OxjamBrum is fast approaching, the bands are ready to go, with 12 hours of live music coming from 40 local acts from 2pm onwards on Sat 16 October.

Tickets are only £6 and get you access to all the venues at any time. Advance tickets are on sale until Fri 15 October at midnight, but tickets will also be available on the door. The wristband exchange point on the day will be at The Yardbird, where you can also pick up stage times for all the venues.

Here’s a run down on who’s playing where;

The Yardbird – Doors 2:00pm
Nick Pride and the Pimptones
Frutaloka
Arcadian Kicks
Smileymic
The Bluebeat Arkestra
Alex Moir
Big Black Smoke
Benjamin Blower

The Flapper – Doors 3:30pm
Isolated Atoms
Malpas
Bronze Medals
This Burning Age
The Corsair
Shana Tova
Soni-quella

The Victoria – Doors 4:30pm
Tantrums
Sunset Cinema Club
Cajole Cajole
VS
Tom Peel
Savant
Pandas and People

Island Bar – Doors 4:00pm
(Silver) Souvenirs
Hot Monocles
Lady Fortune
Monster Monster
Death Ohh Eff
Jake Bullit
James Rea

The Prince of Wales – Doors 4:00pm
Scat Cat
Corrie Palmer
Tony Wille
Paul Murphy
Mike Smith

Café Blend – Doors 3:45pm
Vijay Kishore
Poppy Tibbetts
Jodi Ann Bickley
Mellow Peaches
Barnesy
Neil Ward
Michael James Butler

Just a quick round up of everything going on this weekend, there’s a lot and we wouldn’t want you to forget and miss out on anything!

Cum Clubbing – Hosted by VIVID, this art party does not look like something to be missed (although it’s happening now, so get down quick). From 8pm – late, VIVID’s project space will be taken over by live music, DJs and visual artists who’ll conspire to create an excitingly strange evening of camp disco. Tickets are £5.

To save time I’m going to be both lazy and efficient, and link you to everyone else who’s been talking about this. Take a look at Digbeth is Good, More Canals than Venice, brianduffyhasabigbrain, and Birmingham: It’s Not Shit.

Zine Festival – Not put off by the scale of Artsfest, this niche festival has a weekend full of events for you to get involved in.

• Starting this evening at The Edge is a screening of ‘$100 & A T-Shirt‘, Joe Biel’s documentary on zine culture. Entry is a £1, which also gets you a bag of popcorn, along with a talk from Pete Ashton and Rob Horrocks on the emergence of the small press comics scene and music zine influence in the 80s.
• The Victoria is host to the Zine Fair on Saturday from 12 – 6pm, along with a workshop from 2 – 2.30pm with Peter Lally, as he runs through the history of Alternative Press and curates a Q&A session on running your own zine events.
• At 5 – 6.30pm Island Bar are inviting zine fans to ‘Drop in + Draw’, offering a pencil and paper to unwind with, before the party starts with the Atta Girl Zine Party, 8pm – 2am.
• From 6.30 – 8.30pm, Get A Grip will be guiding guests through the process of making your very own totally unique t-shirt. T-shirt, equipment, inks, images and expertise supplied for £20 per person. If you fancy it, book in advance, more details here.
• Sunday will be a chilled out picnic in Cannon Hill Park at 1 – 4pm. With nothing for sale and free to attend, the party will be meeting at mac.

Artsfest – As already mentioned, the weekend of free arts events kicks off this evening and will continue to entertain through to Sunday night. With live performances coming from Centenary Square and Chamberlain Square, along with short films and animations screened at the Crescent, plus various performances and workshops held at theaters and bars across the city, don’t let the miserable weather deter you from leaving the house!

Oxjam Brum is taking over a bunch of Birmingham pubs/bars on Saturday 24 October for a fundraising, musical extravaganza:

Showcasing the very best of local, grassroots music whilst embracing national upcoming talent this will encompass over thirty acts, over six venues and all for one ticket which will be exchanged for a wristband on the day

The venues involved are The Flapper, The Prince of Wales, Basement Bar, The Victoria, Island Bar and the Sunflower Lounge. Here’s the list of bands.

The point of it all is to help raise awareness for Oxfam’s work on climate change. Tickets are only £6.

The Fringe

That’s the main event covered. Hit the link for the range of fringe events happening in the run-up.