Portal: Steve Lawler | Fri 29 Sep | Crane | from £24.75
The curtain rises on an all-new addition to the Rainbow Venues roster: Crane. In case you were wondering – yes, the venue does actually have a fully-working crane. And who better to christen the 3,500-capacity warehouse space than local legend and Space Ibiza king Steve Lawler? Lawler’s music is house and techno at its core, with dark, disco-infused beats and acid house sensibilities harking back to his days spent organising clandestine raves beneath the M42 motorway. It’s saying something about Lawler’s hero status that Richy Ahmed is only second on the bill here. See our feature here. www.portalmusic.co.uk
Ouse’s 5th Birthday | Fri 29 Sep | Boxxed | £11
Five years ago, a group of lads living in adjoining houses in Erdington started throwing their own house parties. Complete with tarpaulin and lasers, these parties quickly became a hit with the Birmingham’s student community, and soon the Ouse brand was big enough to relocate first to Suki10c and then to Boxxed. Since then, the scale of their parties and productions has only continued to grow, and this Friday it’s time to celebrate a half-decade of raving. It’s all very hush-hush at the moment, but they’re sure to do something to make this one extra special. www.skiddle.com
Bongo’s Bingo | Wed 27 Sep | Rainbow | £10
Your favourite bingo-rave (how many other bingo-raves do you know?) is back and ready to reaffirm its cult status as one of Birmingham’s best nights out. Expect dance-offs, surprise celebrity appearances and big cash prizes; expect table-dancing, smoke cannons and enough glitter to keep you sparkling for weeks. So eyes down, look in… and if your numbers don’t come up, you can always heckle the bingo callers. It’s all fair game at this one, so we’d say probably don’t invite your nan – unless she’s hardcore enough to hack the bingo sesh. www.bongosbingo.co.uk
MoodFix presents Moxie | Fri 29 Sep | Hare & Hounds | from £11
Another intimate evening at the Hare & Hounds. Seasoned selector and radio host Moxie is the star of this 150-capacity event, in-demand DJ renowned for house, techno and disco sets that walk the line between underground and mainstream sounds. With support from Tilly and Jack Barber. www.skiddle.com
My Festival | Sat 30 Sep & Sun 1 Oct | Starworks Warehouse, Wolverhampton | £35+
A weekender of warehouse-sized proportions, this 4k capacity venue will host a vast array of handpicked headliners (literally, organisers consulted their audience on this one, hence the title) such as Rudimental, Big Narstie, Secondcity, Blonde, Josh Butler, Darius Syrossian, Charlie Sloth and lots more. The gorgeous Grade II listed space with state of the art light and sound throughout will provide the perfect home for this sprawling, immersive event, taking over a car park, warehouse, factory, engine room, sunshine terrace, disco den, VIP village and entire street. The MY Festival Main Stage and a huge house and techno high top tent will be set up in the car park with Digbeth Dining Club fuelling the fun and face paint and glitter stations as well as performers adding to the carnival-style colour (HB). www.skiddle.com
Also see our Free Things To Do this wknd list ft. Free Rave in a Vintage Shop at Rainbow Venues here.
Words: Greg Woodin
Published on: Fri 1 Sep 2017