When: 12th July 2025
Where: Moseley Park and Pool, Birmingham, England
“A lovely day
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)”
It is just after 7 o’clock on Saturday evening when Craig Charles – the English actor, comedian, presenter, Moseley Park perennial, and former Street Cars driver – emerges from behind his decks, comes to the front of the main stage, and with a beaming smile and outstretched arms he mouths the words of the chorus to the old Bill Withers’ song ‘Lovely Day.’
With the sun just starting to go down, after again being high in the sky all day, and a strong sense of community and connectivity spreading right across the park, it is that Mostly Jazz moment.
In truth, though, there are many other special moments throughout the day. Early afternoon, rising Liverpudlian star MT Jones puts in a strong bid for “set of the day” with a delightful performance that effortlessly blends funk, rock, pop, rock, and soul in a not dissimilar vein to the manner in which Boz Scaggs did with such understated elegance in his 70’s Silk Degrees pomp.
Tom McGuire & the Brassholes and the Heavy Beat Brass Band. The clue is in their band names. Heavy on brass sections, both acts punch big holes in the clear blue skies with their pounding rhythms and indelible RnB influences.
It is then Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 time. The youngest son of the Nigerian legend and pioneer of the early 70’s Afrobeat sound tells us that he always likes to open his shows with one of his father’s songs and this time he does so with ‘Everything Scatter,’ the rousing title track from Fela Kuti’s 1975 album. Seun Kuti continues to keep the Afrobeat flame alight, preserving his father’s musical legacy and fierce political spirit. His is the first call of the weekend to “Free Palestine” though he places greater import on the liberation of Europe from the growing threat of “fascism” and “imperialism.”
“Tell your politicians / I don’t like your nonsense / I don’t prostitute my conscience / Save me from the users / Humanity abusers / Save me from these rich men,” Seun Kuti sings with such principled power and conviction. As images of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. flash up on the big screen behind him and Egypt 80, it is reassuring that Seun Kuti still flies a flag for activism and protest in contemporary music.
WAR have been doing this sort of thing – brilliantly fusing funk, rock, soul, and Latin music – since the late 60s. Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan is the only remaining original member of the band from California and he leads from the front. There is something really rather thrilling to be sat listening to such timeless classics as ‘The World is a Ghetto,’ ‘Why Cant We Be Friends?’ and, of course, ‘Low Rider’ in such beautiful, harmonious surroundings.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos from Saturday at Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul 20325
