When: 11th – 13th July 2025
Where: Moseley Park and Pool, Birmingham, England
In a week’s time, the idyllic Moseley Park and Pool – located a couple of miles south of Birmingham city centre – will open its gates for the 16th annual edition of the hugely popular Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival.
And this year promises to be yet another cracking event full of innovative live music with a wide and diverse range of legendary artists from both home and abroad playing alongside the latest contemporary breakthrough artists from the worlds of Jazz, Funk and Soul.
Headlining Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul in 2025 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights respectively are the highly acclaimed dance duo Maribou State, Mercury-Award winning band, Ezra Collective, and the legendary American R&B and progressive soul band War, who this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of their iconic album, Why Can’t We Be Friends?
There is an incredibly strong supporting cast which includes the supremely gifted songwriter and artist Jalen Ngonda; Friday night’s special guests, the celebrated dance act Groove Armada who will be performing a DJ set; Seun Kuti, the youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and leads his father’s former band Egypt 80.
Other great acts who will be appearing over the weekend on Mostly Jazz’s two main music stages include Goldie and regular festival favourite Craig Charles who will be performing their individual DJ sets; the Birmingham rapper Kofi Stone; revered DJ and producer Dave Lee (JN); the soulful singer and producer Rosie Lowe; the emerging neo-soul talent Summer Pearl; the London-based artist, producer, remixer, and DJ, Erol Alkan; and many more top artists besides.
A few weeks back, Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul announced details of their programme for The Woods – set within the urban trees of this picturesque park – and featuring Takeovers from Selextorhood and Deano Ferrino, and DJ T-Bird‘s celebration of 3 Feet High & Rising, the classic debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul.
Mostly Jazz’s second day will also see a series of special walkabout performances by some of the best musicians from the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), whose members are the next generation of jazz talent.
Meanwhile, for families, there’s MiniMixer DJ Workshops (on Saturday and Sunday) where future David Guetta’s can learn their trade, and a bound-to-be boisterous 90 minute Mostly Jazz Family Hip Hop Party (Sat) with block rockin’ tunes, bubbles and crafts.
The festival also includes a series of dance workshops suitable for all-ages covering funk, bhangra, swing and flamenco, and the return of the Dead Pixels Gaming Caravan, for those addictive retro games vibes.
Having recently issued a ‘Limited Tickets’ warning for Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul 2025, Festival Manager John Fell said: “Ninety per cent of Weekend Tickets have now sold, and Day Tickets – especially for the Sunday – are running seriously low, so if you’re considering coming, we’d strongly recommend buying now to avoid any disappointment.”
Details / tickets: mostlyjazz.co.uk
