On Record: In Conversation with Xhosa Cole

Friday 3th June

Steel Pulse bassist Amlak Tafari and broadcaster Satnam Rana present twenty-two conversations with Birmingham musicians, promoters, managers, venue owners and entrepreneurs who have all contributed to local, national, and international music culture.

 

Join us and our special guests for conversations about their lives in music, their connections to the city, and how Birmingham has inspired or influenced them, personally and musically.

Selected dates also feature free live performances from the artists appearing On Record. The first of its kind, On Record is a multi-artist, multi-genre concept album forming a sonic love letter to the city of Birmingham. Produced as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, the eleven-track album will be available on a limited vinyl release and across all streaming platforms.

Since winning the BBC Young Jazz Musician award in 2018, saxophonist Xhosa Cole has headlined major jazz clubs, picked up further honours and recorded an acclaimed debut album. In this conversation, we find out about Xhosa’s deep connection to the lineage of jazz music and his inner-city community in Birmingham.

During the final of the BBC Young Jazz Musician, flautist, composer, and saxophonist Xhosa performed his own composition entitled Moving Ladywood. Having first played the tenor sax at Ladywood Community School of Music, founded by legendary jazz musician Andy Hamilton, Xhosa has established himself among the long legacy of Birmingham Saxophonists including Soweto Kinch and Shabaka Hutchings. In 2021 Xhosa completed his inaugural 23 date UK tour.

Produced in partnership with B:Music

More Birmingham Listings MORE

Birmingham Thursday 7 August

Poetry Jam Live!

Since 2013, Poetry Jam has become a much-loved fixture in Birmingham’s creative scene. Run in partnership with We…

Birmingham Thursday 2 October

The James Brown Experience

Celebrate the life, music, and unstoppable energy of one of the most iconic performers of all time with…

Birmingham Sunday 5 October

Kane Brown: Don’t Listen To Me

Kane Brown is a comedian whose style blends fearless humour with raw honesty and infectious charisma. With nearly…

Birmingham Wednesday 15 October – Thursday 16 October 2025

Black is the Color of my Voice

Back by overwhelming demand, Apphia Campbell’s Black is the Color of My Voice returns to the Birmingham Rep…

Birmingham Wednesday 5 November

CBSO 2025/26: Kazuki & Isata Kanneh-Mason

Few works in classical music combine personal expression and virtuosic brilliance quite like Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. Renowned…