Headliners announced for Birmingham’s bank holiday concert

The Streets, Jungle, Cian Ducrot and Ocean Colour Scene have been confirmed as headliners for the brand-new Centenary Square Summer Series…

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the outdoor concert series will transform Birmingham’s historic Centenary Square into a hub of live music, bookended by headline artists from the city. The series features a diverse supporting cast of international & local artists, booked in collaboration with BBC introducing. Tickets go on general sale Friday, March 8th at 10 am via CentenarySquareSummerSeries.com.

Kicking off the series on Friday 23rd August are multi-award-winning & Birmingham raised The Streets. Since their breakthrough in 2002 with the Mercury Prize-nominated ‘Original Pirate Material,’ Frontman Mike Skinner, has established himself as a prominent voice that resonates with society. Spanning across five albums and one mixtape, Skinner explores the intricacies of everyday life and reimagines them by cutting commentary from the perspective of an everyman with finesse. With a supporting cast of Billy Nomates, a Leicester-born beacon of brutal truth, & SANITY, an Erdington-based rapper & MC The opening night of the Centenary Square Summer Series features a lineup that promises to set the tone for the entire series.

Hot off the back of their Brit nomination for group of the year, Jungle will bring their forward-facing hybrid of disco, soul & hip hop to headline Saturday night on Centenary Square. Originating as a production duo from Shepherds Bush, their self-titled breakthrough debut album became an instant classic, leading to a Mercury Prize nomination, which they followed with the album ‘For Ever’ before amplifying their success with ‘Loving In Stereo’ & new album ‘Volcano’.

Their extended live band has made them firm festival favourites. Opening proceedings is the highly respected emerging Birmingham-born neo-soul musician, Ella More. The main support for the night comes from METTE, a multi-disciplinary artist born in Minnesota and based in Los Angeles, who has recently featured on Later… with Jools Holland.

Irish singer-songwriter, producer & multi-instrumentalist Cian Ducrot will headline on Sunday 25^th August. The classically trained Cork native will play songs from his number 1 debut album ‘Victory’ including the gold-certified hit ‘All For You’. South London’s Talia Mar will bring the pop hits in support of Cian & Holly Rolfe, a Lichfield-raised singer-songwriter who has been hand-picked by BBC Introducing, will open the event.

Closing the series on Bank Holiday Monday are legends Ocean Colour Scene. The Birmingham band will bring hits from their iconic 1996 Brit Pop album ‘Moseley Shoals’ including ‘The Riverboat Song’ & ‘The Day We Caught The Train’. Famous for live shows with life-affirming sing-a-longs, their set is sure to close the inaugural Centenary Square Summer Series in style.  Acclaimed songwriter Lucy Spraggan will support with her humorous & relatable lyrics & local indie pop/rock collective Eighty Eight Miles is scheduled to open proceedings.

Centenary Square Summer Series is programmed by Metropolis Music & produced in partnership with Cuffe & Taylor. With ambitions to be one of the greenest events on the summer calendar, the series will be powered solely by the national grid & be single use plastic free.

Mastercard cardholders in UK have special access to preferred tickets from Friday 8^th March at 10:00 LOCAL. Visit www.priceless.com/music to find out more