A Night in the Neighbourhd
Written by Anusha Chandra-Paisley.
29th March 2024
Birmingham’s talented music community came together, bringing us improvised jams, original songs, & saxophone sets.
If you love live music, you’ll love Neighbourhd Birmingham. Neighbourhd (@neighbourhdbrum) is a performance and events community that makes room for collaboration and creates a space for anyone to explore their musical talent. They have been running for seven years and do monthly open jam nights at The Night Owl in Digbeth. They also recently brought back one of their events in Moseley, NBHD x Dark Horse Jam nights which is solely based around jam culture where anyone can get on stage and show what they’ve got. On Monday the 4th of March, I attended my first Neighbourhd event at The Night Owl where they had two featured artists, Daniella Dee (@danielladee) and Aurora Rays (@aurora_rays) performing. Upon arrival, I got to meet Jason, a member of the team behind Neighbourhd and having someone greet you when you first arrive is a great way to make you feel welcomed and comfortable.
Before I immersed myself in the live music, I grabbed a drink from the bar and hung out at the back to get a sense of the atmosphere and sort of audience that Neighbourhd attracted while the house band was playing. The crowd ranged from college students wanting to showcase their talent somewhere, to someone just wanting an excuse to hear some live music on a Monday night after their 9 to 5. Talking to a few people throughout the night, I found that the majority of people were creatives themselves, in ways that didn’t necessarily relate to music either.
At first, people were slightly shy as there was a noticeable gap in front of the main stage, but as soon as the host Unique (@callmeunique) got on stage, people became more comfortable and moved forward. Unique showcased her soulful voice and performed some R&B songs such as “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child. She warmed up the crowd with some scatting improvisation as well, which her voice was made for. More people started to arrive during Unique’s performance and once she had finished, the floor was pretty much full and ready for the first artist of the night.
Unique introduced Aurora Rays to the stage, a female pop artist, who performed 3-4 of her own songs. Her performance was powerful and confident. It was clear that she had a lot of experience in performing due to the projection of her voice. In Aurora’s final song, she encouraged the crowd to sing the lyrics of the chorus with her, which really helped to engage everyone and create a lively atmosphere. The audience’s reaction to Aurora was warm and welcoming. Whilst many might not have heard her music before, the movement of the crowd was evidence that they enjoyed it. Just before the next artist performed, there was a 20-minute break, where I was able to move position and found myself a great view from an upstairs area.
Next up was Daniella Dee who performed 3-4 songs as well and her style of music slightly reminded me of Cleo Sol. She had an ethereal and chill vibe to her performance and before each song she would share a story or context. One of her songs called Ladybird was written at a time when Daniella was going through a low period in her life. She shared with us that writing the song helped her to work through her emotions and improved her state of mind. The audience seemed to connect well to her sharing her vulnerability through her music and being honest on stage. Following this performance, a short break was taken where I was able to get a good view of everyone interacting with each other; different groups were conversing, saying hello and taking pictures. There were also people congratulating and getting to know the two artists who had just performed.
Before I knew it, Unique informed us that the real fun was about to commence; the open jam. She welcomed anyone to the stage and reminded us not to hog that mic! First up was a very stylish woman in a fur coat and hat that wowed everyone. She sang “Yams” by Masego and killed it, her voice matched the outfit and her vibe completely. Next up was a rapper and one by one people were swapped in and out of the performance. There were always two people up on stage jamming together. Unique would help swap out those who volunteered to go up and jam with the current performer, whether they were an MC or played an instrument.
There was one duo performance that I couldn’t get out of my head, a female singer (@shamthecreative) whose style was similar to Jorja Smith’s and a male rapper who reminded me of Loyle Carner; they fitted perfectly together. Another standout for me was a guy wearing headphones and a beige coat who had bars for days! This guy had jammed with maybe three different people across the night and never once failed to get the crowd going. Impressive was an understatement for one of the musicians that seemed to know how to play every instrument on stage to a high level.
The Night Owl in Digbeth felt like the perfect venue for this sort of gig, the sound carried well throughout the space which made some good acoustics. The set up of the venue catered to those who wanted to slip back and get a drink as well as others feeling up close and personal with the artists performing. The stage set-up was quite busy with a lot of equipment and instruments, sometimes making it difficult for jammers to come up and perform without knocking something down. Some jammers hopped up onto the front part of the stage giving a very authentic and spontaneous feel to the performances. Unfortunately, one of the mics cut in and out which meant some people lost the ability to jam flowingly with others. I don’t think this disrupted performances too much as part of the crew were able to efficiently replace the mic. Lastly, the colourful lighting created a homely and less intimidating atmosphere for performers. However, I did think at times it became slightly distracting from the performances, which is reflected in some of the photos I took.
What made the night special was the sense of community; there was a family feel extended to everyone involved, and newcomers were welcomed and encouraged - reminiscent of a friendly neighbourhood. The audience was great; they were very supportive and perfectly matched the vibe. I particularly loved that people were not afraid to get involved in the music. One artist went to the front of the stage and interacted with the crowd, coming up with the chant ‘Everybody having fun, put your motherf***ing hands up’. So we did.
After the event finished just before 1 am, I headed back home. On my way home I was energised. I had always known that Birmingham inhabits creative talent but to see so much of it live in person made me feel euphoric. This is an under-appreciated city with an underground scene that matches Manchester or London. The Neighbourhd events are a great opportunity for artists to get some performing practice and provide a challenge to those who are not used to improvising on the spot with another artist. Another positive is that the event welcomes a range of genres from hip-hop to soul and even fusion.
There is a growing community here and I love what Neighbourhd are doing to help deliver opportunities for those in the music space to showcase Birmingham’s talent. The first Monday of every month, the Night Owl will be welcoming a fresh audience and a new group of creatives. Whether you want to get on stage and pick up the mic or just need an excuse to hear someone kill it on the saxophone, you truly don’t want to miss out.
All photos taken by Anusha.