It may be controversial to say; but some of the best things happen in the dingy basement of a pub. B-Town was one of those things. I was very kindly invited along to this Birmingham-exclusive gig night by organisers Tim Senna and Nick Barlow, so I grabbed my boyfriend and my leather jacket and headed to The Rainbow Pub in Digbeth. 

I’d never been to The Rainbow, but it was one of those places you walk into and instantly feel at home. With the expected grungy vibe and some of the coolest barmen who clearly just love what they do, it set an incredible precedent for the night ahead. Not to mention the Skittles cocktail I had which was incredible, albeit the liquid to ice ratio was disappointing.

A trip downstairs took us to the venue for the night. There couldn’t have been more than 50 people in the room, and as the night you went on it became inherently obvious that the large majority were the bands that were playing and people they knew. It wasn’t surprising considering B-Town has only run six gigs to date and it was a Thursday night, but it was hard to ignore the fact that the crowd was sparse, and it was easy to make direct eye contact with the singers, no matter how loud the cheers were or the undisputable talent of the acts.

B-Town’s line up consisted of four unknown bands from around the country. I can understand some people’s aversion to going to a gig where you are guaranteed not to know any of the songs being performed, but as Tim said in one of his segues: ‘B-Town is about discovering your next favourite artist’. 

The first band of the night was Leamington Spa based band Rarity, who did well to hype the crowd up with a set of covers. Covering absolute bangers such as ‘Ruby’ by Kaiser Chiefs and ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’ by McFly, the vibes were amazing. The vocals were iffy in part however as a whole, Rarity was a very good opening act.

Following swiftly was Naomi Dawes, the atmosphere shifted into absolute awe as the first song began. It cannot be denied that Dawes’ vocals were unbelievable. She was described as a singer similar to that of Florence & The Machine, and you could absolutely hear that in her ability to belt. Her songs were catchy, and her stage presence was beautiful. Definitely one to add to the playlist.

The third band, named Me and Thee, wasn’t quite my thing. I couldn’t begin to describe the type of music they produce; however, a violin was part of the band, which was refreshing, regardless of whether it gave me a headache or not. Their personality and the way they held the stage however was brilliant. The violinist was so incredibly happy to be there and carried that energy through the rest of the show, and the lead singer was hilarious. It was a shame I didn’t personally like the music, but the crowd as a whole loved it. 

The final act and absolute showstopper of the night was headliner Ear Candy. The Bournemouth band has performed around Birmingham before; however, I had never heard of them. What followed was absolute bliss, their music boosted every bit of serotonin I had, and hit every checkbox for what I’d call my taste in music. We were lucky enough to chat to the lead singer Jamie at the end of the night, finding out they will be touring in October and grabbing ourselves a hoodie, which will be something to go straight in the calendar. 

Reflecting on the night, it is incredible what gigs like B-Town give to the community, and how incredible the Digbeth music scene is considering how lost it gets. Birmingham natives and students alike are far more likely to scurry to Broad Street for a club night to dance to terrible remixes of the same songs when authenticity and a great community is just around the corner. Not to mention ordinarily B-Town tickets tend to max out at £6 so it really is a perfect night out for students in the market for live music and a good night. Unfortunately, they only run it once a month, however, it could be the perfect Freshers night out this year.

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