There’s another gig in the pipework supporting Carnival Collective in Brighton, it’s gonna be big! If you haven’t heard them, check them out.

–  If our readers want to find out more about you where should they head?

We have the usual websites:

www.facebook.com/antelopemusicuk

www.soundcloud.com/antelope-music-uk  … we’re looking to record a full album in the next month so look out for that!

–  For those who may not have heard of the band, which one track would you recommend they take the time to listen to that will best sum up the band and what you’re all about?

That’s a really difficult question – our songs vary massively. Bemsha or Wax & Wine have always been big crowd pleasers, but our EP is only four tracks long so listen to it all!

https://soundcloud.com/antelope-music-uk/sets/age-of-the-antelope

The Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival kicks of with the Leftfoot curated Friday on July 5th. To grab your day or weekend ticket just click here. We’ve also got a limited amount of physical tickets  for the Leftfoot Friday behind the bar at the Hare and Hounds, just pop in and ask a member of staff to get hold of one.

We recently spoke to local lads and Leftfoot favourites Troumaca about their up coming slot at the Leftfoot curated Friday at the Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival. You can read it here…

– To start could you just tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a five piece hailing from South Birmingham, we dabble in bass laced tropical sounds.   We get our name from a small town on the island of St. Vincent – Geoff’s family are from there – so we draw inspiration from that part of the world.  The sounds of the city also resonate through what we do.

– What can the audience expect to see from you at the Mostly Jazz this year, have you got anything special planned?

We are playing tracks from our forthcoming début album The Grace.  We’ll be playing Layou, which is the first single. We’re very excited about that.  We are also DJing at the Leftfoot after party with Sir Don Letts – is he a Sir? He should be.

– Is this your first time playing Mostly Jazz? What are your expectations?

No it isn’t.  We played last year and met Gilles Peterson and subsequently signed to his label Brownswood Recordings.  So Mostly Jazz has a place in Troumaca folk law now.

– Looking at the Leftfoot line-up is there anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing?

Obviously Bonobo! But I’m really looking forward to seeing Hiatus Kaiyote, I only found out about these when you guys announced the line-up – can’t wait to catch them.  The singer is amazing.

–  Have you ever played or been to a Leftfoot show before? If so any particular highlights for you?

Errrrrrr yeah! To be honest they are always great and the Silver Fox and the gang always look after us.  There’s a lot of chemistry, a lot of love you might say.  To be honest I can’t remember any particular shows, but there’s a warm feeling in my heart and a wry smile on my face thinking back and looking forward.

–  What have you got coming up for the rest of 2013, anything excited planned?

The Grace comes out  on August 26th with Layou our first single on August 12th.  We have a tour planned in the October – check the dates here please bredwins.  I’d like everyone reading this to etch this information into their minds. Safe.

–  If our readers want to find out more about you where should they head?

www.troumaca.co.uk 

Everything you need to know is on that website.

– For those who may not have heard of the band, which one track would you recommend they take the time to listen to that will best sum up the band and what you’re all about?

Layou.  Go take a swim.

http://youtu.be/7SIfvMm0UYc

The Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival kicks of with the Leftfoot curated Friday on July 5th. To grab your day or weekend ticket just click here. We’ve also got a limited amount of physical tickets  for the Leftfoot Friday behind the bar at the Hare and Hounds, just pop in and ask a member of staff to get hold of one.