THOU

With support from Moloch + Special Guests

MONDAY 14 APRIL 2025

The Castle & Falcon, Birmingham

| TICKETS |

Supersonic Festival are thrilled to welcome the thunderous Thou back to Birmingham. Brace yourself for the sludgiest riffs known to man and the deep, guttural sounds that only Thou can deliver!

Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorization and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Though often lumped in with New Orleans sludge bands like Eyehategod and Crowbar, Thou transcends genre boundaries, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of influences spanning from ’90s proto-grunge icons like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden to the raw intensity of obscure ’90s DIY hardcore punk found on labels like Ebullition, Vermiform, and Crimethinc. 

Their latest record Umbilical, Thou’s first full-length release of original music since their 2018 Sacred Bones debut Magus, is their firmest nod to the latter – a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band’s aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic centre on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.

Moloch formed out of the Midlands DIY punk and hardcore scene in 2007, and have been ruining your night for almost 20 years of tears.

We are proud members of PRS Foundation, Talent Development Network (TDN) 2024. One of the many ways we are using this support is to produce a regular news item for UK music creators specifically designed to signpost the most significant national and international opportunities.

Please help us spread this work by sharing the newsletter resource with your peers, and also if you know of any other relevant opportunities that we haven’t included, please send any upcoming opportunities to us [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST

GROVE performing at Supersonic Festival 2024 by Robert Barrett

BURSARY & GRANTS

Arts Council England: Immersive Arts

Deadline: 2 December 2024

A brand new funding and support programme for UK-based artists, designed to help them develop their art by using immersive technologies. Artists at all levels of experience are invited to apply, to explore, experiment or expand how they work with this exciting field of practice.

PRS Foundation: Early Career Promoter Fund

Deadline: 13 December 2024

The fund aims to help emerging promoters to do what they do best – book and promote shows to develop scenes, support artists and DJs and to reach and engage audiences locally, regionally, and nationally, and build sustainable careers in the grassroots music sector.

Grants will be available to support a range of activity including the booking, programming and promotion of gigs, concerts, club nights, showcases, tours and the costs associated with those activities such as venue hire and artist and/or DJ fees. As well as money to be used for mentoring, coaching, shadowing, workshops, masterclasses, and other skill building and networking opportunities.

Sound and Music: Awards for Young Musicians – Awards Programme

Deadline: 31 December

For talented young people from low-income families, helping them to overcome financial and social barriers they face to progression. We provide flexible funding towards musical costs (like tuition, instrument costs or travel) plus individual support to cater to personal circumstances. This could be anything from mentoring and workshops with professional musicians, the chance to observe them perform, free tickets to concerts and performance opportunities.

They currently have funding particularly aimed at supporting young musicians in the West Midlands region.

Arts Council England: Supporting Grassroots Music Fund

Deadline: end of 2024

ACE is still welcoming applications from the Midlands for their Supporting Grassroots Music fund, open to venues (live and/or electronic music), music festivals, promoters, recording and rehearsal studios. Interested in applying? Find out more and submit your application by the end of 2024.

Need advice or support, especially if you’re applying for the first time? You can email Midlands Relationship Manager, Rosie Tunley at [email protected]

Vaughan Williams Foundation: Supporting the work of Professional Composers

Deadline: 3 January 2025

The Foundation offers funding towards: the performance, commissioning or recording of music by professional British/Irish composers active in the last 100 years; or projects and organisations in the UK which create developmental opportunities for composers, or which promote wider awareness of British/Irish music of the last 100 years.

Arts Council England: Incentivising Touring

Deadline: 20 January 2025

This is a £5 million pilot offering repayable grants for theatre and dance, to address growing challenges around mid and large-scale touring. The scheme has been collaboratively developed with the sector, and aims to support regional touring with commercial potential, helping to provide more people across England with access to a wide range of high-quality cultural experiences.

Arts Council of Northern Ireland: The National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme – Travel Awards 

Deadline: rolling 

For individual artists and established music groups (up to 2 members) to travel from Northern Ireland to develop their skills and expertise. Applicants must provide evidence that they’ve been invited by a host organisation in the country to which they intend to travel.

Youth Music: Application Access Fund to support d/Deaf and Disabled applicants

Deadline: rolling

If you identify as d/Deaf, Disabled or Neurodivergent  and need further support to make an application to Youth Music, you can apply to our Application Access Fund. This provides funding to cover any additional access costs that might be required for you to make an application to one of Youth Music’s main grant funds.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

Sound & Music: In Motion

Deadline: 4 December 2024

Designed to support you to develop clarity around your goals for your artistic and professional development as well as produce a creative project that can support you to achieve these goals. For any composers working with music and sound in the UK.

As a composer on the programme, you will receive:

• An artist bursary of £1,800
• A production grant of up to £4,000 to support with project or artistic development expenses
• Regular 1:1 sessions with a dedicated team member
• Coaching sessions with an accredited coach
• An allowance to pay for mentoring sessions
• Group-sharing sessions and workshops, including a two-day residential called the Networking Days

Saffron Music: Emerging 2024-25

Deadline: 8 December 2024

Artist development programme for a black (or of black heritage) woman, non-binary person, trans, intersex or gender non-conforming music creator based in Bristol or Southwest England.

Successful applicants will receive funding to cover the costs of creating and self-releasing their music, in addition to 1-2-1 mentoring, peer support sessions and community masterclasses. Programme activity also includes a 5-day residential retreat at Hawkwood in Stroud.

Alumni includes Supersonic Festival performer GROVE!

Elvtr: Music Composition For Games

Apply now! Online course running from 10 December – 30 January

Create strong, recognizable musical motifs that enhance the game’s identity and resonate with players through emotional storytelling. The course is perfect for composers at any stage. Whether you’re interested in learning advanced techniques, looking to break into game music, or seeking structured learning.

Learn from the BAFTA-winning composer Jason Graves, renowned for his innovative approach to orchestration and cinematic narratives for games including Call of Duty: Warzone2, The Dark Pictures Anthology, Moss, Tomb Raider.

Arts Council England: Developing Your Creative Practice

Deadline: 12 December 2024

This fund is designed to support your growth and help you reach new heights in your art. Whether you’re interested in diving into research, expanding your network, or experimenting with your work, this opportunity is here to help you invest in yourself and your next steps.

TRAINING

Help Musicians: Booking Tours and Gigs to Promote Your Music 

Event takes place Monday 2^nd  December from 6 – 7PM online. Sign up places are still available – first come first served.

For musicians looking to boost their income through innovative merch strategies. The session will also cover effective strategies for approaching and building relationships with promoters, venues and funders, providing valuable insights in securing gigs, tours and festival spots. Discover how to maximise promotional opportunities on tour, including timing new releases and merchandise drops.

Help Musicians: Making Money from Merch 

Event takes place Monday 16 December from 6 – 7PM online. Sign up places are still available – first come first served.

For musicians looking to amplify their reach and expand their audience. Free online event with insights from Andy Allen, CEO of BSI Merch.

SUBMISSIONS / RADIO

Sound and Music: Open submissions for Club Together Club community radio show in Bristol/Berlin.

Deadline: 3^rd December

For female, non-binary or gender non-conforming artists. Opportunity to have your music and a 5-10 interview played on Berlin based radio station Club Together Club.

JOB FEATURE

Oxford Contemporary Music: Programme Producer (22.5 hours per week)

Deadline: 10am on Wednesday 11 December:

We are so pleased to share that we won the Arts and Culture award at the Brum Awards 2024!

The Birmingham Awards are dedicated to recognising excellence across various sectors, fostering a sense of pride and unity within our community.

“We are thrilled to have won the Arts and Culture Award 2024, it’s great to be acknowledged for our work in the city, especially as this year we are celebrating our 25^th anniversary. It’s not been an easy journey but we feel very lucky to work with such extraordinary artists and to have a brilliantly dedicated team who make these projects come to life, and of course we have only been able to evolve and grow because of the support of our loyal audiences.”

Lisa Meyer – CEO/Artistic Director

Photos by Edwin Ladd

BIG JOANIE + THE NONE + FLESH CREEP

THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2024

CASTLE & FALCON

| TICKETS |

We’re celebrating 25 years of Capsule Events, and there’s no better way to mark the occasion than by bringing together some of our favourite bands for a festive Christmas celebration! The party will see live performances from Big Joanie, The NONE, and Flesh Creep, all of whom perfectly embody the spirit of Capsule. Limber up, and get your dancing shoes on for a medley of heavy hits and power ballads from our guest DJs, PLUS a plethora of ‘organised’ fun and general merriment!

Starting out 25 years ago, our first event took place at the turn of a new century when the world was on the cusp of ending because of the millennium bug, it’s a miracle we’re here to celebrate and only made possible through sheer grit and determination, we’ve had the honour of working with some of the most extraordinary artists, been supported by the most wonderful audience and our Capsule family has grown and evolved over the years to become what it is today!

More info here

Supersonic Festival are honoured to host Chat Pile alongside HIRS Collective this coming April. Rising from the DIY music scene of Oklahoma City in 2019, Chat Pile is a band dedicated to creating a raw and chaotic sound. The band comprises Raygun Busch on vocals, Luther Manhole on guitar, Stin on bass, and Captain Ron on drums. 

FRIDAY 25 APRIL 2025

The Crossing, Birmingham

| TICKETS |

Their dark, sludgy take on noise rock carves out a unique space within the underground music world, encapsulating the crushing intensity of Godflesh, the experimental edge of Sonic Youth, and the grotesque humour of The Jesus Lizard. Chat Pile will be performing songs from their new album Cool World, among other material. Like towering mounds of toxic waste, Cool World is a suffocating, grotesque embodiment of the existential anguish that has defined the 21st Century. It figures that a band with such an abrasive, unrelenting, and outlandish sound has struck as strong a chord as it has. Dread has replaced the American dream, and Chat Pile’s music is a poignant reminder of that shift – a portrait of an American rock band moulded by a society defined by its cold and cruel power systems. Chat Pile’s arrival in Birmingham is highly anticipated – we can’t wait to welcome them for the first time!

Support comes from HIRS Collective, who exist to fight for, defend, and celebrate the survival of trans, queer, POC, black, women and any and all other folks who have to constantly face violence, marginalisation, and oppression. Emerging from the leftist punk world, they prioritise community, collaboration, and radicalism. Known for their chaotic punk fury and socially conscious commentary, the collective’s work holds a mirror to societal injustices, emphasising the power of true community and the importance of collaborative creativity.

Supersonic Festival are delighted to welcome the brilliant Beak> this December. Featuring members of Portishead and Moon Gangs, they made their debut in 2009. Known for their unique blend of krautrock and electronic sounds, Beak> delivers an unforgettable live experience filled with motorik rhythms, hypnotic bass lines, and a powerful sonic atmosphere.

SATURDAY 7 DECEMBER 2024

Castle & Falcon

| TICKETS |

Sometimes a band can be no more than the sum of it’s parts, but Beak> are an equation in which it’s impossible to define equivalents or totals. Instead the meeting of three talent’s form a foundation from which idea’s assimilate and propagate. A new Beak> album might not come around often, but when it does, it always seems to capture a specific moment in time, a new set of elegies for the present moment. With the surprise announcement and release of >>>>, Beak> deliver another taste of a different moment, suspended in stasis and simultaneously rushing towards the vanishing point on the horizon.

Support comes from Los Angeles avant-garde synth artist Litronix & avant-pop composer/performer Rosie Tee.

We are once again completely heart warmed by the incredible press, artist and audience response from this year’s festival. A huge thank you to all that joined us in creating joyous memories together. The festival wouldn’t be what it is without the support from our wonderful audience.

“Others are catalysts and cultivators – places where connections are made, communities are sustained and future collaborations may take root. The inspiring, tenacious Supersonic is one of the latter, and for anyone still in doubt of its value, for even a relatively blockbuster (in this context) artist like Oldham, decades-established in his own right, it remains integral.”

★★★★★

The Guardian, read full review

photo by Robert Barrett

“As long as festivals as uplifting, as communal, and as defiant as Supersonic continue to defy the odds, there is hope.”

– The Quietus, read full review

“Artistic Director Lisa Meyer articulately expressed her aspirations for the three day event: “I hope that Supersonic will be a space for people to find comfort in one another, catharsis in music, and a celebration of an amazing community and extraordinary art.”… we are delighted to confirm that Meyer’s words transcended into a real life experience for us.”
– Get In Her Ears, read full review

Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone goes Supersonic 2024 | Listen Here 

The Freak Zone makes its annual pilgrimage to Birmingham for the mighty Supersonic festival for a celebration of leftfield and experimental music. Expect to hear from Gazelle Twin, Mary Lattimore, ØXN, some prog morris dancers and some wrestlers in giant papier-mache heads.

Taliable by Alice Needham

 “The ever-amazing Capsule crew have been curating the best in the most challenging, experimental and downright rocking music and art year after year to huge acclaim.”

–  Devolution Magazine, read full review

“The most cutting of cutting edge festivals returns for its annual celebration of the eclectic and a typically stunning bill of music that keeps you both intrigued and guessing.”

– Louder Than War, read full review

Maxine Peake with Pocket Signs Punch and Judy Photo by John Convey

“Demonstrates how the festival constantly pushes boundaries in terms of it’s artistic exploration“

– God Is In The TV Zine, read full review

“Birmingham is lucky to have such a visionary festival in its portfolio.”

– John Robb, Louder Than War, read full review

“Among the many reasons to love Supersonic, up near the top of the list is the programming. Sunday brings an unprecedented line-up of artists making striking new music that is openly engaged with traditional forms or in some way folk adjacent.” 

– Echoes and Dust, read full review

“The Supersonic team pulled off another blinder in 2024 and, as Bonnie “Prince” Billy proclaimed during his headline set on Sunday: “I hope that you’re all enjoying this weekend – because there’s absolutely no excuse not to.”

★★★★★

The Arts Desk, read full review

Bonnie “Prince” Billy by Robert Barrett

“a celebration of the very best in experimental music on a world wide scale!”

– Birthday Cake For Breakfast, read full review

“what makes it so great and so nourishing, but such an abundance of cultural riches takes time to fully digest.”
– Friday Echoes and Dust, read full review

“Supersonic is a very important and special festival”

– TDE Promotions, read full review

“They do not miss. She’s fierce but Yallah radiates positive vibes while Debmaster brings the futurist beats. Their set is a double joy… a smiling demonstration of the festival’s defiant spirit.”

– Echos and Dust on MC Yallah X Debmaster Performance, read full review

MC Yallah By Alice Needham

“HOLY SHITSNACKS CAN I COME BACK NEXT YEAR?!! But seriously, the whole team put their hearts and souls into making Birmingham the coolest place on Earth, curating the best programme with the most experimental alternative acts from all over the world. Supersonic is also a wonderful place where community is more than a word.”

– The Sleeping Shaman, read the full review of Friday / Saturday / Sunday

“my bones would rattle, my brain would fizz, and my ears would hear things they had never heard before. All thanks to Supersonic Festival – legendary among explorers of the sonically daring.”

“Supersonic’s reputation precedes it, often cited as one of the UK’s best small festivals. Like all the best festivals, it does not try to be all things to all people, and over 20 years it has ploughed its own furrow of championing experimental sounds and encouraging creativity…from a curatorial standpoint, the team at Capsule, the Birmingham-based group behind the festival, pulled an absolute blinder out. I don’t do stars, but if I did, I’d offer five.”

– In Spite Magazine, read the full review of Friday / Saturday / Sunday

“To transport the audience into another world is a high-flown premise of many music festivals. It’s not an easy thing to do. Birmingham’s 2024 Supersonic Festival performed the task splendidly. With a line-up filled to the brims with high-quality performances of various genres and disciplines, a laid-back atmosphere, workshops, other activities, and friendly enthusiastic faces across the audience, Supersonic created space where one could relax and fully immerse oneself into this alternative reality where art can flourish. The artist list was incredibly rich in various genres, genders and backgrounds.”

– Women of Noise, read full review

F*CHOIR By Ewan Williamson

“It remains one of our most diverse, exciting and forward-thinking festivals.”

– The Wire

“also what makes Supersonic special: the audience isn’t treated as a commodity or cash cow to be squeezed for every last penny; rather, they are integrated into the festival’s very fabric. From the workshops to the intimate performances and the warmth of the festival staff, this positive energy permeates the atmosphere. You can really sense that the artists buy into this ethos, with established names like Maxine Peake, and Brum techno legend DJ Surgeon all making appearances throughout the weekend.”

– Off Licence Magazine, read full review

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

We’re gutted to announce that, due to flight cancellations and delays, Upchuck are unable to perform at Supersonic this weekend. We’re so sorry to everyone that was looking forward to seeing them, and we wish Upchuck a safe rest of their journey.

Doors for XOYO will now be at 15:30

Please see the updated timetable here

We are sorry to announce the cancellation of Cosey Fanni Tutti’s appearance at Supersonic Festival this week. This is due to a family emergency. we are Delighted to say that Gazelle Twin has stepped up and will now be in Conversation with Maxine Peake!

British composer, producer, and musician Elizabeth Bernholz, aka Gazelle Twin makes sounds that are somewhere between a nightmare and a dream, always shifting tectonically. who is no stranger to performing at Supersonic. They will be Performing themselves on Friday at The 02 Institute. Maxine Peake is a socialist, feminist and environmentalist. A tenacious campaigner on issues local, national and global, as well as having excellent musical taste. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join us.

Gazelle and Maxine have both recently been involved with an original production of Robin/Red/Breast, a take on the 1970s TV play Robin Redbreast, blending folk horror with immersive storytelling and live music – we can’t wait to learn more

This event is currently at capacity

https://www.gazelletwin.com/

Here’s the bit you’ve all been waiting for… the Supersonic 2024 timetable! Grab a pen and get circling, cause you won’t want to miss any of the mind-blowing music, workshops, and talks we have in store for you!

| SUPERSONIC 2024 TIMETABLE |

* please note timetable may be subject to change *

| BUY HERE | DONATE |

| FESTIVAL TICKETS | MORE INFO |

Cosey Fanni Tutti in Conversation with Maxine Peake

Saturday 31 August 2024, 14:30 – 15:30

Eastside Projects | 6 Heath Mill Ln | B9 4AR

Free limited spaces to those with W/E or Saturday Supersonic Tickets otherwise £10 + booking fees. All Supersonic ticket holders who want to attend must sign up.

| TICKETS | SIGN UP |

We’re over the moon to host an exclusive conversation between industrial pioneer Cosey Fanni Tutti and Maxine Peake.

Musician and artist Cosey Fanni Tutti has continually challenged boundaries and conventions for four decades. As a founding member of the hugely influential avant-garde band Throbbing Gristle, as one half of electronic pioneers Chris and Cosey, and as an artist channelling her experience in pornographic modelling and striptease, her work on the margins has come to reshape the mainstream. Her first book, Art Sex Music, was a Sunday Times, Telegraph, Rough Trade, Pitchfork and Uncut Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize.

Maxine Peake is a socialist, feminist and environmentalist. A tenacious campaigner on issues local, national and global, as well as having excellent musical taste. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join us.

| FESTIVAL TICKETS | MORE INFO |

If you fancy having a hands-on start to your day, or taking a breather between our mighty fine live acts – we have some exceptional workshops planned for you to get involved with! This year, workshops will be hosted by Declonise Fest, Farmer Glitch, Bunny Bissoux, Maisie Violet Rees, Debbie Armour (Burd Ellen), Artefact and Craftspace’s Shelanu.

FARMER GLITCH: Spring Thing – Noise Box (SATURDAY | SIGN UP)

places are limited, so don’t delay – | sign up | now to secure your place.

Build and take home your own experimental noise-box/instrument – a wooden box allowing improvisational audio experimentation. Farmer Glitch will guide you through the principles of contact-microphones and how they can be used for capturing hidden sounds, as well as design, electronics and circuit-bending.

SHELANU: Transfer Printing (SUNDAY | DROP IN)

Shelanu, which means ‘belonging to us’, is a collective of migrant and refugee women working with Craftspace to develop craft skills, confidence and well-being through social enterprise. Join them in making your own Supersonic key ring or pendant to take home with you – choose from a series of different designs and colours.

DECOLONISE FEST: Decolonising Publishing Through Zine Making
(SATURDAY | DROP IN)

This workshop will explore the history, practical use, and creative process of making zines. Participants are invited to explore themes of self and identity by producing their own creations. Collage materials provided.

MAISIE VIOLET REES: Upcycled Objects (SATURDAY | DROP IN)

At this drop in work shop, Maisie will assist you in creating your own unique upcycled objects using image transfers and thrifted second hand objects to transform into your own decorative Homeware to take away with you. Turn one persons trash into decor treasure!

BUNNY BISSOUX: Greetings From Digbeth – DIY Postcard Collage Workshop (SUNDAY | DROP IN)

Commemorate your festival memories and celebrate Supersonic’s home city by making a one-of-a-kind souvenir with Birmingham-raised artist, illustrator & obsessive fanatic Bunny Bissoux. Combining text slogans, images and patterns inspired by Birmingham local architecture and iconography. Participants can use a variety of materials including printed stickers, stamps and snapshots to create a DIY interpretation of the retro ‘wish you were here!’ postcards of the past.

ARTEFACT: Issimo! (SUNDAY | DROP IN)

Issimo! is an experimental music group devised at Artefact in South Birmingham. In our Issimo! workshop we will take every day materials and use them to create new instruments. You can create whatever the materials and your imagination will allow. These newly created instruments will be in an Issimo! experimental exercise and then we will use our new instruments to perform a new improvised piece of music.

DEBBIE ARMOUR: Ghost Songs – Exploring Revenant Ballads (SUNDAY | SIGN UP)

places are limited, so don’t delay – | sign up | now to secure your place.

In this workshop you’ll sing and learn about Revenant Ballads. Revenants are manifestations of grief occupying a third space — an ambiguous zone between this life and what is beyond. Look at what they represent using examples from British and Irish tradition and sing them as part of a group. This workshop is for everyone, even if you don’t consider yourself a “singer”.

For our two sign-up workshops, places are limited, so don’t delay – sign up now to secure your place.

Please note, entry to these workshops is included in a Supersonic Festival ticket – a festival ticket for the relevant day (or the full weekend) is required!

| TICKETS |

Supersonic are delighted to collaborate with WEIRD WALK at this year’s festival, including live sets, guest DJs and limited-edition merchandise.

Supersonic and WEIRD WALK are natural collaborators, long appreciating each other’s curation from afar and coming together in a shared ethos that seeks to find the magic and mystery in music and art. WEIRD WALK will transform the rooftop on the Sunday, erecting ‘standing stones’, and creating space for re-enchantment, music and merriment to thrive.

Line up includes:
Maxine Peake (DJ)
Boss Morris Spellbinding moves from progressive morris dancing group
Daisy Rickman a solo set of ethereal, out-of-time, psychy, pastoral folk song
Jacken Elswyth Shovel Dance Collectives banjo player and instrument maker, conjuring new worlds from the traditional and the cosmic
Haress intertwine dark and repetitive guitar to create a hypnotic, mantra-like state
Poor Creature (DJ) members of Lankum, Landless, The Jimmy Cake
Nyahh Records (DJ) A home for sound collectors, noise makers and music builders

| SEE LINE UP |

www.instagram.com/weird_walk

The Rooftop bar at XOYO

Supersonic Kids Gigs present…

MATANA ROBERTS hosted by Ben Sadler

Foyle Studio, mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH
Saturday 31 August 2024, 2-3.30pm

Tickets £9 Children & £12 Adults. Under 2’s go free.
All children must be accompanied by a guardian.
Recommended for children under 10.

| BOOK HERE | 

Created by the UK’s premiere experimental music festival, Supersonic Kids Gigs are designed for families as a way of introducing children to experimental music – BIG sounds for little people!   

Expect a live set by Matana Roberts, an internationally celebrated composer, performer, band leader, saxophonist, sound experimentalist, and mixed-media practitioner. They will create a tapestry of sounds from field recordings, loop and effects pedals, and spoken word recitations, alongside their saxophone and singing voices.

A self-taught composer, the Chicago-raised and New York City-based Roberts earned two degrees in performance from a smattering of American institutions but received their main training from free arts programs in the American Public School System. This will be a truly joyous and interactive session of singing, clapping, and stomping!

Hosted by artist/musician and all-round comedy genius Ben Sadler (of Juneau Projects).

“I love the depth of the performances, and the willingness to show kids exciting and beautiful music without worrying about it being over explained. A hit for the kids and parents for sure. The show was expertly hosted with infectious enthusiasm and timing.”

– FAMILY FEEDBACK

Supersonic are truly honoured to be premiering the new video for “Holy Lance”, the single from ‘Orchards of a Futile by The Body & Dis Fig – Scroll down to watch!

Filmed and edited by Garret Preston, the video’s glitching textures, nocturnal found footage and oblique narrative tread a careful balance between alluring and unsettling, an apt reflection of the track’s intoxicating atmospheres.

If you’d like the chance to see The Body & Dis Fig in their element – look no further. They will be joining us for Supersonic Festival 2024, performing on Saturday 31st August. Don’t miss your opportunity to see them this tour, GET TICKETS .

The Body & Dis Fig are a natural pair. Each has pioneered instantly recognizable worlds of sound all their own that defy any traditional categorizations or boundaries. The Body, Lee Buford and Chip King, continually challenge any conventional conception of metal, collaborating with myriad artists and from the folk-leanings of their work with BIG|BRAVE to their ground-breaking work with the Assembly of Light Choir to the intensity of their collaborations with Thou.

Dis Fig, aka Felicia Chen, pushes electronic music into dark extremes, from warped DJ sets to avant production, from being a member of Tianzhuo Chen’s performance-art series TRANCE to being the vocalist with The Bug. The Body and Dis Fig find kinship in reimagining what it means to make “heavy music”. Their debut Orchards of a Futile Heaven is the perfect synthesis of two forces, as bracing as it is touching, and as harrowing as it is awe-inspiring.

“Whether it’s a sludge-metal lope or a near-techno pulse, this truly awesome album’s sense of rhythm is perhaps its note of hope, suggesting a centre that just might hold even as things fall apart.” – The Guardian

“Lots of feedback and heaviness, but with a vibe like you’re trapped in a modem that’s connecting.” – Metal Injection

“Like Nine Inch Nails with Bjork on vocals, but ten times more extreme.” – The Wire

Order The Body & Dis Fig’s Orchards of a Futile Heaven

Listen to The Body & Dis Fig’s Orchards of a Futile Heaven

We have once again partnered with Staying Cool at the Rotunda to run a very special competition for two lucky people who will win 2 x Supersonic Festival Weekend Tickets and accommodation for the weekend at Staying Cool Rotunda. 

To enter this free competition, head to our Facebook or Instagram!

• Follow/like both Supersonic Festival and Staying Cool
• Share the post
• Tag a friend you would like to bring along 

Find our full line up here! 

Competition closes midday Tuesday 30 July 2024 – the winning entry will be drawn randomly and announced ahead of the festival. 

Staying Cool is a design-led boutique serviced apartment operator in Birmingham. 

Staying Cool opened atop the Rotunda (a Grade II listed building) in Birmingham in 2008. The 35 apartments are stylishly designed and range from studios to 2-bed penthouses. The collections larger apartments represent the only 5* (Visit England assessed) accommodation in the city a decade after opening. 

Since launch Staying Cool’s mission has been to offer guests chic serviced apartments that combine all the style of a boutique hotel with the space 

The business has a strong ethical streak with a focus on working with other local independent companies. 

Our studio apartment is named after the famous British car built at Longbridge in its sixties heyday. The Mini gives you 370 square feet of city-centre living to enjoy. Floor-to-ceiling windows that open to deliver the perfect city vista while bespoke interiors bring the wow factor inside. All of our studio apartments are on levels 16-19 so great views are guaranteed. If you have a preferred view then let us know when you check-in and we’ll do our best to accommodate. 

Each apartment has a fully-equipped kitchen, dining area and lounge area as well as the bedroom which is separated from the living areas by a low divider. The bathroom has a rainfall shower. Fluffy towels and bathrobes come as standard. You’ll find complimentary oranges for the juicer and Fairtrade teas as well as locally ground coffee. 

We have a special code “Supersonic2024” giving 10% off on bookings made for the dates of the festival (valid Thursday 29 Aug – Monday 2 Sep), so you can guarantee a luxury experience for Supersonic 2024! 

     | TICKETS |

We’re throwing a party! This June marks five years since our internationally renowned Home of Metal season which included the major Black Sabbath exhibition. 

Celebrate with us at Hare and Hounds. We’re hosting a screening of the cult documentary-short Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a debut performance from Brummie doom band Meatdripper and hardcore punks Flesh Creep who’ll throw in a couple Sabbath covers for good measure. Plus we’ll have a heavy metal badge making station + guest DJs

Now a cult favourite, Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986) is a documentary-short film following heavy metal fans as they queue for a Judas Priest/Dokken gig in Maryland that same year.

Hardcore punk band Flesh Creep have been making waves across the UK since their formation. Their sound has been described as the aggression of early Left for Dead with the energy of Feel the Darkness-era Poison Idea.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fl3shcr33p

Meatdripper are a doom metal band hailing from Birmingham, comprising former members of Youth Man, God Damn and Exhaler. We are very happy to host their debut live performance!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/meatdripper_

We’ll also have a Heavy Metal badge making station! Here you’ll be able to choose from several designs celebrating your favourite metal icons from Ozzy to Halford.

SHOW FAQS

Venue: Hare and Hounds, 106 High Street, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7JZ – www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

Tickets: https://supersonicfestival.com/product/flesh-creep-meatdripper/

Accessibility: This is a standing show. Step access only.

Timings: Doors 19.30. Set times TBC

Age Restrictions: 14+ / 14 – 16s accompanied by an adult

We are on the lookout for some wonderfully creative minds to bring us unusual, imaginative and engaging new workshops that will take place as part of Supersonic Festival (August 30 – September 1)

| APPLY HERE |

Supersonic have been host to all kinds of weird and wonderful workshops from making your own Pint Mug Soundsystem to a Doom Yoga session. This year we’re keen to put on another creative workshop programme for our curious audiences – with your help!

Whether you’re flying solo, a group or an organisation, we want to hear ideas that embrace our passion for collaboration between both artists and audience alike.

We are a festival which celebrates expressive, challenging and generally out-there music and art. We remain inclusive, accessible and engaging to varied audiences; new and returning.

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After lots of prepping behind the scenes, we are delighted to reveal the day lineups and the addition of acclaimed, socio-politically conscious and aesthetically intrepid avant-jazz practitioner Matana Roberts. Presenting our Saturday night party in collaboration Homobloc are the snoutstanding oinklusive dance troupe FVCK PIGS who will help us unleash the pig within. We are also delighted to be partnering with cult zine Weird Walk who will transform the rooftop bar on the Sunday, erecting ‘standing stones’, and creating space for re-enchantment, music and merriment to thrive. In addition we are thrilled to be working once again with Decolonise Fest, the annual non-profit DIY punk festival collectively organised by and for punx of colour who will be taking over the rooftop bar on Saturday.

Matana Roberts credit Anna Niedermeier

FRIDAY
Dame Area | Gazelle Twin | Melt-Banana | Grove presents Taliable x Toya Delazy | The None | Tristwch Y Fenywod | UKAEA

SATURDAY
Agriculture | Emma Ruth Rundle | MC Yallah x Debmaster | Modified Youth | Senyawa | Smote | The Body & Dis Fig | The Shits | Upchuck | Vile Creature
+ Homobloc x Fvck Pigs late night party
Rooftop – Decolonise Fest Takeover

SUNDAY
Bonnie “Prince” Billy | Daisy Rickman | Brìghde Chaimbeul | John Francis Flynn | Mary Lattimore | Matana Roberts | ØXN | Mohammad Syfkhan | One Leg One Eye | Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe | Womb x Water
+ Rooftop – Weird Walk Takeover with special guests
Freak Zone Quiz

See line up for more info on artists performing

Venue update + Additional weekend tickets

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O2 Institute

As long-time friends will know, Supersonic has happily been in Digbeth since we first started 21 years ago. Over the last few years, however, we’ve been seeing problems caused by the increasing gentrification of the area and the impact of property developers moving in.

Sadly, this has now directly affected our plans for this year, as the developers who own the warehouse that we used as our main stage last year have let us down at the 11th hour. Despite months of regular meetings and reassurances from them that all was OK, they recently told us that they won’t now be able to let us have the space this year.

As you might imagine, this has caused us a lot of stress behind the scenes over the last few weeks, but we’re delighted to say that we have now found an alternative that we think will actually be a big improvement on what we had last year. We can now confirm that we will be using the O2 Institute as our second stage, it’s a stunning converted Methodist chapel built in the early 1900s. It’s just a short walk from our main festival hub at XOYO (formerly called The Mill) and its bigger capacity will enable us to put more weekend tickets on sale. This new space will also be much better for you as audience members – with good disabled access, a high stage with excellent site lines and, best of all, a seated balcony for those of you that get weary feet during the festival!

What this late change does mean is that our costs have increased quite substantially and we won’t be able to benefit from the bar income at the O2 Institute as we used to at the old venue. So we would ask you to support us by making sure you use our bars based at XOYO as much as you can, as the income we generate there makes a huge contribution towards our costs in producing the festival.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to welcoming our global community in August, when we’re sure that you’ll have just as great a time as ever……

Photo by Snaprockandpop

Our internationally renowned Supersonic Festival returns to Digbeth August 30 – September 1 and we need a dedicated team of volunteers to help deliver it!

| APPLY HERE |

Supersonic has secured its experimental reputation with consistently innovative and explosive concoctions of visual installations, films, exhibitions and music. Guaranteed to open eyes and ears to music and art outside the predictable genre labels and familiar performance spaces.

You will be part of an ever growing, friendly community of music and art lovers helping to maintain the values of bringing the extraordinary to curious audiences in an all inclusive way. This is will be an invaluable experience into how our festival runs but not only that, you’ll be contributing to something truly Superspecial whilst making friends along the way!

The festival is small enough for every volunteer to give real input and value in the following areas:

• Artist Liaison
• Box Office
• Hospitality
• Site Set up
• Merch
• Promotion

You must be able to volunteer for all three days of the festival and will work up to 16 hours (spread over the weekend).

Volunteers must be over 18 years old.

If you would like to get involved please complete the application form.

Application deadline: Monday 24th June.

Reference: Once the deadline has passed, we will source references for all first-time volunteers before we can confirm your place.

Deposit: All volunteers are required to submit a £50 deposit by August 1st (unless you are unable to do so and have contacted us beforehand). We’ll be in touch about this in July.

Rota: You will be emailed your shifts two weeks before the festival.

If you have any questions then please email [email protected]

WITH BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY, THE BODY & DIS FIG, EMMA RUTH RUNDLE PERFORMING “SOME HEAVY OCEAN”, GAZELLE TWIN, ØXN, SENYAWA, AND JOINED BY GROVE PRESENTING AN EXCLUSIVE NEW COMMISSION, ROBERT AIKI AUBREY LOWE, VILE CREATURE AND MORE

WEEKEND TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Agriculture | The Body & Dis Fig | Bonnie “Prince” Billy | Brìghde Chaimbeul | Daisy Rickman | Dame Area | Emma Ruth Rundle | Gazelle Twin | Grove | John Francis Flynn | Mary Lattimore | MC Yallah x Debmaster | Melt Banana | Modified Youth | Mohammad Syfkhan | One Leg One Eye | ØXN | Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe | Senyawa | Smote | The None | The Shits | Tristwch Y Fenywod | UKAEA | Upchuck | Vile Creature | Water X Womb

Grove

Following our sell-out 2023 twentieth anniversary edition, and the first wave of announcements for this year, Supersonic Festival reveals the next wave of acts from their upcoming 2024 edition.

★★★★★ – The Guardian

“Britain’s very best underground festival.” – The Quietus

“Supersonic Festival, Britain’s premier celebration of adventurous and mind-blowing sounds.” – Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone BBC Radio 6 Music

FIRST NAMES REVEALED…

Agriculture | The Body & Dis Fig | Bonnie “Prince” Billy | 
Brìghde Chaimbeul | Emma Ruth Rundle | Gazelle Twin |
John Francis Flynn | Mary Lattimore | MC Yallah x Debmaster |
Melt-Banana | Mohammad Syfkhan | One Leg One Eye | ØXN | Senyawa | Smote | The None | The Shits | Upchuck

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 1ST MARCH @ 10AM
Line up info

Following a sell-out 20th anniversary edition in 2023, lauded by press, fans and performers alike, we’ve been spurred on by last year’s triumphs. Today, we make our initial lineup announcement, offering a weekend of phenomenal experimental and DIY music, welcoming some artists for the first time, as well as the return of festival favourites bringing new work to the stages.

“We were blown away by the love and recognition we received last year when we celebrated 20 years since the inception of Supersonic festival. More so than ever, in these challenging and uncertain times, we are motivated with an urgency to seek out and champion the most important artists from the underground and to create opportunities for shared experiences with a program that can bring joy and unite us.”

– Lisa Meyer, Artistic Director and Festival co-founder 

TICKET INFO
We have 2 weekend ticket options available which includes our solidarity ticket, we are working to create an inclusive space which is accessible to all, regardless of their financial situation. This year, we’ll be working with partners to give away a % of free tickets to people in our music community who are on low wages or are unemployed. For those of you that can afford to support this scheme through purchasing our solidarity ticket we salute you!

Bonnie “Prince” Billy

Supersonic Festival has always held Bonnie “Prince” Billy close to our hearts, and so it is a dream come true to host a set from him during the 2024 edition of the festival. He’s been at the forefront of DIY indie, folk and alt-country since the early 90s and has a consistently brilliant and prolific output. His work radiates with such emotional depth, no two performances are ever the same – and we predict there won’t be a dry eye in the venue.

ØXN 

Following Lankum’s incredible performance at Supersonic’s 2023 edition and a shared mutual admiration for each other, we just had to invite them back with in other guises; ØXN and One Leg One Eye will both be performing. ØXN (bringing together Radie Peat of Lankum, John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Eleanor Myler of Percolator and Katie Kim) digs deep into the earth and retrieves evocative tales of love, loss, longing, revenge and ritual. Add to that the other-worldly sonic textures that beckon you to peer behind the curtain, with your heart in your mouth. One Leg One Eye is the project of Ian Lynch (Lankum) that explores submerged leylines of music and song, drawing on the raw aesthetics of black metal, noise and drone, while also being deeply imbued with a sense of Irish history and myth.

One Leg One Eye 

“Last year I had the great honour of (finally) playing and attending Supersonic Festival for the first time. From the get go I felt an amazing energy and sense of community. Environments like that don’t happen by accident and I left the festival with a huge sense of awe and respect for the organisers in making such an event possible. In the following days I told myself that I would come back every year as a punter no matter what, so imagine how delighted I was to be asked to come back this year and perform as One Leg One Eye! I can’t wait and already know that it’s going to be a highlight of my year.”

– Ian Lynch, Lankum, One Leg One Eye

Mary Lattimore

The Supersonic 2024 edition explores a fascinating range of folk artists upending the traditions of the genre, including Scottish small pipes player and native Gaelic speaker Brìghde Chaimbeul who has carved a sonic space where tradition and minimalism meet. Capturing live, the dense and wild landscape of her home through hypnotic drones and the ethereal drawl of her chosen instrument. One of the leading figures in Ireland’s burgeoning folk music renaissance known for his unconventional approach, John Francis Flynn masterfully unpicks traditional songs and rearranges them with an emotional force that sometimes leaves them unanchored. LA based harpist and composer, and one of today’s preeminent instrumental storytellers Mary Lattimore invites us intoa musical universe rich with memories, scenes, and split-second impressions.

Emma Ruth Rundle

Emma Ruth Rundle is an artist who creates delicate atmospheres which are imbued with an unparalleled emotional heft. She will return to her roots at this year’s festival, performing her debut album, Some Heavy Ocean, 10 years after its release. Some Heavy Ocean is a collection of impassioned, cathartic songs, exorcising the ghosts of one of life’s dark detours. Melancholic, but equally hopeful and devastatingly human, the album wears its emotions on its sleeve.

“I am delighted that I will finally be playing Supersonic fest this year; and in honour of the 10 year anniversary of Some Heavy Ocean, will be performing an intimate solo set that includes most of the album’s material. I love the supersonic community and am so thrilled to be part of this year’s most excellent line up.” – Emma Ruth Rundle

The Body & Dis Fig

Performing their debut collaborative music for the first time are The Body & Dis Fig – the perfect synthesis of two forces, twisting melodicism and intoxicating rhythms, layering a dense miasma of distortion with intense beats and a soaring voice clawing its way towards absolution.

Senyawa

Senyawa who powerfully combines Indonesian tribal and primitive sounds with industrial music. They will be performing in support of their latest album release ‘Vajranala’ being released on State 51,  Senyawa explore how, over centuries, the natural world has shaped our society, the knowledge systems from which power derives.

Gazelle Twin

Gazelle Twin makes a return to Supersonic in support of the new album, Black Dog – her new live show is a plunge into darkness. Memories and dreams electrified by fear. Rooted in the theatrics of the séance and the phenomena of ghosts.

Supersonic relishes in presenting opportunities for communal catharsis through joyous, raucous metal and punk, and bringing high energy to this year’s edition are Melt-Banana with their unorthodox, unclassifiable, and utterly brilliant speed-of-light grindcore.

Agriculture

Agriculture (signed to The Flenser) whose sublime subversion of the black metal tropes evokes awe-inspiring sublimity,  a powerful mode of expression for these feelings of absolute bliss, and overwhelming love.

THE NONE

The None are a band comprising members of Blue Ruth, Youth Man, Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire, Cassels and Frauds, their uncompromising vision of noise rock with melody at its heart, channels the spirit of The Jesus Lizard, Silverfish and Unwound.

Upchuck

Atlanta five-piece Upchuck are a kinetic force of youth and enthusiasm, churning out brutally honest, boisterous tracks that blur the lines between psych rock, punk, and hardcore.

What would Supersonic be without some down right dirge? This will be bought to audiences in the 2024 edition by The Shits with their sludgy amalgamation of guitar grit, trashy drums and UK82 era street punk growls.

Mohammad Syfkhan

Exploring ecstatic sounds of different proportions are Irish based Kurdish/Syrian singer and Bouzouki player Mohammad Syfkhan‘s music takes elements from Middle Eastern and North African music to create an atmosphere of joy, love and happiness. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s Smote’s flute-and-drum-driven music conjures up a feeling of bleak magick, reaching for transcendence through repetition, opening up uncanny new psychic pathways.

MC Yallah

Unable to perform last year, we are beyond delighted to invite MC Yallah x Debmaster back to the festival, bringing high energy performance and delivering her rapid and tightly controlled flow alongside futuristic hip-hop, grime, punk and trap with Debmaster.

There are only a limited number of  weekend tickets.
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 1ST MARCH @ 10AM

To get to know our 2024 line up have a listen to our Supersonic Festival Playlist HERE