Gig: The Mother’s Earth Experiment at The Dark Horse
Prog-rock six-piece the Mother Earth Experiment are Zappa to the core, from their geeky funk-rock grooves, to their dense psychedelic atmospheres and their unabashed ecological proselytising. ‘Cool Down Mama’ is a case in point, clean licks, bellbottom-tight grooves, bongo jams and straight-up freaky breakdowns. Nothing’s off-limits in the Mother Earth Experiment’s handbook, and the band’s pure earnestness is what carries the whole thing off. (CD)
Fri 13 Jul 9pm, at The Dark Horse, 145 Alcester Rd, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8JP www.facebook.com

Music: NYO Inspire Orchestra at the mac
The National Youth Inspire Orchestra aims to give teenagers the opportunity to have a breakthrough experience in the professional orchestra sector as musicians and audience members. Luckily for us we can share in that joyous musical journey too as the NYO Inspire will be performing some well known classics on the mac terrace including Holst’s Jupiter and Elgar’s Nimrod.
Fri 13 Jul 6pm at the mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH macbirmingham.co.uk

Gig: Catwalk Villains at The Blue Piano
Moseley’s finest exponents of big dirty blues land at The Blue Piano for a riotous night of mile high riffs and powerhouse noise. The Piano will become a swamp of deep south rumbling as The Villains career through a set of covers and original material. Fantastic live band with an energy that ignites any venue.
Fri 13 Jul 7.30pm at The Blue Piano, 26 Harborne Rd, Birmingham B15 3AA www.facebook.com

Club/Food: DNB City Summer BBQ at The Hawker Yard
DNB City return for the third instalment of their summer BBQ series with a killer line up of drum and bass DJs pumping out raging beats and rhythms for ten solid hours from 2pm onwards. Topping the bill are Shogun Audio’s own D&B Arena Awards nominees Pola & Bryson, complementing all those phat beats are an array of street food, smoking BBQ and retro gaming.
Sat 14 Jul 2pm at Hawker Yard, 62-70 Pershore St, Birmingham B5 4RU www.skiddle.com

Club: Sam Redmore Takeover at The Old Crown
Birmingham natives know what to expect from DJ Sam Redmore and now he’s appeared on BBC Radio 6 the rest of the nation is catching up. Catch his glorious mix of funked up soul, hip hop, reggae and anything else his eclectic freestyle mind throws into an always slick sound at the Old Crown as he takes over the stunning garden space, and all for free. How good is that?
Sat 14 Jul 7pm at The Old Crown, High St, Birmingham B12 0LD www.facebook.com

Club: Disco Whisko at The Drunken Tiger
Dancing heels at the ready, time to strut back in time to the height of seventies disco cool at Harborne’s newest and funkiest hangout, The Drunken Tiger. Featuring a staggering range of cocktails with quirky speakeasy decor and a delicious Studio 54 vibe, March’s event wonderfully coincided with the fortieth anniversary of Saturday Night Fever and was a glitter fuelled blast, expect more of the same this time and a party Tony Manero would be proud of.
Sat 14 Jul 7pm at The Drunken Tiger, Harborne School Yard, High Street, Harborne, Birmingham B17 PNJ www.facebook.com

Club/Food: Reggae Caribbean Cookout at The Hawker Yard
Ok, so it’s technically not free as there’s a one pound admission fee. We recommend digging down the back of the sofa for some loose change. It’ll be worth it to savour the delicious West Indian soul food served up by the sensational Mr Jerk. Throughout the afternoon the vibe levels will be set to hyper chilled as DJ’s spin the best reggae, ska and rock steady vinyl as you chow down, there’s even vegan options available.
Sun 15 Jul 12pm – 7pm at The Hawker Yard,  62-70 Pershore St, Birmingham B5 4RU www.facebook.com