A Day Out at the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival!

[Ad- gifted experience] Dann and I, along with Claire, got to go to the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival last weekend, and it was an amazing experience. None of us had ever been to a festival, and weren’t completely sure what to expect. This festival was held in a park in Birmingham, which was easy to access from both train and car. We ended up parking near the venue, using on road parking, which was free on a Sunday.

We got to the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival right at opening, waiting in the long line of people who were excited to enter. After we had our bags checked, we got our bracelets and got to go in. The festival wasn’t too packed at first, there were performances at the two stages at the bottom of the hill, with the majority being on the larger stage of the two. The music was loud and can be heard across the entire venue.

As we made our way through the music festival, we had the chance to experience a diverse range of performances, from bands doing cover songs to orchestras playing jazz and even some familiar faces like The Wailers. Despite the growing crowd and background noise, the sound quality remained impressive thanks to the use of coax cables for speakers. However, it was the lively atmosphere of the event that really stood out to us, with countless attendees dancing, singing, and clapping along to the music, making for an unforgettable experience.

When it came to food at the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival, there was super lovely options! We were there all day, so we ended up getting some really lovely BBQ pork and chicken, in a jerk seasoning and sauce, which was super delicious (though their corn fritter wasn’t as amazing at all), and later in the day, we got a few kebabs to eat, along with some fries. We also had lots to drink, of course, with there being an entire area of options. They had some house cocktails which were named around some of the bands, we ended up picking a few of those to try! My biggest issue with the festival, however, was the drinks pitchers. You see, for the glass you drink out of, you need to purchase the physical glass first, then can use it to get refills. For the pitcher, which is cheaper than you refilling your own glasses over and over, you need to pay a 5£ deposit.

When I was ready to leave the area and go watch bands, I went to give back my pitcher and get my deposit, only to be told that there servers were down and to come back later. I said okay, and went back to my table and waited a good 10 minutes, then went back, to be told the same line about needing to go wait for 5 minutes. At this point, bands I wanted to see were on stags, so I could carry around a massive pitcher or just continue to wait.

After another 10 minutes, I walked back over, and was told again that the servers were down, so I asked if I could just get a beer (same price as the pitcher) instead as I wanted to go to a different area. I was told no, and even though the payment servers were taking payment, their servers WERE in fact down, so there was nothing to be done. So I said I would be happy to wait right there in line until the servers were up, instead of walking back and forth, guessing when to come back. The pitcher person proceed to tell me that I could not wait in line, and needed to take a seat somewhere or go away, which felt really odd. When I said I would rather wait, she started yelling at me. To make matters worse, once there servers were back online, I needed to follow a URL on my phone and do a bunch of steps to get my deposit back, which required me to leave the entrance of the venue as I had no signal there. It was not worth it for a pitcher, and the staff clearly, continued to be rude as I had to leave and come back. It was a whole ordeal.

This was my only encounter with staff, beyond like ordering food, so it was a shame that they were so rude. The pitcher thing kinda ruined Dann and myself’s mood, but we ended up listening to a few more songs and having a good time. I got to make a fresh flower crown as apart of one of the stalls at the venue, which was really fun, and while watching some of the songs a bee came and pollinated the flower!

I am really glad I went along to the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival, as it felt like a really good intro into festivals. The place wasn’t packed at first, and when it became packed, it was at a pace that made it very easy to be comfortable. There were plenty of areas that were more quite, like one that was tended (so you could be out of the sun) in the back of the park that also played music. Another area towards the front of the park had dance lessons going on all day, which we did check out once are twice, and then became a hub for children as this festival is child friendly, where they could play and have fun. There seems to be a lot of thought around this festival and ensuring there is something for everyone!

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!