Birmingham’s first electro-swing festival, Swingamajig is fast approaching and with this in mind we went down to the last pre-festival gig at the Hare & Hounds to find out more.
For those of you new to electro-swing, the genre encompasses any contemporary music which has a swing vibe; often incorporating house, hip hop and to quote the Swingamajig facebook page “Gypsy Mayhem”… What more could you want?
We arrived at the venue fashionably late only to discover that we were probably the least fashionable people in there. The array of waistcoats, cocktail dresses and fascinating feathered fascinators was slightly overwhelming, but before the music had even begun the atmosphere was buzzing and I was more than keen to find out what the fuss was all about.
The main spectacle of the evening was the Electric Swing Circus, a 6 piece band from our own sunny Birmingham. The sextet led by vocalists Bridget and Laura, accompanied by Chandra, Rashad, Patrick and Slash lookalike Tom, had an amazing stage presence and the upbeat tunes they produced kept the crowd jiving for the entire set. With the music flowing and the dancing becoming slightly infectious, the technical talent on display was obvious, especially as the night wound to an end with perfectly executed renditions of “Valentine” and the festival’s namesake “Swingamajig”.
Having seen only a small sample of the music that can be expected at Swingamajig festival in May, I would thoroughly recommend investing in a ticket, if not for your love of electro-swing then to experience a new, ever more popular genre; and if not for that then to observe (from a safe distance) the strange feathered creatures which come out to play.
Details and further line-up for Swingamajig can be found here!
Gaz Pullen
